Review: The Balm Mary-Lou Manizer Highlighter and NUDE'tude Nude eyeshadow palette

One of the best things about moving house is having the opportunity to reorganise! I took full advantage of this, especially in de-cluttering my makeup. It has been so much fun being able to try new things from my stash!

One of the products I have really enjoyed recently is the Mory-Lou Manizer from The Balm. I have no idea how long it was hiding in the hack of a drawer, as it is by no means a new product, but I thought I would give it a chance when I cleared out some of my older highlighters.

This highlighting powder comes in a round mirrored compact. It is super soft and smooth and applies absolutely effortlessly. I would describe it as a warm champagne colour that is very reflective, but with no glitter or sparkles, just a satin sheen.

A little definitely goes a long way as the pigmentation is very good.

I use it as a highlight on my cheekbones, with a thin fan brush and a very light touch. It's also great as an eyeshadow - either an all over base lid colour, a brow or inner corner highlight.

It just adds the most amazing glow to the face and goes with most blush colours I have tried as it is neither too warm/ gold toned or silver/ cool toned. Sometimes highlighters can look a little off on very light skin like mine, but I find this one to add the perfect amount of radiance, without adding too much colour.

The Balm Mary-Lou Manizer is available from Superdrug here for £17.49.

I am also currently trying out The Balm NUDE'tude Nude eyeshadow palette (£29.99), which has a great selection of neutral, wearable eyeshadows. The texture is super smooth and they have great pigmentation. My favourite eye shadow is stand-offish - a nude, pinky toned shimmery colour that is perfect as an effortless all over lid colour!

Review: Narsissist Dual-Intensity Eyeshadow and Blush, Contour and Lip Palettes

This week I have been having a little bit of a narcissistic love affair with the new Narsissist products!

 (flash)

 

 (no flash)

The Dual-Intensity Eyeshadow Palette* is absolutely stunning. The colours are rich, pigmented and so easy to work with as they can be used both wet and dry. I have played around with them using both methods and have particularly liked using them wet over the lid for a foiled effect and then blending them out dry through the crease and under the eye to create a really intense smokey eye.

 (swatched wet and dry)

The shades include: Europa, Himalia, Ursa Major, Subra, Andromeda, Lysithea, Giove and Sycorax.

 (with flash and without flash)

The Blush, Contour and Lip Palette is the perfect compact travel companion. It has everything you need for the lips and cheeks including 3 blushes (Enrapture, Enthralled and Roman Holiday), Albatross Highlighter, Laguna Bronzer and even a mini Istria Lip Gloss.

The Dual-Intensity Eyeshadow Palette is £45 and the Blush, Contour and Lip Palette is £35. You can find both the palettes on the Nars website here.

Have you tried the new Narsissist Palettes?

PixiGlow

Pixi is a brand that I have occasionally dabbled in and always been inspired by so I was excited to be invited to the launch of their new PixiGlow collection. Petra, who is the brains (and beauty), behind the line aims to create products that are multi-tasking, flaw-fixing and youth enhancing, which sounds pretty perfect to me!

The new PixiGlow collection is inspired by Disney's Tinkerbell and is designed to capture her fresh faced, glowing, timeless beauty. As much as I love Disney (I was raised on the films OK?) I am always a little cautious of brands that dive into cartoon inspired makeup. Yes, the packaging will probably be adorable, but it's the products themselves that matter and the last thing any busy woman wants is glitter fall out! Luckily Pixi's take on Disney does not disappoint and blends cute, girly packaging with effective and versatile products.

First up is the star of the collection - The Tinker Bell Fairytale Palette (£32 here).

Described as a whole face in a case this palette features 5 eye colours, a 3 colour blush mosaic, 5 lip creams and a variety of applicators. The eyeshadows are shimmery and incredibly easy to wear, while the blush is quite sheer with a beautiful glow that warms and highlights the cheeks at once.

Magic Tink Tint (£12 here)

This soft and moisturizing lip balm comes in a crayon style dispenser. On fist application the balm is clear, but it quickly turns into a gorgeous blooming pink in a few fairy seconds as it reacts with the lips' natural pH levels, so you get a personalised tint. On the swatch below the pink is very light and delicate, but on my lips it develops into a richer tint.

Catching Shadows Crayon (£12 here)

This golden cream to powder eye crayon has a lovely shimmer and would be perfect to use for highlighting the lids, as well as sparingly on the brow bone and inner tear duct.

Straight On Till Morning Liner (£9.50 here)

This lovely mossy green liner has a waterproof & long-lasting formula that helps it to stay in place all day. The gel formula is really workable, which makes it perfect for creating a smokey eye with a subtle hint of sparkle.

Fairy Dust (£10 here)

This beautiful loose powder pigment is one of my favourite products from the collection. It's super versatile as it can be used as a shadow or a highlighter on the eyes and the face. It gives a lovely, soft golden glow, which would suit all skin tones.

Pirouette Pink (£8 here)

This pink and golden glimmer polish is chip-resistant and gives a high-gloss finish. The polish applies really evenly and the below swatch shows just one coat!

Have you checked out the new PixiGlow collection? Which are your favourite products? xxx