{ Review + Swatches } Makeup Geek Highlighters

One of my favourite brands, Makeup Geek have finally released their line of highlighters a few months ago. I was super excited to try them out and ended up purchasing their "Porcelain" and "Fair" highlighter bundles, consisting of 3 shades per bundle, and then an extra duochrome highlighter in "Electrify".

The highlighters come in a square gunmetal compact and although very prone to fingerprints, they are nicely weighted and very durable. Each compact is also accompanied with a nicely sized mirror.

There are currently 13 shades, each retailing for $20USD. 7 of the them are available in their "signature" shades and the remaining 6 highlighters have a duochrome finish. Makeup Geek do offer their highlighters in bundles of 3 to purchase. Each bundle are categorized by skin tones, "Porcelain", "Fair', "Medium" and "Deep" and are priced at $48USD per bundle which is a fantastic deal.

The "Porcelain" highlighter bundle consists of the shades, Glitz (Icy pink with a reflective luminous finish), Celestial (Translucent base with icy violet duochrome reflects and luminous finish) and Moon Phase (Translucent base with icy blue and purple duochrome reflects and luminous finish).

"Porcelain" highlighter bundle - Celestial, Glitz, Moon Phase

 L-R: Moon Phase, Celestial, Glitz

The "Fair" bundle consists of the shades, Luster (Rosy tan with a reflective and luminous finish), Midnight Sun (Soft champagne with a reflective, luminous finish) and Lit (Translucent base with peachy-pink duochrome reflects and luminous finish). I also purchased an extra highlighter in the shade Electrify which is described as a butter yellow duochrome reflects and luminous finish.

"Fair" highlighter bundle - Lit, Midnight Sun, Luster

 Electrify highlighter

L-R: Lit, Midnight Sun, Luster, Electrify

Makeup Geek did not disappointed me with their highlighters. They are all extremely buttery and provide such as gorgeous lit from within look when applied. On first impression when looking at the pan, some shades look too dark to be highlighters but when swatched and applied they transform into such wearable shades. They can all be applied with a light hand for a natural glowy look or layered on for more of an intense highlight. I also love using them on my eyes, either as a lid shade or on the inner corners.

L-R: Electrify, Luster, Lit, Midnight Sun, Glitz, Celestial, Moon Phase

I really commend them for achieving a flawless formulation and it's amazing how they've considered a variety of skin tones. Looking forward to see them expand their highlighter collection!

xo Laura

{ Review + Swatches } Rimmel Apocalips Lip Lacquers

I purchased these lip lacquers during Priceline's previous 40% off makeup sale. I really wanted to try these out after seeing Chloe Morello's swatches on her instagram page. They looked so opaque and the colour selection really drew my attention.

I picked up 5 of the lip lacquers, 'Phenomenon' (a peachy nude), 'Apocaliptic' (a hot fuchsia pink), 'Celestial' (a medium mauvey pink), 'Nude Eclipse' (brown-based nude) and 'Nova' (a medium rosy pink). All of the shades I picked up contain no shimmer or glitter. 

L-R: Phenomenon, Apocaliptic, Celestial, Nude Eclipse, Nova

Just starting off with the packaging, these lip lacquers are contained in a plastic 'lipgloss-like' container. What I like about the packaging is that the colour you see on the bottom half of the tube is the exact same colour of the lip lacquer itself. The applicator is also something very unique and different to what I've seen before. It's not like a regular doe-foot applicator. As you can see from the photos below, the applicator has a slight indentation or dip in the centre where it holds more product. This means that it allows you to apply the product on your lips without having to keep going back in the tube to get more. I feel there is enough product sitting on the applicator to produce an opaque finish on the lips. Just remember to wipe off any excess product when you take the applicator out of the tube or else you will have too much product on your lips!!

 

Next, I want to talk about the formulation itself. Don't mistake this for a lipgloss because it's not. It doesn't have that sticky feeling or thick goopy consistency that most lipglosses have which is a plus for me. It's more of a liquid lipstick hence they've named it lip lacquers. The product applies really easily, smoothly and provides such a nice opaque and pigmented finish. Once applied and settles on the lips, it feels very soft and creamy. Not drying at all. The only downside would probably be that it's not very long lasting. It probably lasts for a few hours and requires touching up after food/drinks (especially for the nudes and lighter colours). I generally like using the product on its own or sometimes on top of regular lipsticks to provide a more glossy finish. 

There is a slight faint scent to these lip lacquers. I've been having trouble pin pointing what it exactly smells like but to me there's a slight smell of watermelons. Like very diluted down watermelons (??). It actually reminds me of this drink from Boost Juice called Watermelon Crush or something. Personally the scent doesn't really bother me. It fades away over time once applied on the lips anyway.

L-R: Phenomenon, Apocaliptic, Celestial, Nude Eclipse, Nova

I just really love the applicator and the colour pay-off of these lip lacquers. It took me one to two swipes to produce those swatches above. I really want to get my hands on 'Big Bang' which is their awesome red shade but couldn't find it during the sales :(

Pros:

• The applicator!!!
• No sticky and thick feeling on the lips
• Has a smooth creamy texture and applies very easily
• Very opaque finish
• Decent price (I don't remember how much I paid them for but it was a great deal with the 40% off discount!)
• Design of the tube

Cons:

• Not very long lasting
• Not a huge colour selection (There are 13 available shades stated on the Rimmel website but there were definitely less available in Priceline)

xo Laura

* Disclaimer: This is a non-sponsored post and I am in no way affiliated with Rimmel London. The products mentioned were purchased with my own money and as always my reviews are 100% my honest opinion. *