Dupe Alert: MAC Superb Given a Run for it's Shimmery Money with TopShop's Horizon Highlight!

If there's one thing I like more than a good highlighter it's a blahhdy good dupe for a higher end highlighter and TopShops Horzon is exactly that. I heard whisper that it was a MAC Soft and Gentle pretender, a brightening skin finishing highlight, the yen for which I've never given in to. On closer inspection though, it's not. On further inspection and on the much brighter side, it's a very close match to MAC stunner and one of my all time favourite highlighters, Superb. You can read my full post on that HERE. 

TopShop Horizon: £10 HERE

Swatched lightly this warm toned highlight adds bronzed luminosity to paler skin but the darker toned lovelies among us, or even those with an already bronzed visage will apply liberally and LOVE it. While in the pan it's not a direct dupe for the MAC fave, Superb, once this richly pigmented highlight is applied the magic happens. 

If you're bemoaning missing out on Superb or even Estée Lauder's predecessor in the Illuminating Gelee then you need to get yourself on the hunt for this bargainous highlighting beauty.  

Speaking of on the hunt, I do have to mention, as is my wont, that I've had a love/hate relationship with TopShops makeup for the longest time. I love almost everything that I've gotten my mitts on, as this quick Google search will show you but it's the inflated price for limited stock here in Ireland that rustles my jimmies on the regular. 

Why? Why when we live just 40 minutes away do you have to do us like this, TopShop? I wouldn't mind if their products were mediocre but Horizon here proves, once more, that they're not. They're really very good and that's a shame because they are missing out on an entire untapped market of beauty lovers in our little Republic. 

Tell us, will you be hunting down this highlight? Do you think I'm being unfair on TopShop and, most importantly, do you know of a well stocked shop in the good ol' ROI? Spill!

Spotlight on Coloured Mascaras - 5 of My Faves

I've been chancing my arm with colour lately, well, not so much my arm as my lashes and it would appear that I'm not the only one. Pixiwoo's latest video on Ombre looks featured some of the most stunning burgundy mascara I've seen (By Terry Bordeaux) and it's prompted me to show you some of my favourite colours for adding a little life to my lashes. 

TopShop Mascara in Nettle - €11.99

Although highly pigmented, Nettle is actually one of the subtlest coloured mascaras I own. My eyes are a green grey, circled with blue and this works perfectly to complement them. I pair it with Estée Lauder's Intense Kajal Crayon in Dramatic Teal on my lower waterline to up the ante and create brighter look. 

YSL Mascara Volume Effet Faux Cils in Golden Sand - €31

From the YSL Summer 2012 Swimming Pool collection, Golden Sand is the perfect colour to use as a highlight over your regular mascara choice. I use it just on the very tips of my lashes and with NYX's Sparkle Leopard for a brighter, more awake effect, almost like frosted tips but not so 80's. 

Max Factor Eye Brightening Tonal Black - €8.99

As part of the new complement of gorgeous Max Factor mascaras (more of which soon), Eye Brightening Tonal Black for blue eyes is one of the three colour choices. It uses gem tones colour beads and light reflective particles to bring subtle shine to your peepers. The effect is so quietly blue that people have asked what I'm doing differently with my eyes when all that's changed is this mascara. I'm using it with the YSL Azure Blue from the Swimming Pool collection and it's a love from me. 

Clarins Wonder Mint - €24.40

Clarin's Wonder Mint is the brightest of all my coloured mascaras and I love it long time just for that. I haven't been brave enough to use it on all of my lashes yet (Festival territory maybe?) but on my lower lashes with a slick of the Estée Lauder Dramatic Teal I adore it. It's wetter than other mascaras but once dried it doesn't budge. Gorge. 

Clarins Intense Plum Instant Definition Mascara €25.42

From the Clarins Ombre Minerals collection for A/W 2012, Intense Plum is a go to mascara for me. The brush works brilliantly for precision and definition and the colour on the lashes is so close to black that you'll only ever notice that your lashes seem more soft focus that usual. I wear this with my go to liner Avon's SuperShock in Blackberry from their Smoke and Mirrors collection. (If you don't own that liner you should rectify that situation ASAP)

And they're my picks for bringing a little colour into proceedings in your day to day make up. Are you a fan of coloured mascaras? Are there any other brands or colours I should be checking out? 

By the by, if any of
these have tickled your fancy
& you'd like to see them
on the lash (fnar fnar) just 
let me know.  

Spotlight on Highlighters: 5 of the Best

I often need all the help I can to look less like I've risen from a crypt in the morning and highlighters are just one of the secret weapons I use to bring a little brightness and luminescence to my otherwise tired fizzog. 

Regardless of the product in question, I use all highlighters similarly. 

• In a Power V (Make a V sign with your fingers, one under your brow, the other on your cheek bone & use them as a guide). 
• Down the centre of my schnozz to make my nose appear slimmer. 
• In my cupid's bow, to give me the illusion of fuller lips. 
• On the innermost corners of my eyes to widen them and appear more awake.
• On my décolletage with lower cut tops.

The market is completely saturated with products to help you bring a natural shine to specific areas of your face but I thought I'd show you my top 5. To be used sparingly of course, I made that mistake once and ended up like the Tin Man in search of a face cloth and a slap. 

MAC's Superb - €28

First up, MAC Superb from the In Extreme Dimension collection. This large pan is one of the only items I have ever queued in a MAC shop for. I rote about my grá for it here but since then it has just risen in my estimation. I'm using it as a highlighter, an eyeshadow and a body  brightener on my décolletage (as I am with each of these products). The rose gold luminous colour is one of the most flattering products I own.  

Benefit's High Beam - €26.50

Cult favourite and long time hanger outer in my kit, Benefit's High Beam is liquid light for your skin. It's soft pink shimmer blends out to an almost invisible but completely iridescent brightener and works wonders for a quick pick me up. 

Catrice Made to Stay Highlighter Pen - €3.29

 The cheapest of my picks, Catrice's new Made to Stay Highlighter Pen more than holds its own in the highlighting stakes. Coming in at €3.29, this soft, pale pink shimmer stick is twistable uppable and the ideal size for throwing into your mála for quick perk me ups during the day. It's staying power is fantastic and the shade will complement any skin tone. 

MAC SuperWatt - €18

The second MAC offering to make the luminous grade is SuperWatt from the recent Electric Cool collection. Technically this one is an eye shadow but boy what a product it is. It's a super soft creamy champagne taupe that lends itself easily to highlighting efforts on the rest of your kisser. It glides on effortlessly and seriously stays put all day. Even on your lids this won't crease or rub, I'm seriously impressed with SuperWatt. Seriously. 

TopShop Cheeks in Prism - €15

I seem to be mentioning Prism just about everywhere these days but that's not for nothing. A constant in my make up kit and a product I won't be without, TopShop have knocked it out of the park with their Cheeks range. I adore Prism but should you want a bronzer look, there's always Ray. There's definitely something for everyone in the light stakes when it comes to Cheeks. 

Remember you don't always need a product specifically designed to highlight in order to get the effect. Any light or frosted shadows will do the trick too. Never be afraid to play around with what's in your make up bag already. Have a bit of fun and see what works for you. 

Tell me, what are you using to light the highs of your face these days? 

Blitz - TopShop Nail Polish. Perfect for the Sunshine

Behold the latest metallic wonder in my TopShop collection, Blitz, isn't she beautiful? 


It's a vibrant fuchsia pink with purple and blue duochrome with a golden sheen in the light and it has to be seen in the sun to be believed: 

This is an absolute stunner for summer manicures or pedicures, the consistency, as with all TopShop polishes is second to none and you're looking at at least five days wear with no chips, so it really is a great choice for festival nails or holiday tootsies.

As ever, the price is a bit steep at €9 but TopShop have some of the most unique, eye catching colours that I've yet to see replicated elsewhere.
Are we feeling Blitz? Are there any other TopShop polishes I should check out? 

NOTD - TopShop - Eclipse

Two TopShop posts in one day? Can you tell where I did my beauty shopping at the weekend? I had to share this one sooner rather than later though as the compliments are flying for it and it's teal/lime/blue/gold/green iridescent bad ass. 


I'll happily hold my hands up and admit that TopShop metallic polishes are my favourite metallics in the whole world, ever. I don't care that the prices are too high in comparison to the UK (£6/€9), I'm not sure anything would stop me buying them. Their opacity and longevity on the nail is second to none, considering the vibrant colour selection they have. I have a well loved and healthy collection of 'em and that collection has grown by 2 this weekend (I have a problem). This is a peek at the first. Eclipse. 

Eclipse is a lot greener on the nail than in the bottle but these pictures hardly do it justice. The teal duochrome effect is stunning in the sunlight and each time I admire my pingys, I see another blue/green shade shining through.

It's a little adventurous for an office nail but on the tootsies this Summer? This is a stunner.

Are you a teal/green fan when it comes to polish? Have you been converted to TopShop polishes too?

TopShop - Ray - Cheek, Lip & Body Highlighter

We've seen several large brands bring out bronze highlighters so far this Summer, first Benefit with SunBeam to replace Moonbeam and now TopShop have added to their Cheeks collection with Ray, a deep bronze highlighter with golden microshimmer shot through it's twistable uppable stick. (that's totally a technical term)

The Cheeks range (including Prism) are soft, blendable highlighters that are made for use on cheeks (natch), eyes, lips and the body. Fancy some swatches?

Even swatched heavily, Ray blends out to bronzey, luminous loveliness

Ray is a great highlighter for darker skin tones but, truth be told, I'm loving it on my own visage. It's a lot warmer than it's counterpart Prism but works beautifully as a brightener for tanned skins (false or naturddle).A swish on your lips, topped with a slick of gloss is a great way to do a simple Summer lip too.

At €18 these bad boys aren't cheap but you're getting a lot of product for your eurobux, please see exhibit A, M'Lud. I bought Prism over 9 months ago and although reluctant at first, it's simple and effective ways won me over and I've been using it every other day since. Wanna see what 9 months use does to the schtick?

Both fully extended..

Not bad, right? I can foresee Ray being shown just as much love as Prism and taking a spot in my prime rotation of daytime make up, it might even make a cheeky appearance as a body highlighter when the sun deigns to visit us again or if we ever get away to the sunshine.

Considering the blatant TopShop price conversion rip off, I did want to link you straight to both of these products online but alas they're not to be found on the site and I'm not quite sure why that is. As it stands if you want to try out this warm schtick of goodness for yourself you're going to have to check in store, I can assure you, you won't regret it.

Any love for a bronzey highlighter? What are you using currently to light the highs of your visage?

Arigato Mr. TopShop Roboto

Feast your eyes on the shiny! Here we have TopShop's Eyes of Steel (Mauve metallic) and Hyperreal (Light coppery loveliness).

I'm a fan of TopShop's metallic posh offerings since Starlight this summer. They're consistency is gorgeous to work with and the colour, as you can see, is light, bright and so, so pretty.

Über Shiny: That's my favourite kind of shiny

Both colours are subtle enough for office wear but Wow enough for a night out. They have a bright silver microshine that reflects sunlight beautifully. It wears really well too. I use Seche Vite as a topcoat and have gotten 3 days from these with no chips. The truth is I could've gotten longer but I is fickle when it comes to my talons. We know this.

Priced at an extortionate €9 in Irish stores as compared to £6 online they're another example of Rip Off Ireland where TopShop is concerned. I'd be even more annoyed if it wasn't for the shininess distracting me. Clever ploy indeed, TopShop.

Yay for camera phones!

So what do we think? Can you resist the pretty?

Has High Beam been Duped?

I have a serious love for highlighters, well for High Beam in particular. More so since the Beaut.ie & Benefit launch in BTs that taught us to do the Power V for best highlighting effect. For those of you without access to links, that involves giving yourself the fingers, right into your eye. Top finger goes under your brow and bottom finger on the top of your cheekbone. Use this a guide as to where to place your highlighter for maximum benefit. (Geddit?)

Tootling around TopShop a couple of weeks back, merely because I had a voucher, I would never tootle there normally considering their rip off comparison prices, I stumbled across this lovely. 

Twistable Uppable, my favourite format.

This is called Prism and is one of 3 Cheeks offerings on the TopShop counters right now. It's a little steep at €15 but then again so is everything in Irish TopShop stores (can you tell it annoys me?)

Anyway, its a beautiful soft shimmering stick that can be used as a daytime highlighter. In comparison with High Beam the colour and effect is a lot subtler. 

High Beam Heart - Prism Splodge

Prism on Top - High Beam Bottom

I've been using this for about 2 weeks now and while I do like it as an alternative it won't knock High Beam out of my mála. I've found it's staying power is fairly poor, it's effects have pretty much worn away by lunchtime, which has a lot to do with the soft consistency. 

While I don't regret the purchase it's not one I'll be making again. For the extra €8.13 including delivery from feelunique.com  I reckon High Beam is a much better choice. I've had mine for over a year now, using it every other day and you can see from the first picture, it's really holding up well. 

So what say you? Would you be tempted? Any love for TopShop cosmetics out there?

**You're getting an edit right here, just after I published this post Benefit released Watts Up, TopShop is an even closer to dupe to that!**