I don’t know about you, but this week, where I am, the weather is hitting some high temperatures. I’ve been reaching for all sorts of glow-y, brightening make up products to give myself a dewy and Summery sheen. If you follow me on Instagram, you’ll know that I’ve been away a lot this past year for university. Upon coming home, I had a sift through my makeup and was surprised to find highlighters and illuminating products galore that I had totally forgotten I owned. Not to mention, a bunch of them were once very hyped – meaning if you’re a makeup lover like myself, you probably have them hiding at the back of a drawer somewhere. In order for us to save money and waste less this year, I thought I could help you rediscover some of your old favourites!
This post contains affiliate links, meaning that I will earn a small amount of profit if you choose to purchase something through my link. It will come at no extra cost to you, though, and means that I can continue to work on my blog.
1. Hourglass ‘Ambient Lighting Powder’
For the majority of us, Hourglass products are a bit of a splurge, and so mine are well loved (very much shown by the state of the pan). My ‘Ambient Lighting Powder’ in Diffused Light was an every day product for me at one point; I would dust it on with a big fluffy brush all over my face after powdering. It creates the most beautiful subtle glow, and leaves my skin looking almost blurred. This shade is the perfect undertone for me – the yellow tinge counteracts my pink toned skin – but they have heaps of other shades on offer for anyone out there. If you own this product somewhere in your collection, get it out again! You won’t regret using it this Spring and Summer.
2. Too Faced ‘Sweethearts Bronzer’
Too Faced aren’t one of my favourite brands, yet all of my most used bronzers are made by them – I’ve actually been through almost two of their ‘Milk Chocolate Soleil’ bronzers – so I guess it’s what they do best. The ‘Sweethearts Bronzer’ in Sweet Tea received quite the cult status when it was first released, and for good reason, too. It’s really pigmented, and warms up the face with a beautiful sheen without looking orange. As a fan of matte bronzers, I pushed out of my comfort zone a little when I bought this, and it was totally the right decision to make. It’s been one of my favourite bronzers ever since, and reaching for it again in this past week has reminded me why.
I’m not entirely sure why they haven’t expanded the shade range (if this colour suits me it definitely won’t show up on a remotely deep skin tone), but the fact that you essentially receive two bronzers in one with the dual shades means you can create a more customised tone. Plus the packaging is just gorgeous. Money well spent in my opinion, as mine is going to get a lot of use for a second year in a row!
3. Milani ‘Baked Blush’
I’m not enjoying the beauty community as much as I used to any more: with products being released at the speed they are these days, things don’t stick around in the spotlight for very long. It’s just constant new things being thrown at us, and as soon as you invest in a piece of make up, everyone has moved on to something else.
When I think back to the more relaxed beauty era, though, one product that was on everyone’s radar was Milani’s ‘Baked Blush’ – specifically in the shade Luminoso. Everyone and their next door neighbour was using it to create a peachy glow throughout the warmer months. It gives such a radiant and subtle flush, for such an affordable price, is it any wonder people loved this product so much? Unfortunately, for cooler skinned people such as myself, applying this product with too heavy a hand can result in a bit of a rash appearance. I might not get so much use out of this blush this Spring, but if you have the right skin tone you should definitely dig through your collection to find it!
4. e.l.f ‘Baked Highlighter’/‘Baked Blush’
I was recently shopping for make up with a friend, and when she picked up an e.l.f highlighter to show me how pretty it was I had that (seemingly common, these days) thought: “Don’t I have one of those at home?” As it turns out, I actually have two.
The ‘Baked Blush’ in Pink Tastic and the ‘Baked Highlighter’ in Moonlight Pearls both act as highlighters. I absolutely love the glow of each of them, and I get heaps of compliments every time I wear them! As e.l.f is so cheap and accessible (you can find them at Boots and Superdrug now here in the UK), these highlighters are definitely knocking about in most make up addicts’ storage. Give them another go this Spring and let me know if you had also forgotten their beauty!
One thing to remember about these is that it’s important to scrape off the top layer. Moonlight Pearls in particular has barely any pigmentation or sheen, but once you scratch a needle or comb across the surface, it pops!
5. Sleek ‘Highlighting Palette’
Where did this product go? I feel like it disappeared as quickly as it grew in popularity. There was a timeframe where absolutely every influencer, beauty blogger, youtuber, you name it, was talking about this palette. Then, as usual, after we all bought it, it became irrelevant again. What a weird phase of consumerism I’ve been sucked into.
The shade ‘Solstice’ was recognised mainly for it’s stunning gold packaging, but the actual highlights are pretty unique as well. There’s one cream and three (rather hard, I must admit) powders which all have strong colour pay off to create a beautiful glow. I seem to recall Equinox, a pink/rose gold shade being the star of the show, followed closely by the almost neon yellow Subsolar. I used to just mix the shades up before applying them, but individually they pack a very interesting punch by adding colour as well as glow to the face. You’re bound to have this palette somewhere – it’s just a case of blowing off the dust and giving it another go this year! Another shade, Cleopatra’s Kiss, was also fairly popular I remember – just not to the same extent. Maybe it was too subtle…
These are the majority of the products you’ll see my cheekbones slathered in this Spring/Summer – what are yours? Let me know in the comments below; there’s a chance that your old favourites are lying about in my room somewhere, too. Be sure to follow my blog (the button is below this post) to keep updated on when I post, and you can also check out my Instagram if you’re interested in some other beauty related photographs. Thanks for reading!
Eve
ethicalvanity.wordpress.com 
I love the sweetheart bronzer! My favorite!
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Isn’t it gorgeous! Thanks for reading:) x
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