Valentine’s Day is my favorite holiday of the year…for many reasons. One of those reasons is the opportunity to get a little dressed up for your sweetheart and look extra special. I spend a little more time on my hair and makeup, knowing we will likely take a few photos wherever we go. We usually spend the holiday in Palm Springs, California with family, and take time on the special day to have a romantic dinner. (Our go-to place is Maestro’s at El Paseo in Palm Springs.)
This year, I decided to find a few budget-friendly products to glam up a little before our night out. I am enamored with L’Oréal’s new LUMI line…it is designed to highlight all your features with a subtle glow. (No disco ball face here, my friends.) As you can see, I tried out the Glotion, Glow Boosting Drops, Highlighting Powder, and Highlighting Palette. The colors are just gorgeous! Though I loved them all, here are my favorites from the LUMI line:
The Highlighting Palette: This is an amazing palette because it’s your bronzer, highlight, blush, lowlight….all of them! It’s perfect for travel for that very reason. I have a highlighting palette that I bought at Sephora for twice the price of this one, and I like the L’Oréal version better. You can’t go wrong with these nude colors.
The Glow Boosting Drops (in Golden Hour): A little goes a long way with these drops! You can add a few drops to your foundation for a subtle glow, or I like to put a tiny bit on my Beauty Blender and dab above my cheekbones, eyebrow bone, and cupid’s bow. The Golden Hour color really helps warm up my pale skin.
And, the Lumi Highlighting Powder: This reminds me of my first highlighting powder that I bought from MAC when I was a teenager, except much more natural and not a glitter bomb. The Sunlight color is really more of my shade, but the Moonlight silver really caught my eye. It gives you a true “princess” glow, which I loved. You don’t need much of this in order to see it working, so you’ve been warned. Don’t brush on layer after layer. One quick sweep with a highlight brush will do the trick.
How to remove your makeup at the end of the night is another story, right? I have been testing out different cleansers trying to find one that feels light, but removes every square inch of makeup. Garnier is really killing it in the affordable products department….they have been coming out with products that are great for my wallet, but work just as well as any of the expensive brands I’ve tried. Their new Refreshing Facial Cleanser won me over after the first use. Here’s why: it’s 99% derived from natural ingredients and is a vegan formula made with aloe. It doesn’t leave my skin feeling tight, dry, or tingly after using it. It strips off even my hardest to remove makeup and my skin still feels soft. I love knowing I’m not putting any harmful chemicals, dyes, or perfumes on my skin.
The Garnier Soothing Facial Mist is something I honestly wouldn’t have purchased for myself if I hadn’t had the chance to try it. But who knew having a hydrating mist would be so helpful?! You can spray this mist (which smells heavenly,) over your makeup or underneath it as a moisturizing primer of sorts. You simply spray and then go about your day; no need to rinse it off. It helps keep my makeup from breaking apart and cracking after a long day of wear. It’s like a reboot for your makeup after a 12 hour day!
And for my Valetine’s Day travel, I will (of course) keep the Micellar Makeup Removing Towelettes, which give me the ability to remove or correct makeup mistakes on the fly. I’ve used these to clean my hands before dinner, correct mascara and eye liner smudges, and even wipe up makeup from the bottom of my purse. They are a must-have.
That’s how I’m getting V-Day ready. What about you?
Photography: S. Jackson
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