Along with nose contouring, baking without looking like a reverse raccoon and trying out the faux freckle trend, adding a little sparkle to your everyday makeup can be pretty daunting. However done right, by picking the correct products along with colours that suit your skin tone, shimmer can add a stunning radiance to your look while bringing a little glamour to your makeup routine - especially come Monday morning!
While I believe less is more I still love to incorporate shimmery beauty products into my daily makeup routine; from golden gilded lids to highlighted cheekbones and even a touch of shimmer on the lips.
Since I love adding a little shimmer to my own makeup routine, I thought a roundup was in order with some truly wonderful products that can be used both day and night and will never fail to feel special. From an exquisitely beautiful limited edition highlighter to a must-have gilded eyeshadow quad along with something for the nails. You may just want to start writing your Christmas wish list extra early after reading this post!
EYES
When thinking about adding shimmer into your everyday makeup, especially daytime makeup, the eyes are the safest place to start. For the perfect quartet of shimmer shades that can create a wide range of eye looks I can't recommend Charlotte Tilbury Luxury Palette - The Dolce Vita (£39 from Cult Beauty) more highly. Not only is Charlotte Tilbury a flawless makeup brand, which I love to splurge on, but this specific quad is one of their best-selling products and for good reason.
Whether you are fairly new to a sparkly smokey eye or you're a pro with a collection of eyeshadow palettes this is a compact that caters for both and one worth seriously considering adding to your makeup bag. From the simplistic 4-step guide of Prime - Enhance, Pop, Smoke to the velvet-soft pigmented eyeshadows this won't fail to add a little glamour into your makeup routine without going overboard. With all four shades adding a level of shimmer to the eyes and suiting all eye colours and skin tones this really is a fool-proof palette, however the two high shimmer shades (top & bottom left pans) are without a doubt my favourite as these emollient based shimmers adhere to the lids amazingly well for maximum colour pay off, staying put all day without creasing or spreading glitter all over the face!
Shimmer based eyeshadow palettes are nothing new but this is truly a game changer worth treating yourself to!
FACE
Next onto the cheeks, or should that be cheekbones, where highlighter will add an instant glow to the face while enhancing your natural bone structure. However with the help of a fan brush highlighter can be applied to the high point of the face without looking like a disco ball, with a touch of shimmer over the Cupid's bow to highlight the lips, a dash on the brow bones and not forgetting the inner corners of the eyes for an ultra pretty and eye-opening effect.
Although highlighting the face is pretty plain sailing, for the most part, you may need to consider your skin tone and what shimmer tones suit you best and also your skin type opting for a liquid highlight over a powder if you are prone to dry skin for a more natural looking finish. That said I personally love highlighters in all forms with the two below being total opposites but newly treasured items within my collection.
First up, possibly a highlighter addicts dream! Meet the extra special Becca Limited Edition Champagne Pop Shimmering Skin Perfector (£32) - a universally flattering apricot-gold powder for the best glow of your life.
Not only is this champagne bottle embossed gold-compact highlighter the same price as the standard Becca Shimmering Skin Perfector range (which is frankly amazing!) but it is limited edition making it extra covet-worthy. Amazing packaging aside, this is also one stunning highlighter that I truly believe suits all skin tones with its light-catching almost neutral golden hues that flatters the face wherever you decide to apply it. The formula is also nothing like I've tried before, in a good way, with the lightest butter smooth feel that glides over the skin and feels like it's not there, perfect for use with a fan brush or even press on the skin and blended with your fingertips. This is also a highlighter that keeps on giving as it even makes for a perfect light gold eyeshadow with a light wash over the lids for an instant eye-brightening effect - I really couldn't ask for more!
Without a glitter particle in sight, this is fast becoming my ultimate highlighter - something I don't say lightly!
Staying with highlighters but with a change of formula I also wanted to mention one of Charlotte Tilbury's newer products; Hollywood Beauty Light Wand (£29.00) which was released along with an interesting looking liquid contour wand, which I'm not sure if I'd brave - I'm more or a subtle bronzer kinda' girl.
However, a liquid highlighter in this style of packaging with a sponge applicator appealed to me! I guess because it seems a like much more controlled product in comparison to the current trend of liquid dropper style highlighter from the likes of Cover FX and Iconic London. And thankfully I was correct! This squeezy tube not only can offer quite an intense strobing effect to the cheekbones but also a hint of a glow. The sponge applicator also helps with blending and a natural application, however, I recommend always going in with your fingertip to blending out the product fully. As for the finish, this is without a doubt a dewy looking highlighter that picks up the light exceptionally well and would be perfect for anyone with dull or dry skin, however, it will work with all skin types as it soaks into the skin without a tacky finish/feel.
A wonderful spotlight highlighter that really does enhance the high points of the face and yet another Charlotte Tilbury product I adore. Side note - Let me know if you would like a Charlotte Tilbury makeup collection post as I have quite the stash forming!
LIPS
Lastly, for shimmer within a makeup routine is lips, possibly the easy way of getting shimmer wrong, either looking like you are off to a school disco for the first time or trying and failing to re-invent a 90's-esque makeup look.
The reason for this is simply due to a lack of good lip products in this formula - I guess because it's hard to get right! However, if you do manage to find a shimmery lip product it may be wise to proceed with caution, applying just a dab to the middle of the lip and blending out with a fingertip. That said you could always go down the metallic liquid lipstick route with some nice offerings from Too Faced. However, they personally don't appeal to me so I tracked down a product that may be up to the job to add some serious shimmer to the lips without looking old school!
Meet Jouer Long-Wear Lip Topper in Skinny Dip (£13.50)! A weightless, non-sticky lip lustre perfect for applying to naked lips or worn over your favourite lipstick shades for a hint of iridescent shimmer.
For me, this has been a total discovery as I simply didn't think something like this existed until I came across it! From the smooth non-tacky comfortable formula to the vanilla, almost cake-like, scent and of course the stunning finishing this really is everything I wanted and more. Applied over naked lips just a touch is an enough to smudge into the lips so they don't look frosty but emphasised and a little fuller. However applied over other lip products is when this lip topper comes to life, enhancing so many shades and adding a new dimension to your entire lip collection.
Although this is essentially a packed shimmer lip gloss type product, albeit the normal annoying tacky texture and glossy finish, I really believe this is a steal at only £13.50 as it's just so versatile and one product that is certainly giving me festive vibes right now... although I know I will be extending it past the holiday season and wearing it over my favourite nude lipstick shades all year round.
NAILS
As we are talking shimmer I couldn't leave out nails as I have an abundance of shimmery nail polishes, I'm talking 50+, and would wear them daily if they weren't so time-consuming to remove!
Adding shimmer to the nails is pretty simple, whether you go for a straight up shimmer shade, prefer a shimmer/glitter top coat over a base colour or enhance a manicure with a shimmery accent nail, your nails are bound to look extra pretty. I personally tend to opt for all shimmer shades is a duo chrome finish as they never fail to impress me as they lean different colours as they catch the light and simply look more unique and special to me.
Below I have just the duo that incorporates my love of duo chrome nail polish with a sprinkle of unicorn...
Can we just take a moment to swoon over these two gorgeous nail polishes? They are simply magical, right? Nails Inc Sparkle Like A Unicorn (£15 for the set) features two absolutely stunning nail polishes that really do add something mystical to the nails.
This set when first released instantly went out of stock on multiple websites as everyone wanted unicorn nails and although I missed them the first time around I'm so glad to have these two extra special shades now in my life. First up in the set is my favourite, a liquid rose gold, featuring glimmering golden glitter suspended in dusty pink polish called 'Dream Dust'. As you can (below) this has a duo chrome look to it, appearing more gold or sometimes more pink as the light hits it. This so far hasn't left my nails however it is a stubborn nail polish to remove so it may be one to use on an accent nail, I always like to pick my ring fingers on each hand, so that you can't have to deal with removal. The other shade which couldn't be more 'unicorn' if it tried is 'Rainbow Wishes' an iridescent violet-aquamarine colour that applies with ease and almost gives the nails a glowing effect! Another special nail polish I know I will treasure within my hefty nail polish collection.
As Nail Inc nail polishes generally retail for around £11 each I really think this is such an affordable set that is much more special than other Nails Inc shades. It's also a set that would make a perfect little gift especially this Christmas - yes, I'm in a slightly festive spirit already!
I'm not gonna' lie... that was a lot of shimmer!
Let me know how you like to add shimmer to your everyday makeup and what tones suit you best. I think for my pale skin anything champagne toned is just perfect!
Fee xo.
