Brighten Up Your Skin

Having tried and found Benefit's lip and cheek stain Benetint too dark for my skin tone, I was really intrigued about using their complexion highlighter - High Beam.

I'd heard a lot of good things about High Beam before I purchased the product for myself and many times I discovered that friends had rushed out to buy the latest edition of a magazine, as it came as the free sample.

Once I tried High Beam, I could see exactly why everyone had been raving about it for so long, it was subtle yet effective and gave my skin a dewy, healthy glow.

It is designed to be worn over your usual make-up, in order to accent your cheek and brow bones, whilst enhancing your complexion, giving it a natural, glimmering finish.

In order to apply High Beam, carefully dot it along your cheek and brow lines and gently blend it with your existing make-up.

With this product I find that less is more, as if you use too much, it can detract from the make-up underneath. High Beam is a wonderful finishing product and ensures that your skin looks healthy and lustrous.

If you prefer a darker highlighter or want to add more of a golden sunkissed shimmer to your complexion, Benefit have also created the highlighters Sun Beam and Moon Beam.

To Tint Or Not To Tint?

I know that Benefit Benetint is a favourite product for many out there, but I haven’t really felt it’s lived up to expectations...

Personally, I think that there are lots of other products on the market that do a better job than Benetint; but then again that’s just me.

As a lip and cheek stain, it’s designed to give your cheeks a gorgeous glow and a your lips a warm tinge. I must admit, it worked far better on my lips than it did on my cheeks.

In order to use this product on your cheeks, you are told to draw three small stripes onto the apples of your cheeks and blend in circular motions with your fingertips.

After trying this for myself, I found that it made my skin look blotchy and uneven; far from the effect that I was going for. In my opinion, powder or pressed blush are much better products to use in order to get rosy, glowing cheeks.

For lips, the effect is slightly different. I have tried using Benetint in two different ways and one certainly worked better than the other.

Firstly I tried using Benetint on its own. I found that initially it gave me a nice, warm, even colour; however, it wore off extremely quickly, quicker than any lipstick or lip stain I’ve ever used.

Secondly I tried it under lip gloss. This worked extremely well and I’d recommend it to anyone who wants to try Benetint for themselves.

Unfortunately, as you may have read in one of my previous blogs, I don’t really like wearing lip gloss. So while it’s fine round the house, I wouldn't want to use this method when venturing outside (especially in windy weather!).

There is a third way to use Benetint on your lips, (which I haven’t tried yet) and that is to use it underneath lipstick. Therefore, when your lipstick wears off, you’ll still have a lovely, warm colour left on your lips.

I think that the third way is probably the best idea, and would be a great way to always have beautifully coloured lips.

However, I have come to the conclusion that Benetint is not an ideal product for me and I very doubt that it will ever feature on my must have list!

If you have a different opinion on Benefit Benetint, feel free to comment below. I’d love to hear your views!

Colour In Your Lips

I was fascinated when I discovered the existence of this product. Such a simple and inventive idea, I wanted one as soon as I saw them.

This product - Revlon Just Bitten, is a new type of lip colour. It's totally different to the look and feel of a lipstick, but it ultimately gives you the same end result...beautiful coloured lips.

It's designed exactly like a felt pen. You colour in your lips with the pen, as you would colour a picture with a felt pen, (keeping in the lines of course!).

Similar to the BarryM lipstick I wrote about in my first blog, it stains your lips with colour, for a long lasting look. Great for a day at work or a party, when you don't have time or want to keep reapplying your lipstick.

Also, it will not smudge or streak, which is a clear advantage over a normal lipstick.

Another great thing about this product is that it comes with a stick of lip balm at the other end of the pen, which keep your lips feeling supple and shiny.

If your lips are feeling dry at any point whilst wearing the lipstain, just put a bit of the balm on and they will feel as good as the first time you applied it.

Revlon Just Bitten comes in ten different shades, meaning that there's a colour to suit everyone.

Just remember to put the lid back on properly so it doesn't dry out, as we all know how annoying it is when that's happened to our favourite felt pen in the past!

Lipstick Lover

One can never have too many lipsticks...can they?!

Having finally caved and admitted to being lipstick obsessed, I thought it best for lipsticks to be the first product mentioned in my new beauty blog.

Coming in all different shades, with so many brands on the market is it a wonder that I have gone lipstick mad!

As shown in the photo above, a lipstick can even come in green...

This unusual product is a fantastic invention by BarryM, which turns a different colour depending on your skin's pH level.

Mine happens to turn bright pink and that suits me just fine, as at the moment the brighter and bolder the lipstick the better!

The only slight problem with this lipstick is that it is a lip stain...so be very careful where you put it or you'll have real trouble getting it off again! Then again, on a more positive note, you'll have beautiful (possibly bright pink) lips for hours and hours.