theBalm Mary-Lou Manizer Swatches and Review

Hi Everyone!
Hope you all are well :)

My first product from theBalm was the Mary-Lou Manizer and I have built up quite the collection since that purchase. I can't remember if it was in 2013 or 2014 that Mary-Lou took the YouTube and Blogging worlds by storm, all I do know is that I couldn't read a blog post or click into a beauty video without someone mentioning the product in some shape or form. From previous posts on products that have been hyped into oblivion you will know that I don't purchase these particular products straight away. I finally did decide to purchase Mary-Lou though, probably around a year after the product first came to light (heh heh heh). I was hoping that despite all of the buzz around the product that I wouldn't be disappointed, I had very very high expectations!

Aside from hype, what initially lured me into theBalm's products was their funky packaging. The retro theme reminded me of Benefits style of packaging or even Soap and Glory's now that I think of it. It's cute, fun, and very well designed.

You get a huge amount of product in the pan, 8.5grams to be exact and you only need the smallest amount of product on your brush to get the job done. For both of those reasons I thought I would never have to repurchase this highlighter, I just couldn't imagine finishing it! The packaging itself feels like good quality. It's nice and sturdy and the lid makes a click noise when closing so you will know when the lid is closed down properly. There is also a big mirror in the compact making it convenient for travelling purposes.

The highlighter is finally milled and the texture is buttery smooth, I love how easily the product blends out. It doesn't matter if I use my fingers or a brush to apply the product I always get a flawless sheen to my skin. If you want a hardcore highlight well then this is the product for you. It is a soft champagne shade that when applied gives a gorgeous golden sheen to the skin. I'd definitely say this particular highlighter is suitable for all skin tones. However, if you aren't keen on the hue this highlighter gives, there are two other shades in the range to choose from.

Does it live up to the hype? I'll admit yes it does, 1000%. This to me is definitely a holy grail product. If you haven't tried Mary-Lou and you are looking for a highly pigmented highlighter that give a gorgeous sheen without being chunky and overly glittery well then Mary-Lou is the gal for you!

I like to dust the highlighter mainly along the tops of my cheekbones, on the tip of my nose, underneath the arch of my brow and sometimes to cupids bow. Mary-Lou is the kind of highlighter that is so strong in pigment yet you will only see it gleam on the skin when the light hits it. You can see from the photos below just how glorious it is, I'm obsessed!

The only problem I had with this product was that it shattered in the pan. I didn't drop the highlighter or let it bang off a surface. After about a month of using Mary-Lou it just cracked in the pan. I haven't heard anyone else talking about this problem so I'm not sure if I was just a bit unlucky but it was annoying. I probably would have had my Mary-Lou for life if that hadn't of happened because there is just so much product in the pan haha! When mine shattered I ended up losing a lot of the product every time I opened and closed the lid, it was all just a bit too messy so I repurchased.

Aside from that blip though I'm still thrilled with my purchase and can't sing the products praises enough. It will set you back €20.50 and is available online from Cloud10Beauty.com here, or the Make Up For Ever store on Clarendon St in Dublin are now stocking theBalm so worth checking out if you are in town!

Until next time :)

Eimear x

Inglot Face & Body Sparkling Dust '02'

Hey Everyone!

Hope you all are well :)

I have been posting makeup tutorials on YouTube since July 2011 and I took up blogging not too long after that. I think by now most of you will have come to the conclusion that I am a massive Inglot fanatic, and, well..I am.

It was the first makeup brand that I had tried out that wasn't from the 'drugstore'. My love for the brand, along with my collection has only ever grown since! Up until the last year or so I had only ever bought the eyeshadows in Inglot using their freedom system. After building various sized eyeshadow palettes I decided to branch out and try some of their other products. 

 I wasn't disappointed :)

My most recent purchase has been their sparkling dust powder which I think will be much loved by all this Summer. The sparkling dusts come in three shades '01', '02' and '03'..pretty straight forward like the rest of the Inglot range. Their products are labelled by number opposed to by names.

I went into the Inglot in Dundrum with the intention of buying the first shade of the sparkling dust. After seeing swatches online I figured this shade would suit my skin tone the best. Unfortunately they couldn't find the tester so I couldn't try it out for myself on the day. I decided not to take a chance on it and I purchased shade '02' instead, which I will keep to use for when I am wearing fake tan.

The packaging is simple and classic, nothing overly fancy! I really like how the bottom of it is clear so you can see the product inside. It makes it so handy to easily pick out the product if you have your makeup stored in drawers.

When you twist the top off you will see that there is a makeup poof inside. Its a nice touch which would be handy for travel purposes but I never really use the powder poofs that come with products. I would be more so inclined to use it if it came with a face powder, but not with a highlighter it gets a little messy application wise.

I was relieved to see that the product comes in a 'shaker style' pot otherwise I probably would have lost half of the product before I even used it. The Inglot face powder just comes with a twist off top so I was assuming it would be like that. Thankfully it wasn't, you have no idea how much face powder I have wasted through stupidity and overall clumsiness. Probably the most disastrous event that resulted in me purchasing a new face powder was when I decided to blow-dry my hair, forgetting I had left the powder on my dresser with the lid off. Imagine a sandstorm…replace sand with powder. 

Yep, thats how things went down.

The sparkling dust is labelled as a multi use product, for use on the face, body and eyes. The sparkling dust is a highly pigmented highlighting powder as you can see from the picture above! It looks gorgeous applied to the high points of the face such as the tops of the cheek bones, down the centre of the nose and to the tip of the cupids bow. It gives such a gorgeous healthy golden glow to the skin. As it is so pigmented its really easy to go over board, so pick up a little product at a time and use a light hand.

I have also used it on the eyes as a loose pigment to give a subtle shimmer to the eyes. For a more intense eye makeup look try mixing it with Inglots duraline, the combination is a match made in heaven!

I even tried mixing a little in with my foundation to give my skin a dewy glow, which is a preferred way by most when wearing foundation coming into the Summer. That look is personally not for me, i'll forever be rocking the matte look for life haha! 

The product retails at €18 and if you hold an Inglot pro card it'll be cheaper again. Overall not a bad price in my opinion for the product. Its multi use and a little goes on a long way. I can't fault it!

What are your favourite highlighters?

I'm still on the hunt for the perfect face highlighter!

Eimear x