Pop Beauty - Belle Palettes

Pop Beauty's creator Sara Strand wants makeup to be fun and edgy and I for one think she does a bang up job with Pop Beauty!

It took me awhile to really explore this line and honestly it was the intense color in this range that I loved but also was afraid wouldn't be easy to work with. I think I was skeptical that the Big Box Crayola colors wouldn't live up to my texture expectations.

Put simply, I was wrong. Pop Beauty's powders are silky and blendable and the palettes are huge for the price. I love playing with Pop Beauty at Sephora and you can also catch Sara Strand on QVC regularly.

The 3 palettes's in the Belle collection are all equally gorgeous and feature 8 huge pans for $28! Bronze Belle is all about bronzy shades that are gorgeous for summer and also bringing a little bit of summer to a fall face.
















Glow Belle is highlighter happiness! Normally you have to purchase a bunch of different products to get a range of illuminating powders but not so here. You get everything from creamy natural tones to pink and bronze glow for, you guessed it, $28! A bargain in my mind.


















Rose Belle is my personal favorite. I am a real sucker for pinks and this palette has everything from eyeshadow colors to blushes and highlighting shades too! What's not to love.

Jemma Kidd - Iced Gold Dewy Glow

This was a weekend find at Neiman Marcus. I have a love/hate relationship with Neimans....they don't take any card other than Amex so I always have to remember to have my checkbook handy. I realize this may seem minor but NM is about the only place I can find Becca, Kevyn Aucoin and Jemma Kidd locally. All 3 lines are worth the trip!

Iced Gold creme highlighter is a serious multi-tasker! The creme color falls into the category I call cool golds, meaning they have a fair amount of silver and therefore don't look yellow or bronze.

I use this creme as a base for eyeshadow, brow highlight, cheek highlight and lip highlight. Okay so it's good everywhere!

I love that the texture is light and easily blended plus a little goes a long way. The compact is super slim so it is great for the purse and makes touch ups a cinch. This all over creme comes in one other shade Rose Gold and I really wanted both but satisfied myself with Iced Gold for now.

The line is available at Neiman Marcus and was created for Jemma Kidd's Makeup School courses.

Top 10 Highlighters - #10 MAC Dazzlelight Veluxe Pearl Shadow

Dazzlelight, how do I love you, let me count the ways. I love you for making the inner corners of my eyes look amazing. I love you for the polished glow you give my brow bone. I love you for being the perfect shade of gold and silver glow. Most of all I love you for making me look extra pretty.

Yes dear readers it's true. I love me some MAC Dazzlelight shadow. If they ever discontinue this shade I will buy in bulk as many as I can get my hands on and carefully store them to last my lifetime.

In the interests of full disclosure I had purchased this shadow and then put it away without ever really trying it for highlighting purposes. After reading Carmindy's 5 Minute Face book I went looking for a pale yellow-gold shade since I am very fair and thought it would do the job best. I had a heck of time.....most things were too warm or too gold or too pink or too shiny and just not what I had in mind!

For some reason I decided to consult my own makeup tower (it is organized by color family with labels...sick I know) in the hope that a treasure was hiding out. I discovered this shadow and was forever changed.

I use a #213 MAC brush and sweep this under my brow and swirl a bit on the inner corner of my eye. It instantly makes my brow line look crisp and cleans up any shadow drop from applying brow color.

It is perfection and I use it EVERYDAY. If you met me walking down the street and asked what I had on the inner corner to alleviate that dark shadow or along my brow for polished perfection, I would happily sing, DAZZLELIGHT!

This concludes my Top 10 Highlighters list and I hope it has provided some inspiration and products to try. Highlighter or luminizer or whatever you want to call it is a product that you should have in your arsenal. As we get older or just don't get enough sleep, that luster and glow vanishes and we look tired and older than we are. With a little help from our pal highlighter this is a thing of the past.

There are so many formulas from powder to liquid that you are sure to find one you like. A little luminizing click pen in your purse is a godsend when you want to hit happy hour but look bedraggled.

Seek out your highlighter my friends and look better for it!

Top 10 Highlighters - #9 Vincent Longo Concealer/Illumina Pencial

This is #9 in my highlighter series and while they are not in any particular order, unconsciously I have saved my tried and true for the last two.

Vincent Longo's Concealer/Illumina Pencil is a double sided pencil with concealer on one end and a highlighting formula on the other.

I have recommended this pencil to many friends who are looking for a concealer that is easy and not the battle ready camouflage that some people associate with cover-up. Instead this pencil is silky smooth and super easy to blend. You just swipe it on where needed and pat.

This pencil won't hide any major black circles and can't be layered for disco shine. Instead it does a great job of balancing ease of use with reliable performance.

The highlighter is subtle and the concealer is sheer but effective. You can use a few swipes of both ends of the pencil to achieve a natural glow that lightly conceals while brightening.

It's a workhorse product that I reach for almost daily to give me the look of a few more hours of sleep without the work of a major concealer/highlighting routine.

This wonder pencil comes in six shades and the sharpener for $32.50. This little beauty soldier is worth the trip to Sephora to check out for yourself.

Top 10 Highlighters - #8 Laura Mercier Secret Brightener

Secret Brightener and Secret Brightening Powder are a dream team. As part of Laura Mercier's Flawless Face they are real standouts. My main complaint with a lot of highlighter is that it's too darn shiny! This may seem counter intuitive for something called highlighter, but the best of these products are not shiny at all but are glow-y instead.

The Secret Brighter ($30) pen comes in 2 shades for lighter and darker skin tones. It does not provide coverage but instead attracts light to create an optical illusion. The pink-ish liquid helps to minimizes fine lines making the eye area look fresh and awake!

Secret Brightening Powder ($22) is a bit of an addiction for me. The intended use is to set the fluid product and help it wear throughout the day. Even when I don't want to fuss with any liquid highlighter a quick swipe of this powder wherever I see shadow brings a boost of light. 3

Mind you the powders effect is subtle and the very white color can seem bit scary, but I assure you that it is magic. When I forget to finish my makeup routine with this I notice, usually under gross fluorescent lighting.

Top 10 Highlighters - #7 Bare Escentuals Radiance Powders

I have certain Bare Escentuals products that I gravitate to like a moth. I love the eyeshadows, Buxom Lips lipgloss and the Radiance Powders. The key with Radiance Powders...less is more. Start with a small amount swept on the cheekbone and build to the desired glow! (I put a lot of product on my hand so you could get the idea of shade color)

Clear Radiance appears pinkish in the jar but goes on as a translucent glow. It seems to blend with skin but attract light in a subtle way.

Rose Radiance is just that....a rosy glow that is just right for spring and that fresh cheeked prettiness that evokes this time of year.

Pure Radiance is my latest love. This powder is a peachy golden tone and is truly summer pretty. On pale skin Pure Radiance gives the illusion of sunlight and glow of summer, sans tan.

As I often mention I avoid the sun at all costs. I think of Grace Kelly (also a sun avoider) and her flawless porcelain complexion. There are many versions of pretty and for me this one ranks high. It is also the reason I adore a good highlighter in a warmer shade. It gives the glow of sun and outdoors without the tan.

Any of these and quite a few other color choices can be found at Sephora, Bare Escentuals or Ulta for $18. Happy Glowing!

Top 10 Highlighters - #6 Benefit High Beam & Moon Beam

High Beam is a pink, white opalescent pearl and Moon Beam is a gold pink pearl.

Both of these highlighters come in nail polish sized bottles with a brush on applicator.

The beauty of these two highlighters from Benefit are the ability to blend them down to a very sheer glow or build to an almost foil shine. Plus the two color choices are very versatile and super easy to apply.

I think liquid highlights can seem a bit intimidating but these two are a cinch. Use them on the brow bone, bow of the lip, or as a sheer wash of eyeshadow color.

Benefit is available all over, but of course I go to Sephora.

Top 10 Highlighters - #5 YSL Touche Eclat

Touche Eclat is my mom's hands down favorite highlighter. The main reasons for this are it is effortless to blend, can be applied right over makeup and can be used throughout the day without building up or looking cakey. You may be skeptical but it's true.

Most people know about Touche Eclat...it's one of those products that has been around a long time and I think sometimes we forget there is a reason for it's longevity.

I use shade #2 Luminous Ivory and finds that this works on most skin tones except darker complexions. It is the most yellow based of the 4 so it works to reduce redness and the dark circles around eyes.

YSL is available at Nordstrom and most upper end department stores. Touche Eclat comes in 4 shades and is $40. It is a bit more expensive than some of the highlighters I am putting in the top 10 but I do think it is money well spent. My reasoning is this.....it is a liquid brush on pen and has never spilled in my purse. Plus you can truly reapply throughout the day and get an instant lift and the stuff doesn't settle into fine lines or buildup. This is truly the wonder and genius of good cosmetics, a phenomenon I can't explain.

Top 10 Highlighters - #4 Cargo Eyelighter

The Eyelighter conjures up magic wand thoughts for me. With both a shimmer and matte powder I am Glenda the Good Witch, sweeping stardust on my tired eyes.

I first saw this product around the holidays on HSN's Sephora shows that were live on 5th Avenue. It was love at first sight with this dual tipped pen. I was over the moon that I no longer had to use 2 different products to get the lift of the matte powder and the brightening from the shimmer.

The Eyelighter is $17 at Sephora and you have a choice of white or gold! I can not help you pick between the two....I love them both equally but for different reasons.

White is my everyday choice, but the gold is so great for the spring and summer. For those of us who do not tan and avoid the sun at all costs, gold has a way of bringing the illusion of warmth and sunlight to our face.

At $17 I say go for both, but no matter what you choose, you will be pleased and feel a little like Glenda!

Top 10 Highlighters - #3 Laura Geller Wonder Wand

Wonder Wand's best feature is the ease of use. The sponge tipped applicator makes it easy to deposit the light reflective powder anywhere.

I love that this product is compact and while some other brighteners can be used all over the face this is really intended for the eye area.

Wonder Wand contains a sheer shimmery lightly golden powder that can be dabbed on the inner corner of eyes, swept under the brow or used as eyeshadow. I have seen Laura Geller put a dab of this right over eyeshadow on the lid, above the pupil and it has eye popping effects. It is much like the trick of using lighter colors of gloss in the center of the lip to make them look fuller. Same thing here.

My favorite use for this is the brow bone. After filling in my brows I sweep this under and it makes them look finished and glamourous. Think 50's screen star where impeccable brows defined the face.

The wonder wand is $17.50 and available at Sephora.

Top 10 Highlighters - #2 MAC Strobe Liquid

When I saw this product among the Strobe collection I swear I had heart palpitations. Finally all the beauty of Strobe Cream in liquid form.

That in a nut shell is the genius that is Strobe Liquid. It is lightweight, absorbs quickly and drys down in a flash. It can be applied right over makeup and doesn't disturb your foundation. It gives dimensional glow and can be layered to get 80's type shine or use a light hand for soft illumination.

For those of use with oily skin highlighter can be tricky. It can make us look like one giant shiny head! That is highlighter gone bad. I had always shied away from the cream version because I need light moisture at best.

So if anyone at MAC is out there, thank you and your product development folks for this miracle in a bottle. Truly, on behalf of all my shiny skinned sisters, thank you!

Get on down to your local MAC store and try this out. Put this liquid wonder on anywhere you want the light to catch and make you look like the world is your soft focus lens!

Top 10 Highlighters - #1 Tricia Sawyer Eye Slept

I love highlighter. I know I say I love lots of makeup but highlighter or brightener or luminizer, whatever you want to call it, really is a gift from above to us poor sleep deprived mortals. Good highlighter makes you look awake, bright eyed, and gives that glow of youthful skin that getting older or just being really hungover can take away.

The first person I saw really treat highlighting as religion was Carmindy on What Not To Wear. She always uses it on the inner corners of the eye and along the brow bone and every time I am amazed what a little shimmery stuff can do. She discusses the idea and gives product recommendations in her book 5 Minute Face....it's a great read in general.

With that said I have tried a lot of products in this category and some are great and some are better left on the shelf. In honor of the magic of highlighters I will start off with the first of ten products....Tricia Sawyer Eye Slept ($21). Tricia Sawyer is a movie makeup artist best known for her work with Sharon Stone. I was super excited when this became available at select Sephora stores so I could see if the magic was real.

This stuff is in a small tin and is a bright, slightly green white. It takes the TINIEST amount to get the desired result. I put a dab on my finger and used it for both eyes, gently patting under the eye. It is instant awake in a tin.

The real pitfall of this is over using the product. I think a lot of people think if a little is good, more is better! Not so with this stuff. Plus I noticed that setting it with a touch of powder really improved the wear and kept it out of fine lines. I do have oily skin so this might not be necessary if your skin is normal or dry.

It is available at select Sephora stores and online, also check out Tricia Sawyer's website. Great makeup demos and product demonstrations.