Anastasia Illuminators in Starlight and Riviera

Highlighters.  Chocolate.  Shoes.  Handbags.  Cocktails that taste like pop.

All things I cannot resist.

I was totally on a no-buy because I literally have like so much make up.  No honestly I have.

Sarah totally encouraged me to buy these.  She wanted me to buy them all but I said no.  But no means yes right?  Cult Beauty then kindly emailed me to tell me they were in stock and curiosity got the better of me and before I could stop myself I had bought two.  Which is restrained as Sarah told me to buy all 4.

I went for icy white gold Moonlight and rose gold Riviera which is probably more suited to darker skintones but it is so beautiful. 

The packaging is very sturdy-almost to the point of being chunky to be honest but the pan inside is a beauty.  I really like the layered 'stepped' pattern.  When I first swatched them I was convinced these were dupes for the Becca Opal and Moonstone highlighers-they have the same incredibly complex shimmer that is only detected in bright sunlight that you get from the Becca.  But they're not really even close in shade-in fact done of my highlighters duped these two tones.  Moonstone from Becca is more yellow toned than Starlight and Opal is much more golden bronze than Riviera.  When the Becca tones weren't the match I thought they would be I started swatching more and more of my highlighters but nothing was an obvious dupe.

Oops sorry about the typo!

Starlight pulls quite gold on me which I was really surprised given the very silver look in the pan.  So if you have avoided this because of its apparent Tin Man-esque qualities you may find it to be much softer and prettier than you expect.  Riviera is more MAC Soft and Gentle-esque but it's slightly darker and more intense.  But it's not unwearable on my pale (NW15/Mont Blanc) skintone.  If I place it right at the top of my blusher so it blends a little with the blush it adds some serious glow.  I guess it's not for the fainthearted (if you prefer softer highlighters try MAC Soft and Gentle or Charlotte Tilbury Norman Parkinson Dreamy Glow) but it's not quite 'can you see my highlight from space'?  I'd wear it in the day-maybe not to the office but to a brunch or afternoon tea.  Starlight and Kevyn Aucoin Celestial Powder are quite similar but the Kevyn Aucoin is slightly more subtle and lighter.

Neither of the Anastasia highlighters are glittery but they are slightly metallic and shimmery.  I suggest a light hand and building up until you're comfortable with the effect.  They don't settle into pores and of the two, Starlight is the more subtle over its darker and rosier sister Riviera.  I'm definitely going to use these as eyeshadows too-especially Riviera.

I still don't think I need the other two but I am definitely very happy with the two I did buy and can see me reaching for them often.

My understanding is that these are limited edition but they're still in stock now at Cult Beauty for £28 each.  Are you tempted?

How expensive is your face?

Thank you to Katie from Subtle Coral for tagging me in this post!  I love Katie's blog, it looks amazing and her photos are beautiful as is Katie!

So the idea behind this tag post is to take an average days make up and calculate how much your daily face costs.  I'm cringing already because I'm suspecting it might be quite an eye-opener!

This is an average 'work day' face for me.  I work in a corporate office so I try to look as groomed and professional as possible!

NB I live in Dubai but have calculated everything in Sterling

Mac Prep and Prime Natural Radiance Primer £28
Lancome Teint Idole Ultra 24h foundation £27.50
YSL Touche Eclat (under eye concealer) £25

Stila convertible colour trio in cool (cream blush) £23
Givenchy Le Prisme Blush £29.50

Top to bottom

Benefit Browzings £23.50
Anastasia Lash Genius (waterproof top coat) £12.50
Clarins Instant Light Eye Perfecting Base (eyeshadow primer) £22
Chanel Le Volume De Chanel mascara £24
Lancome Power Booster Oscillation mascara primer £24.50
Anastasia clear brow gel £13.75

Mac Eyeshadow Quad £35

Mac Prep and Prime Transparent Setting Powder £19.50
Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powder in Diffused Light £38

Kevyn Aucoin Celestial Powder (highlighter) £34

Carmex lip balm £2.69
Mac lipstick £14

And the grand total is....................

£396.44

WOWZERS!

I think it's important to keep in context 'cost per wear'.  If I wore this face every day for a year the cost would be £1.09 a day which doesn't sound half as bad!

I think this is a great post, especially for seeing what other people wear on a daily basis and I would like to tag

Antonia at Mac and Cheese 

Nuala at Dolled Up London 

Vanessa at The Other VW 

Gemma at Miss Makeup Magpie
Jen at Daisy Rose Beauty 

These are some of my favourite bloggers and I would love to have a rummage through their daily make up bag!

If you have done this tag please leave your link below, I'd love to read it!

Shopping the stash #1

I'm so glad I scheduled some posts over the weekend as following my dentist appointment yesterday I am not feeling 100% at all!

Here's my first ever Shopping The Stash post....enjoy!

I travel quite a lot with my job and last week when I was in Cairo I decided to pull some 'forgotten favourites' and some 'never yet been used' make up and shop my own stash.

Something old, something new.  Bloody cat in the corner again.

Something new

I admit to having an obscene amount of make up that is still unopened.  'Saving for a special occasion' which is ridiculous hey!  I also have some old favourites which for one reason or another had been cast aside.

Jo Malone Osmanthus Blossom

Kinda new, kinda not yet used I threw this perfume in my bag for the trip.  This is a limited edition by Jo Malone, it's their latest so you may still be able to lay your hands on it and I believe it has only just launched in the US.  It's insanely fresh and fruity.  I am not a big fan of perfume descriptions, I mean really, what does 'top note of Petitgrain, heart of Osmanthus and base of Cashmere Wood' actually mean.  And also, I will be honest-I have a sinus problem which means I can only smell top notes (at the moment-hoping to be fixed soon) and this just reminds me of peaches and apricots, ice cream and sunny days. 

Benefit Coralista

Coral seems to be such a beauty bloggers favourite and I admit to be right up there at the top of the fan tree!  I utterly adore coral on my lips and cheeks.  I bought this in Thailand in December and used it a few times but it's been hiding in the back of my muji drawers for some time.

Benefit Coralista is a pigmented yet easy to wear blusher-slightly shimmery so not for matte lovers.  I'm very pale and just feel this lifts my complexion when I put it on.  A summer staple.

Balm Balm lip balm

A new product for me now that my Carmex is finished.  I don't even know how I got this Balm Balm lip balm-I think it might have been in my Latest in Beauty advent calender.

This balm is the perfect texture for me-it's very moisturising but not sticky or heavy on the lips.  It's not greasy but it's very easy to spread.  It's a solid balm rather than that horrible gloopiness of vaseline.  The scent is lovely-really light but refreshing.

This is also a new brand to me so I did a little google search and discovered that not only does this balm cost only £3.50, it's 100% organic and can be used as a face or hand moisturiser (be careful if you are spot prone though because it contains both shea and beeswax).  It also comes in fragrance free and tea tree.

Anastasia Lash Genius

Now the weather is heating up to sauna type temperatures, sweat and smudge proofing your make up becomes vital.  Lash Genius by Anastasia is the best waterproof top coat I have ever tried-it stops mascara smudging and running but doesn't make your mascara a pain in the ass to remove at the end of the day.  I picked mine up from Cult Beauty and founder of CB Lex told me to wait until my mascara has dried and then apply this topcoat from roots to tip.

Mac Select cover up

Mac Select Cover-Up is, I have to say one of the best blemish concealers I have come across.  The texture is light as a feather yet the coverage is pretty heavy duty and was a god send last week whilst my skin was mis-behaving for the first couple of days.  I was colour matched as a shade darker than my normal Mac foundation shade but it seems to work really well and isn't yellow or pink at all on my skin.

Laura Mercier Glamour Wardrobe

Laura Mercier Glamour Wardrobe

This double layer zip up pouch houses pretty much all the lip, cheek and eye products you need for a week away.  This was a Xmas 2012 special edition and my lovely mum bought it for me.  It's lain untouched since then (shame on me) but I know that will no longer be the case after using it for the first time last week.

The matte eyeshadows on the top layer are pretty unspectacular to be honest although Buttercream makes a nice under brow highlight.  The shades that have the tiniest of iridescent sparkle (Peridot, Sable, Midnight Navy, Cherrywood and Heather Plum) are SO beautiful.  Best applied over a primer, they blend easily and the end result is more slight shimmer than full on sparkle.  I am wearing both Peridot and Sable blended together today and I love the combination.  Sadly most of these eyeshadows are limited edition but I do highly recommend trying out some swatches of the Laura Mercier Baked and Lustre eyeshadows-they are my picks from her range.

The lip glosses range from neutrals to deeper colours.  As you can see I have only tried the Sugarplum shade but it's absolutely lovely.  An iridescent coral, smooth and light as a feather on the lips.  The only downside-they don't last long and I wouldn't carry round this pouch during the day for touch ups.

The cream blushes are really sheer-you literally can't go wrong with them and they're easy to build up.  They dry to a powder like finish almost immediately.  I'll be using the 'golden glow' as a highlighter and the bronze veil when and if I ever get a tan!!

I have to admit I did enjoy digging out some of the products I have had for ages and not yet used and re-discovering some old favourites.  Have you been shopping your stash recently and discovered an old favourite?

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