A Sprinkle of Fairydust | Highlighting 101

Hi everyone! 

Sunkissed skin? Who doesn't love a healthy glow on their face.. whether it be au natural or by faking it!? My recent love for beautiful glowing skin has me writing this post about highlighting the face. There are some great products on the market that can achieve this healthy sunkissed look but I will be looking at two of my favourite high street highlighters today, since they're both readily available and not too expensive.. everyone can achieve that radiant glow. 

So if your new to highlighting and don't really know what to do or how to achieve it.. It's basically a technique used to create a youthful, dewy complexion. A good highlighter can accentuate your favourite features, mask ageing skin and even minimize dark circles. There are quite a few different types of highlighters available from liquid to cream to powder and they also come in a range of shades, so there's always one to match your skintone whether its a golden glow your after or just a simple shimmer.

Knowing where to apply the highlight is the most important part. You want to place the product on areas of the face where the sun would hit.. tops of the cheekbones, down the centre of the nose, under the brow and even a tiny bit above your cupids bow on your lips to give the illusion of a bigger pout. 

This technique, together with contouring can accentuate your best features and really frame the face. 

There are two great products I use, both powder highlighters which I love and use on a daily basis. The first one is by Boots brand 17. Some bloggers have compared this product to the Bobbi Brown Shimmer Brick, to which it looks very similar. 'Instant Glow gold bronze shimmer brick' is a beautiful golden bronze powder which contains 4 different shades. When swept across the tops of cheekbones this immediately gives you such a healthy looking sunkissed glow. Together with a tan or even applied on top of fake tan this product gives your skin an instant pick me up. 

I personally like to wear this product on holidays or on a night out. Although it is a powder product, it does feel quite creamy in texture and isn't too chalky. It applies very well to the cheeks when used with a big fluffy brush.

The second highlighter I like to use for more day to day use, is by German cosmetics company Catrice. This highlighting powder by their 'Prime and Fine' range is equally as pretty. I have the shade '010 Fairy Dust' which is a beautiful dusky pink shimmer. It has reflects of gold in it which are very slight but help in giving this highlighter its subtle, yet pretty shimmer.

I like to wear this highlighter on a more day to day basis. When the sun reflects onto your face it gives it a lovely radiant shine. It also photographs really well. Although it is equally as pigmented as the 17 one, I feel its slightly more sheer on my skintone. I like to layer one or two dustings on the tops of my cheekbones.. Its great for layering to achieve just the right amount of highlight, making sure you don't look like someone from the movie Twlight! 

I personally love contouring and highlighting as it really helps in achieving that flawless complexion. Both the 17 Shimmer Brick and the Catrice Prime and Fine products were less than €7 and can be found in your local Boots and Penneys/Primark! 

What are your thoughts on highlighting?