The Drugstore Highlighter I'm Currently Loving: NYX Bright Idea Illuminating Stick

Hello Beautiful Ones!

We're in the months now where summer is starting to fade into fall. Losing the bright summer months can get me a little down. Although I will admit I am a little excited for apple cider and boots weather (shh don't tell anyone). I plan to make that glowy summer feeling last as long as humanly possible. Also, I've been on a major highlighter kick lately. That brings us to today's review: the Nyx Bright Idea Illuminating Stick in Lavender Lust.

What's better than a good highlighter? A highlighter in stick form. Yay for easy application and portability! The NYX Bright Idea stick comes in a range of 12 colors that includes highlighters, blushes, and bronzers. As I mentioned I'm a sucker for highlighters and I also have a love for purple so I really didn't even notice any of the other shades on the display at Ulta if I'm honest. I grabbed the highlighter in the shade Lavender Lust. 

As I said, I prefer my highlighters in stick form because they are fast and easy to apply no matter where you are. I find that this one is especially easy because it's the perfect size. Not too big or too small, it's just right (seriously Goldilocks would be proud!). It also fits easily in a makeup bag or your purse for touchups. 

Now let's get to the main event: the color. This shade is just so pretty. It gives you the perfect highlight with just a touch of violet hue. The color payoff really is good here. Just a few swipes on my face and I'm good to go. It also blends extremely easily. It doesn't stay forever, but the lasting power is still good. 

The bottom line? At $8 a piece this highlighter is a great value! 100% recommend. I'm probably gonna be rocking this long into the winter in an attempt to pretend it's still summer, ha! You can find the NYX Bright Idea Illuminating Stick in drugstores or on the NYX website. 

Let me know if you've tried this, or any highlighters you're loving right now!

XO- Brittney

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Back-To-School Beauty: Bright Eyes

Hello Beautiful Ones!

It's that time of the year again when a lot of people are heading back to school (while some of us are still trying to figure out how to be a grown-up). But whether you're dragging from an all night study session or you just stayed up too late on the internet (I wouldn't know anything about that), I'm going to give you all some tips on how to make your eyes look bright and fresh even if you didn't get quite enough beauty sleep. 

Here's my toolkit: 

You can choose the brands and shades you like best for yourself but you're going to want to grab three things for bright eyes:

1. Concealer
2. Under Eye Brightener
3. White Eye Shadow (a shadow stick is the most convenient)

You'll to want to start with your concealer. Choose one that will go on smoothly and won't crease under your eyes during the day. Lately I've really been enjoying the Sephora Collection 8 Hour Wear Perfect Cover Concealer in shade 13 Light Pink Porcelain. This shade is slightly lighter than my foundation which I think adds to the brightening effect. I just smooth it over the dark circles under my eyes and then go over it with my foundation.

After I've finished the rest of my eye makeup I add my under eye brightener over the concealer and foundation. I love the Smashbox Photo Op Under Eye Brightener. Just dab a couple dots under your eye and then gently blend it in with a brush or your finger. It will just add a touch of glow that will make you look sunshine-y and awake.

Lastly I like to add a little touch of white eyeshadow to the inner corner of my eyes. This is tried and true makeup trick that will work every time. You can use just about any white eyeshadow that you want. I really like using a shadow stick because it is so easy to just grab it quickly and dab it on my eyes or throw it in my makeup bag. I've been using the NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil in the Shade 608 Cottage Cheese. This is a really pretty shimmery silver/white. Here's a color swatch:

That's it! Just three easy steps and you'll be bright eyed and fresh just ready to take on the day (well at least you'll look like it)! I hope all of you who are gearing up to hit the books again have a very sparkly new school year!

XO- Brittney

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