Who needs a professional lighting crew when you have a good highlighter?  Highlighting helps to put your best features forward, adding a fresh-faced glow to cheekbones, brows, eyes and any feature you wish to glow from! Now that you’re ready to be a glow getter, you’re going to need the perfect highlighter. …but, what exactly is the difference between liquid and powder? Below, our breakdown: a few of The Beauty Mark faves, and how to find out what highlighter is right for you!

LIQUID

Works best with: Normal to dry skin
Great for:  Achieving a natural, dewy finish. Liquid highlighter is incredibly versatile, too, and can even be mixed with your foundation for a gorgeous, all-over glow.

Liquid highlighters much like you'd expect, have a consistency that can be problematic for oily skin as they can begin to slip as the day progresses. For those with dry skin though, liquid highlight is your new bff ! Liquid highlighters are also not as concentrated therefore can be used in multiple ways. Liquid is perfect for achieving a natural, dewy finish, and it's incredibly versatile. By mixing in a bit of highlight into your foundation, you can create a beautiful all-over glow from within. If you want a more concentrated glow, small dabs of product along the high points of the face such as cheek bones, cupids bow, brow bone and inner corner of the eyes are best.

Our faves:

Iconic London: Liquid Illuminator $68 - This concentrated liquid shimmer can be added to your foundation, primer or moisturiser, or simply used on its own for a super highlighted glow. Every drop of this super-concentrated shimmer elixir glides on smoothly to bestow ultra-blendable glow.

Danessa Myricks Beauty: Illuminating Veil $39- Illuminating Veils are opulent long-wearing cream highlighters that produce a sumptuous glow to the face or body. They wear fluently solo or perfect for layering beneath our Enlight powders or can be mixed into foundations for an essential glow.

INC.redible: Hypno Highlight $20- Lighten up with hypno highlight - supercharged with fine pink colour flip gold pigment for a shade shifting shimmer strobe. Apply the weightless formula with your fingers and blend on to anywhere you want to radiate - cheeks, eyes, brow line, nose bridge, cupid’s bow or collarbone. Let it melt onto your skin for mesmerizing, luminous results and a seriously wow finish.

POWDER

Works best with: Normal to oily skin
Great for:  Creating a shimmery finish. Powders have the highest concentration of sparkle, and can be dusted on over foundation and blush for a sheer-yet-noticeable glow. Because the application is less precise than a liquid or cream highlighter, the effect is all-over radiance.

Powder highlighters are the easiest to use and come in various colours, that’s the reason they are so popular. These have the highest concentration of shimmer and can be dusted over the foundation and blush for a noticeable glow. Because the application is less precise than a liquid or cream highlighter, the effect of face highlighter powder is gorgeous, all-over radiance. The fluffy, powdery formula glides on the skin smoothly and is comfortable to wear. Powder highlighters are easier to control, super buildable and are designed to amplify your natural radiance. If applied in excess, it’s easy to remove or tone down. Use it on the top of the cheekbones, bridge of the nose, and centre of the chin for maximum effect and then blend with a brush.

Our faves:

Ofra: We have a large range of Ofra powder highlighters at The Beauty Mark we cant possibly pick one favourite ! OFRA highlighters give glow a new meaning as the result of liquid-to-baked technology. What does this mean for your glow goals? The luminosity from the pearls in the formula provide an unparalleled pigment payoff and shows stopping sheen.

Gallany: Celestial Skin Luminzing Powder $49- Give your self an intense, seamless shine anywhere you want or blend for an amazing angelic sheen. The lightweight, illuminating minerals will give you the shine you want without any harsh lines.

Inglot : Sparkling Dust $29- This frosted loose powder is highly pigmented to provide the ultimate glow to any part of the body. Can be applied directly on eyes as an eye shadow or mixed with lip gloss, nail enamel, foundation, moisturizer, or Duraline to add a touch of magic to one’s makeup. Available in various shades, to be matched to the skin tone, or combined freely.

Get your glow on! 

Airbrush vs Traditional

Airbrushed makeup is worlds apart from your traditional style and application of makeup. Airbrushing is used in a variety of different ways, including tanning, greater and finer detail in body art and our personal fav, Special Effects!

Although airbrushing has great benefits, unfortunately it isn’t for everybody;

It is not recommended for anybody with acne, mature skin or drier skin types. Airbrushing can only cover colour, not texture, so it is most suited to applications where in-real-life detail isn't such an issue such as runway, theatre, performance and some editorial.

As the foundation used for airbrushing is much thinner than traditional foundation, which has a more opaque and richer coverage, we would recommend traditional methods in most event makeup circumstances as you can still obtain a flawless “airbrushed” finish.

Airbrushing in itself is a true art. Appropriate training and extensive experience is essential to master airbrushing so always check your artists' credentials before you opt for this technique.

Remember, everybody is different and everybody requires a different approach in order to achieve the best possible result for them. So, even though airbrushing might not be best suited for your skin type or your event, there are a variety of different products and techniques that can be used to attain that seamless “airbrushed” finish!

When it comes to our makeup kit, our main focus is often on choosing the perfect foundation base, the most intense highlighting pallet or the blackest of black eyeliner. While these are undoubtedly important to collection, there is another essential element that plays a major role in the application process: makeup brushes!

Today in the makeup community there are so many brands, colours, designs, shapes and sizes to choose from. But most importantly what is a make or break for most people is whether the brush is made from natural or synthetic hair. To break it down for you, natural brushes are made out of some type of animal hair (horses, goats, squirrel etc.), while synthetic brushes are made from synthetic materials such as nylon and polyester. 

While everyone is entitled to their own opinion and choice, we vote a big giant N O to natural hair brushes and believe that synthetic brushes are the only way to go! When to comes to choosing the right tools for your makeup kit it is so important to be educated on the benefits of synthetic products and here are our most important reasons why:

No animals were harmed-

CRUELTY FREE!! Can we say it louder for the people in the back please!! The unfortunate truth is this: ALL animal hair brushes are a product of the cruel fur industry. Fortunately, now, animal rights awareness has been on the rise in recent years and people are becoming a lot more familiar with the horrific treatment of animals within the beauty and cosmetic industry. There is no justifiable reason as to why any animal should have to suffer for the use of products to be ‘safe’ for humans later when we have such incredible technology to create harmless manmade products.

Hygiene 101-

For some people with sensitive skin, using animal hair brushes can lead to allergic reactions and even acne. In this case, synthetic brushes are a much better choice to prevent this from happening as they don’t collect bacteria and germ build up in the bristles. They're also easier to clean and keep clean since the synthetic materials do not trap and absorb too much product (bye-bye product wastage!).

Long lasting-

If you want brushes that will last, invest in a great, quality set of synthetic brushes. The materials used to create them are much more durable than natural hair, so they are less likely to become damaged or snap during the application and cleaning process. Natural brushes on the other hand have to be replaced often since they are more prone to shedding, and over a period of time, the bristles will begin to get sharp and prickly, which can aggravate the skin.

The best things in life are cruelty free!

The most important step of your makeup routine is skincare!

Understanding what your skin needs can be quite a difficult task when standing in an isle full top to bottom of different brands and products. Your skincare routine doesn’t need to be expensive to show results.

But let’s make it easy…

Peggy Sue is an all-natural, Australian based skincare brand. ‘Peggy Sue is a unique brand of luxury body and self-care products. We hope to encourage women into a healthier, more sustainable lifestyle, by offering products that help form a simple and effective skincare routine.”- Peggy Sue

Here are the 5 skincare products you need to ensure your skin is looking and feeling its best without breaking the bank! 

1. SERUM- Facial serum is a lightweight formula that absorbs easily into the skin. Leaving your skin feeling moisturised and replenished. Recommended use: Apply 4-10 drops to face and neck, once a day. Massage product gently in a circular motion to allow the skin to soak up the premium oils and extracts. Peggy Sue Nourishing Facial Serum $32.
2. EYE CREAM- Full of rich vitamins and extracts such as Aloe Vera and cucumber oil. These ingredients work together to soothe and moisturise the skin, while reducing the appearance of dark circles, puffiness and fine lines under the eyes. Recommended use: apply pea size amount to the eye area morning and night. Press gently into the delicate area to target signs of ageing and discolouration. Peggy Sue Cucumber Eye Gel $34.
3. EXFOLIANT- A mild exfoliant is a must in your skincare routine. Ideal for all skin types including sensitive skin, a facial polish will leave the skin radiant and smooth after releasing the dead skin and restoring your skins natural oils. Recommended use: place a generous amount of product onto dampened skin, rinse and pat the face dry. Peggy Sue Pink Clay facial polish $38
4. NIGHT CREAM- Let your skin do the magic as you rest. Night creams help to regenerate and soothe the skin. Recommended use: apply each night, massaging into a clean face while making sure to take the product down the neck. Peggy Sue Sunset facial balm $29.
5. LIP CONDITIONER- Full of moisturising ingredients, lip conditioners help to hydrate and protect against dry, flakey lips. Shea butter and essential oils come together to leave your lips feeling moisturised for hours. Peggy Sue Lip Conditioner $12.

 Lets have your skin thanking you!