Highlighters for Fair Skin

So, when I say I'm "fair," what I mean is I'm pale. Very pale. Having to mix white pigment into most foundations in order to make them work.

This post was inspired by an Instagram back and forth between one of the beautiful women I follow @cherryvixen89 and myself, where she posted a question asking about highlighters for the fairer flesh. And I proceeded to probably overwhelm her with my response, but hopefully it wasn't too overwhelming. 

I love highlighters. Since I've been employed with Benefit Cosmetics for almost three years now, this affinity has just grown. I came into this job with my favorite product, ever, being a pretty little highlighter called High Beam. So in honor  of Instagram and @cherryvixen89 and highlighter lovers everywhere, here is a post about my favorites!

On my arm(left side, with flash, right side without, and going left to right/top to bottom) I swarched Nars "Copacabana," Benefit Cosmetics "High Beam," also by Benefit (and a tie for my absolute favorite,) "Watts Up" (other tie for favorite,) Too Faced's "Candlelight Glow," one of my very first pieces of makeup ever, MAC mineralized skin finish in "Porcelain Pink," and last but not least, a forever favorite and now discontinued high-lighter, bronzer duo by Benefit "10." (Also pictured is Benefit's "One Hot Minute" loose powder bronzer)

Creamy liquid base:

Nars "Copacabana" is very similar in both texture and color to Benefit's "High Beam." Copacabana is a bit more of a liquid and High Beam a bit more of a gel with a slightly thicker texture. Both are great when you need a buffer to blend a cheek stain, my current favorite being Lollitint, into. Copacabana definitely dries more silver and High Beam more pink. 

Cream-to-powder:

Watts Up by Benefit. Cream to powder stick. A soft champagne color. Gorgeous on almost all skintones, so easy to use. Has a blendy sponge on one side if you don't feel like blending with your fingers, because that's crazy... 

Powder:

Generally, when I'm doing a full face of makeup on someone and I want to add a bit of highlight, I find powder to be the easiest to work with. You just sorta throw it on le face with a brush and you don't have to really worry about the application. Whereas with a more liquid base, you sorta have to press it on so as not to smudge off the face you just made. 

Anyway!

Two Faced, "candlelight glow" is radiant. It has a bit of a gold finish, one side is white and one side is pink, but it is nowhere near to a rosey blush. This was basically everything I was looking for. I wanted a damn powder highlighter that didn't have a bronzer attached. 

"Porcelain Pink" skinfinish by MAC was honestly one of the first makeup purchased I ever made, outside of lipsticks. I was led to this product, about ten years ago (yikes) by someone I ghost-followed on livejournal, who is still one of my favorite bloggers Keiko, who I still stalk, ten years later, on http://www.keikolynn.com if you aren't already following her, I suggest it. She's pretty famous now, but still sweet and humble. Anyway! I think the product she used was called "petticoat"(maybe?) and as I've always been more of a highlighter gal than a bronzey gal, I gravitated towards porcelain pink instead. Now, she is very very subtle, a very very soft pink that is a wonderful first piece of face makeup! It definitely has a warmer tone to it, in my professional opinion. 

And last but not least, Benefit Cosmetic's now discontinued "10." Powder soft silvery pink on one side, and a VERY VERY light bronzer on the other. To quote Benefit, "a highlighter and bronzer in one sexy swoop!" 

Next on my blog to do list is a post on bronzers and how to contour fairer skin without looking dirty! However I always just want to find a bronzer that is grey so that I may have Lilly Munster cheekbones! 

Sister Turquoisehair

So, I'm ever so sorry that I haven't been keeping up with this blog. I'd like to say that I've been busy, but it really doesn't seem like I have. Just a whole lotta bad things, mixed with a whole lotta good things. Not a lot of in between time, and if there is, you bet your buttons you would find me napping.

All that aside, I'm here to discuss Benefit Cosmetic's new line of eyeshadows and a little more of my makeup routine, and just briefly how I've found THE ONE in regards to lipstains.

So in these photos I am wearing two of Benefit's new cream shadows: "blue my mind" and "holy smokes" and on top I am using their "magic ink" liner, which I've oddly grown very fond of. As for mascara I'm still using that leopard print one. My brows are done with Benefit's "browzings" which is my second favorite Benefit product and the one product I could probably not live without..




For my complexion I'm wearing my face armor. LORAC full coverage liquid foundation and MAC's full coverage studio fix powder.

An aside... Although my breakouts have become under control, my face is now red and blotchy from scars :( for that, I spent a million dollars on this product by Dr. Gross that has retinol in it. Which I am very pleased to say is working wonders.

As for cheeks, I've fallen in love with a product called "candlelight glow" by Two Faced. This is really something I've been looking for for a long time. A powder highlighter and blush duo. Most makeup people know that generally ALL highlighters seem to come equipped with a bronzer. And, frankly, that ain't what I want. Unless the bronzer is whatever contour Lilly Munster uses. So to find a powder highlighter of this nature has pleased me greatly. And the blush side is still mostly just a different shade of highlighter. On top of that, I throw on some Super Orgasm.

The lips are Firm Form by MAC. And NYX eyeliner used as a lipliner. I swoon over these lips.

Oh and yes, my hair is currently turquoise. And the cut (I was aiming for a blue Louise Brooks) done by my lovely friend Kris. She nailed it.

Oh and the cream lipstain that is... The one... Is the Lip Maestro by Armani..  Expect me to eventually post something entirely on how awesome that is.

My little family, my slight obsession

In San Francisco, my little family is basically me and my cat. And my twinfriend, Ashley

My cat, Smudge Dylan, son of Bob Dylan (other known aliases: smudgecat, smudgeflake, the smudge, catface, king of the catsle, smudgeling) has seen me at my worst and my best. He is a furry princess, and the most important thing to me.

And because I yam who I yam, I figured this first official post should be about two of my favorite things: my cat, and Marilyn Monroe, and lipstick. okaymaybethatwasthree

So maybe everyone knows this now, but MAC cosmetics is coming out with a Marilyn Monroe line on October fourth, one day after my birthday, and I am way too excited.

I will most definitely be posting reviews about the many things I will be buying, but right now is the moment--if you didn't already know-- you can just take a moment with me and let out a girlish squeal ! The packaging alone makes me swoon and I don't care if all of the products are the same as something they already have, I just can't.even.

This post isn't really exciting if you already knew about this (and if you know me at all you probably did) but just a friendly reminder that you should probably be getting me a giftcard to MAC for my birthday :)

Finally the topic of lipstick. I am a junky. My favorite brands right now for lipsticks are Limecrime and MAC. Now, I am a makeup artist and I do work for a certain makeup company, but it isn't MAC, so I'm not particularly biased. Sortof. Favorite colors right now: Limecrime's Retrofuturist (a true red) and Chinchilla (a greyish purpley nude.) At the top of my MAC list right now is Rocker, because they briefly brought it back to life (I missed out on Moxie andd Candy Yum Yum :( ) and always in rotation are Russian Red and Ruby Woo. When it comes down to it, I am a red lipstick gal through and through. But occasionally I switch it up, sometimes I just reach into my purse and whatever I grab first is whatever I will wear that day. I'm not very good at planning ahead, but I am impressively good at working on the spot. Or on the run.