Becca and the Balm

A while ago apothica kindly sent me a gift card to their website and I finally got around to placing my order. Apothica has a lot of brands that are hard for me to find in stores so I jumped at the chance to try out some things from these brands. The two that I gravitated towards were Becca and the Balm. 

The one thing I really wanted to try from Becca was their shimmering skin perfector, a product that Lisa Eldridge always raves about. 

This is a liquid highlighter type product that comes in several shades - the one I have is opal. It comes in a matte rubberized tube with a pump and you get a lot of product. It also has an SPF of 25+ which is good if you want to mix this in with foundation, but I don't think I would apply this on its own all over my face. 

This is probably the most natural highlighter I have used. You can't see it on your skin, but when it catches the light it gives a beautiful glow. There are no obvious traces of glitter particles, just a really nice silky sheen. I apply it with a foundation brush so I can be a little more precise. It's so easy and I never have to worry about it going on too heavy. I think its a lot easier to work with than Dior amber diamond, which I mostly use if I am going out. 

All in all its a great product, but just a tad expensive. 

The second product I got was the Balm's Balm Voyage palette. 

Besides having the cutest packaging ever, it has three shades, luscious lani, caught in the act courney, and hot mama. Hot mama is one of their famous blushes that can also be used as an eyeshadow. I have been wanting to get it so I am glad it came in this palette even though it is the miniest version of it. All three of these have great pigmentation and are nice wearable colors that complement each other really well. 

Today I wore luscious lani all over the lid with the tinest bit of the dark glittery brown shade in the crease and then I used a pencil brush with that same dark brown to line my upper lash line, which gives a nice smokey smudge liner effect. 

The blush is really pretty - kind of similar to NARS orgasm or deep throat - and gives an amazing sheen. 

It also comes with a brush that isn't half bad, a little mirror, and a bonus little luggage tag. 

This is a compact, all-in-one palette that is perfect for traveling and very affordable. I really want to try out more the Balm products!

I've been trying to be good and haven't bought makeup in a while, so thank you Apothica for relieving my ridiculous addiction. 

Have a good weekend everybody =)