I heard many great things about the Benefit Watts Up highlighter, so I decided to buy it on Boxing Day (aka my birthday!). I am currently on a highlighter obsession and can’t get enough. Although, I try to limit my usage to 2x a week or less because my skin breaks out really easily once I start using foundation. I usually just wear it for a few hours on the weekend when I’m doing errands or meeting up with friends.
The Benefit Watts Up highlighter comes in a plastic stick packaging. On the other end, there is a small rounded foam brush which I have yet to use. It is packaged nicely and feels pretty sturdy. There is a small plastic covering under the main lid to further protect the highlighter.
Because of its simple yet durable packaging, this is a great product to bring while travelling or just in your purse. As mentioned above, it comes with a small and dense foam brush but I’ve mostly just blended this with my fingers.
What Sephora says: Benefit’s bestselling highlighter turns up the wattage with a delicate, champagne glow and soft-focus effect. Its smooth application and luminous sheen switches on the “wow” factor for any complexion. Apply it to cheeks and browbones, then then sculpt the complexion with the soft-glow blender to achieve the perfect gleam.
Application: Application for the highlighter is tremendously easy, and super friendly for beginners! To use, you just twist the stick so the highlighter comes out, and drag it lightly on your cheeks/nose/wherever you want to highlight.
It is quite pigmented so you don’t need to use much, but I always drag it along my cheek 3-4 times for maximum highlight ;). You do have to drag it across your cheek slowly though, because it is more on the heavier side.
Wear: The highlighter sits nicely on top of my foundation and does not move around, nor does it have any fallout. It is a cream highlighter, so I found it a bit heavier than my powder highlighter but that’s a given. Cream beauty products are always thicker than powder beauty products.
When I want an extra poppin’ highlight and layer more, it does feel slightly heavy and not as comfortable.
Here is a picture taken from my Instagram (@curiouslycarmen) story. This is with about 2 layers of the highlighter, and you can definitely see how bright it is! Just the way I like it!
I really do like the Benefit Watts Up highlighter. It gives a beautiful champagne glow that can be subtle, or glammed up depending on your preference. It is super buildable despite feeling a bit heavy and sticky if you apply lots of it.
Currently, there is only one shade which is called ‘Radiant Finish’. I would describe it as a cool toned pinkish/white shade, which is not intimidating at all if you’re just beginning. I think this is a very versatile shade and would look good on a variety of skin tones.
Yay!
Product purchased by myself. Opinions are own.
Many of LUSH’s face masks are fresh face masks, which means they need to be used in under 2 weeks and kept in the fridge all the time. I’m not the type of person to finish a product in 2 weeks, which is why I went with the Mask of Magnaminty (was having a hard time deciding between this or Cosmetic Warrior, which is also good).
The texture of the mask is pretty thick and reminds me of thick oatmeal. As with all LUSH products, the ingredients are almost all natural and you can pronounce them. I always feel really good ethically when using LUSH products because they have an awesome working culture/environment and just overall really great company policies/practices.
Another thing I love about this mask is the scent. As the name suggests, it has a clean, fresh and minty smell. After using this, my skin feels instantly refreshed and soft. It’s weird how it also improves my mood temporarily, but I guess facials/relaxing beauty routines do have that effect on us beauty lovers!
In September, I attended the Estee Lauder media preview and was exposed to many different Estee Lauder foundations. There was also a super pretty foundation bar that showcased many of their foundations!
What it says (Taken from Sephora):
Application: I was a bit wary of the bottle packaging ever since trying the Covergirl Clean Foundation, which also comes in a glass jar.
Wear: Throughout the day, I was expecting the foundation to smudge off. But, I was really surprised at how flawless it was even after 7-8 hours! It did not require a touch up, and my skin gets pretty oily. I removed the foundation at night after ten hours of wear, and it still looked pretty good!
I love trying to explain beauty products in simpler terms here on my blog. The term ‘Castanea Arcadia’ is very fancy sounding, isn’t it? I have to admit I didn’t know what either of those two words meant until I started writing this post!
The night cream is very rich, and has a thick texture to it. After I wash my face at night, my skin is a bit on the drier side. I apply this cream right before I sleep and give myself a mini massage and rub it into my face.
The day cream has a texture that is a lot lighter than the night cream. Since both the jars look the same minus the wording, I accidentally used the night cream one time and it felt too thick for a day time moisturizer.
You can see the difference in texture in the picture above. The one on the left is the night cream, which looks and feels thicker.