weekend spotlight // "strobing"

Alright— so I'm trying to organize my posts into specific days so that everything is more streamlined here on the blog— so in effort of that, our beauty spotlights can be expected here on the weekends. 

Now that my disclaimer is out of the way… this weekend's spotlight is on the beauty world's "newest" trend: strobing. What is strobing, exactly? To be honest…? It's pretty much a fancy new term for highlighting. (I guess the beauty "rule-makers" have decided that highlighting can only be a verb when used in tandem with contouring) But regardless of it's title, it's a beauty trend that's blowing up this season, and I suspect we can see a lot more of it to come in to the new year. 

Unlike contouring (as you would with a bronzer, let's say) strobing is used to amplify reflection areas of the face where light already naturally hits. So think forehead, apples of cheeks, and the bridge of your nose… These light-reflecting points, when done right, create a luminous, dewy finish to the skin that just screams YOUTH! It also keeps you fresh-faced and glowy as you're heading into the ultra dry winter months.

a quick-guide to strobing:

Hopefully my illustrations help a little. It's honestly a zero-effort look that anybody can pull off. My only bit of advice is, if you don't typically wear a full face (i.e. foundation, concealer, powder) go with a cream, stick or liquid highlighter. It's  far more blendable than a powder and is much more user-friendly for those of you who don't feel like makeup pros. Listed below are some of the best-of according to Omi b. —in every variety— so feel free to play around with the different textures. It may take some trial and error before you find which one you like best. (note: my personal favorite is the Benefit High Beam…hands down!)




{In order from top left: Josie Maran wand & illuminating gel/$28 
E.L.F.Highlighter Wand/$3; Elizabeth Arden Hightlight Pen/$28; MAC Highlighter/$26; NARS Strobe Stick/$40; Lord+Berry Strobing Stick/$20; Laura Geller Baked Highlighter Duo/$43; Laura Mercier Candleglow Illuminating Pallette/$58; Benefit Cosmetics Watt's Up Cream-to-Powder/$58; MAC Mini-Strobe Cream/$10; Benefit Highbeam/$28; L'Oreal Silver Highlight/$11; Bliss Get Set & Go Makeup Setting Spray/$24; UrbanDecay Cooling+Hydrating Setting Spray/$30; UrbanDecay All-Nighter Setting Spray/$30; L'Oreal Paris Infallible ProSpray/$14; E.L.F. Setting Spray/$3; TopShop Glow Polish/$16; Supergoop Defense Refresh w/spf50/$12}

To really get your glow on point I recommend using a good makeup setting spray (which you'll notice I've included several in the list above) the Supergoop Defense Spray is an excellent choice for daytime and particularly if you are someone who doesn't always remember to apply sunscreen as part of your normal daily regimen. It's a lot heavier than others though— so if you're oily or acneic, I do not recommend that product for you. Like I mentioned before, my personal must-have highlighter is "Highbeam" by Benefit. It's the easiest to use— you seriously can't eff it up if you tried. It is a liquid blend however, so the only catch with those is that you don't want to do all of your strobing zones at once cuz it'll dry to the skin too quickly. I like to stick to just working from the top of my face downward. (i.e. forehead/brow areas— to cheekbones/nose— to lip/chin) 

I hope that this review has been helpful, and as always, don't be afraid to ask questions! We've all gotta learn somewhere, right? 

happy highlighting, loves! 

oh! & happy Monday too! 

{❤︎,b.}





















"STROBING" MAKEUP // FACIAL HIGHLIGHTING by omi-b on Polyvore

PRODUCT REVIEW // PCA PIGMENT BARS

Yay ... I ❤︎ sharing product reviews with people! 

Today I want to share one of my all-time favorite products by PCA Skin (which also happens to be one of my all-time favorite skin care lines) This product is called Pigment Bar, & it's a solid skin-brightening cleansing bar that helps to reduce uneven skin tones. 

Let's start off by saying that this product is....unique. 

I was skeptical of it's unusual packaging at first, but in truth it's one of the most convenient & cost-effective purchases I've made in a long time. 

The fact that they use hardly any product each use means this baby lasts you easily a few months--& it's no-spill container means that I can toss it in my purse for days/nights when I'm away from my home. It has Kojic acid, which is a natural skin-lightener, and Niacinamide, which will keep your complexion clear. Let me break this into bullet points so that I don't ramble on--I'd recommend this product for:

• People (especially men) who don't like to fuss with skincare. It's a 1-stop shop of sorts. 
• People who are breakout prone & avid gym-goers... now post-workout sweat can be rinsed off immediately & it's as simple as packing it in your gym bag. 
• People who have pigment on the neck, chest, or arms as well.... you can wash your face AND body with this in the shower. 

It comes with a package of dried sponges that expand once they're wetted, and those work well enough, but you know what I'm gonna say next:

you can use it with a Clarisonic! (I swear I'm the best friend that Clarisonic never knew they had with all the free advertising I do for them, haha.) It doesn't really matter which you use but the rotating-electric-brush method will be more exfoliating, therefore reducing more pigment. And if you're trying to reduce pigment in other areas of the body, especially the arms where the skin is far thicker, then you want to add the extra exfoliation to the cleanser. 

If you're interested in this multifunctional cleanser you can purchase it HERE. Or if you're interested in other cleansing bars for acne and/or dry skin you can click HERE and HERE. Keep in mind that once you've used your cleansing bar you're going to want to use a tissue to wipe down the surface before recapping it. Water can breed MEGA bacteria so make sure it's dry before storing it. Apart from that this cleanser is gloriously simple!! Plus, it smells so delicious that you may be tempted to eat it....don't though! ;)

{ ❤︎, b. }