Physicians Formula Highlight & Contour Palette – Shimmer Strobing (Review & Swatches)
In December 2016, Physicians Formula launched a bunch of new products that I picked up as soon as I saw them (review on the Butter Blushes is here)! The Bronze Booster Highlight & Contour Palette in the Shimmer Strobing version (there’s a matte one too) called to me because it looked so much like the BECCA x Jaclyn Hill Champagne Glow palette.
As always, the presentation of Physicians Formula‘s products is gorgeous. While the layout is identical to that BECCA product, the embossed print is new and always welcomed in a product!
However, while Physicians Formula‘s presentation is always beautiful, their bulky packaging is not. Each product I’ve tried by them tries too hard to be extra helpful and in the end is only annoying. The bottom half of the packaging opens up to reveal a mirror (not helpful on the bottom) and a long brush (which I promptly threw in the garbage). The brush, by PF standards, is actually quite nice, but I really don’t find myself ever using these built-in brushes so I find the addition of it to be just cumbersome and bulky.
Packaging aside, the product swatches out really, really well. The colours are intensely pigmented with very little effort! I was especially impressed with the copper shade, although (as you’ll see below) it’s not a shade I can really wear on my cheeks.
Since I own the BECCA versions of the champagne and white versions, I pulled them out for comparison swatching. The champagne shade is incredibly similar although I detect a hint more peach in the BECCA shade. The white shade is basically a dead ringer in my eyes. Worth noting however, is that the sheen on the cheeks is not quite the same. The BECCA products translates a wetter, more “in your face” shine, whereas the Physicians Formula product is a softer, more subtle version.
Physicians Formula Bronzer Booster Highlight & Contour Shimmer Strobing Face Swatches
In these shots I’m wearing only the highlighter – there’s no blush on my cheeks.
A very strong white with a hint of grey to it.
The most natural looking shade out of all three colours – very radiant!
Zero chance I could wear this shade as anything other than an eyeshadow I’m afraid! Great pigmentation overall, but I found it blended out kind of weirdly.
Final Thoughts
If you’re not willing to shell out the money for a BECCA highlighter (and I understand – they’re super freaking pricey), I think the Physicians Formula Shimmer Strobing palette is a decent dupe. It is a bit more of a softer sheen than the wet-look of the BECCA products, but that’s potentially a good thing for people who aren’t looking for in-your-face highlighting.
One thing to keep in mind is that the copper shade is pretty much unwearable as a blush on my skintone. I haven’t yet tried it as an eyeshadow, but that’s pretty much the only way I’m going to get any use out of it. If you’re a deeper skin tone than me and you’ve tried a similar colour on your cheeks, please let us know in the comments how it works on you! I’d love to know!
I also think the packaging is ridiculous. It’s too bulky and unnecessary and the top hinge actually hinders you from getting at the product which is just a damn nuisance.
Man, okay, my list of complaints about this product seems quite long, but overall, I do actually like it. I think the white and champagne shades are beautiful to wear (and I’ve worn them multiple times since I bought the palette). I like that PF put out a near-dupe for the BECCA trio and I like that the pricepoint is more reasonable than the Butter Blushes (this was $21.99 CAD whereas the Butter Blushes were $18.99 CAD). So, to end this ridiculously long summary, I do recommend the product, it’s just up to you to determine if you’ll get enough use out of the shades that are included in the trio.
The Physicians Formula Bronze Booster Highlight & Contour Shimmer Strobing palette can be purchased on ulta.com for $14.99 USD.
Post contains affiliate links.
Swatch Sunday: Too Faced Peanut Butter and Honey
It’s here! It’s here! The sister palette to the Too Faced Peanut Butter and Jelly palette is here! Say hello to the beauty that is the Too Faced Peanut Butter and Honey palette!
This limited edition palette is currently only available at Ulta.com and TooFaced.com (my wonderful friend Sara picked it up and shipped it up to me from the US!).
Too Faced Peanut Butter and Honey Swatches
The Too Faced Peanut Butter and Honey palette retails for $36 USD and can be purchased at Ulta.com.
Post contains affiliate links.
Fitness Friday: 2017 Achilles St. Patrick’s Day 5K Race
Happy St. Patrick’s Day everyone! I hope you’re wearing some green and having a lovely day. 🙂
So, my favourite race of the year is always the Achilles St. Patrick’s Day 5K! I’m a wee bit obsessed with all things Irish and green, and I can think of no better way to start my St. Patrick’s Day festivities than with a 5K race in cool weather, surrounded by a sea of green runners!
As I’ve been whining about (for an eternity now), I’ve gained ten pounds in the last two years or so and it’s not really going anywhere. Last year really SUCKED for races for me – I barely stayed under 27 minutes in the 2016 version of this race, and then the rest of the year was spent languishing around 27:30 race after 5k race (which I was personally pretty really ashamed about). So towards the end of last year, I started to make significant strides and changes to my workout program – I was lifting weights on the regular and I was determined to actually train properly for a 5K. I had set out a plan to do long runs, mixed with tempo and sprint runs and, for the most part, I had stuck to it. That being said, I hadn’t done everything I thought I possibly could do before this race, so I was nervous right up until the night before the race.
And then, the night before the race, I suddenly looked at the predicted temperature in the morning and my nervousness evaporated: the morning temperature was expected to be around -12C with a windchill of -20C. My inner monologue was basically “fuck it, it’s too cold. Don’t expect anything out of this race.” Toronto’s winter this year has been warmer than normal and I haven’t had the opportunity to train my lungs for a cold weather run, never mind a race, in temperatures that were around -10. So I figured to hell with the nerves as there’d be no way in hell I’d be able to bust out a decent time.
I. Was. So. Very. VERY. WRONG!
The morning of the race was cool and brisk, but the wind speed was low. The temperature, while around -12C, didn’t have a windchill much colder than -15! David and I stayed inside the doors of the Metro Toronto Convention Centre until just before the race so that I could keep warm (lifesaver!). For once in my life, my stomach wasn’t churning before the race and I felt relatively at peace (although for about 30 seconds I thought I’d forgotten my earphones… that would’ve been game over for sure).
So when the air horn sounded, I started the race at a really comfortable pace. So comfortable in fact that I forgot to turn my Garmin on for a few seconds! Reality set in within the first twenty seconds and I was like… “well my lungs aren’t dying, I feel good… but there’s a lot of people in my way.” So I started to weave in and out of the pack to get around the slower runners until I caught up to the people that were moving more my own pace. And honestly? I felt GOOD. I felt in control on my body and I felt strong. I wasn’t gasping for air and I wasn’t super dehydrated (which is normally how I start races – with a dry ass mouth because I’m so nervous).
Realistically, I didn’t know how fast I was moving because my Garmin really struggles to determine speed when there’s so many tall buildings around. If you look at the map above, you can see how erratic the trajectory line gets on what’s supposed to be the straight line down Wellington Street – so it really overestimates your speed since it thinks you’re doing hella crazy maneuvers. I had an idea that I was moving at a decent clip because I was mostly passing other people and not being passed all that often. Sadly, when we hit the 2.5k mark where the loopback occurs (at Yonge Street), the water I was looking forward to was nowhere to be found. Ughhhh! Next year I need to remember to bring my own water!
However, it was a good thing there was no ability to stop and drink because I kept pushing on… and nailed the finish line with a race time of 26:06! Four seconds faster than my previous personal best (PB) and an enormous 60-90 minutes faster than my average 5K race pace from 2016. I was ECSTATIC! I was so damn happy I almost started full on crying when I saw my chip time come up on Sportstats.ca – there were tears welling up in my eyes! All of the work I had put in, despite feeling like it hadn’t been enough, had DEFINITELY paid off and I couldn’t be any happier! This race only further convinced me that I do far better in subzero temperatures – I am definitely built for – and thrive in – the cold!
Race Results
- Finish Time: 26:06
- Pace: 5:13 per kilometer
- Overall placement: 323/1313
- Age group placement (Female 30-39 years): 38/262
- Gender placement (F): 108/742
By the way, if you’re ever interested in the other races I’ve run, you can always visit my Race Results page for a breakdown by year and by race. Enjoy!
VIDEO: St. Patrick’s Day Makeup Tutorial (2017)
PRODUCTS USED:
– Maybelline Master Prime*
– ARTDECO Eyeshadow Base*
– MAC Cork eyeshadow
– Charlotte Tilbury Rebel Quad
– Lit Cosmetics Liberache glitter
– Lit Cosmetics Clearly Liquid Glitter Base
– Inglot Body Sparkles in 45*
– Kat Von D Tattoo Liner in Trooper
– Marc Jacobs Highliner Gel Crayon in Blacquer
– Too Faced Better Than Sex Waterproof*
– House of Lashes Bombshell falsies
– QUO Nourish and Prime Hydrating Primer*
– MAKE UP FOR EVER Ultra HD liquid in Y225*
– Physicians Formula Butter Bronzer
– Urban Decay X-Rated*
– Anastasia Beverly Hills Moonchild palette – Lucky Clover
– NARS Brow Defining Cream in Sonoran
– ARTDECO Eyebrow Pencil in 06*
– Bite Fig lipstick
– Bite Gold Lipstick*