Everything is Illuminated!

Why is it that every time you open any magazine these days every model and actress who graces the pages looks like they have the skin of a cherub at Christmas? Everywhere from their eyes to their cheeks to their collarbones glow! So this begs the question; is it really just airbrushing or a clever lighting guy? As winter is always a time where the cold zaps the radiance and hydration from our skin, leaving us looking worn out with a blotchy uneven skin tone, illuminating products can cover the scourge of winter to our skin!

Over the years I have come across and subsequently purchased a number of products that promise you the gift of sublime illumination and most importantly that dewy model glow. The aim of an illuminator/highlighter is to give the illusion of a great nights sleep, which can often prove elusive these days. For several years now my go-to products for faking this effect have all been items which have never left my make up shopping list. Benefit High Beam (€26) is the first I never go anywhere without. As the ultimate multi-tasker when it comes to getting your glow on, it can be mixed into foundations, dotted on brow and collarbones. When strategically blended in around the eyes it can make you look like you have had your full eight hours when you have just pulled an all nighter! The only trick with this little gem is to blend, blend, blend!

Next is another winner from Benefit, the Eye Bright Stick (€17). While it accomplishes a similar job to High Beam, the stick form means that it is a must have for your handbag. By dotting it on your cupids bow (giving you the illusion of a pout Angelina would be proud of) and on the inner and outer corners of your eyes, you look wide awake and ready for anything!

Wonder product #3 is the Bobbi Brown Shimmer Brick (€42), which comes in five different shades. For those of the classic Irish complexion like myself, I recommend the shades “Pink” or “Rose”. The compact gives you what appears to be five rows of differing sheer pearly eyeshadows but when swept together using a powder brush it gives the skin an amazing sheen that catches the light and looks beautiful over blush. My first encounter of this product was from a girl in school who, like myself was quite the cosmetic maven. Shimmer Brick fever soon swept through all of us and by the end of the year at least 20 out of 35 of us had one in one shade or another! Now that’s what I call a cult classic!

The other school cult product was YSL Touche Eclat with its signature concealer/highlighter pen packaging which combined cover bags and brighten the skin around the eyes.

Another more recent discovery has been from The Balm Cosmetics. With its kitschy 1950’s vargas girl packaging, one could be forgiven for thinking it was the Benefit line. However, the point of difference here is the price. The product itself is the same powder texture as the Bobbi Brown Shimmer Brick but the adorably titled “Mary Lou Manizer” retails at just €18 and delivers a beautiful glow when swept over cheeks and décolletage. I was highly impressed and even more so when I heard that any purchase from The Balm Cosmetics from Beauty Features entitles you to a FREE lip gloss from the Balm worth €14, so order up ladies!

So with so many ways to fake a glowing dewy complexion and even more products to achieve it with, there really is no excuse to be matte and pasty during the holiday season! What are your tricks and wonder products?