The Balm Mary-Lou Manizer aka "The Luminizer" {Review & Swatches}

Hi Dolls,

I hope you're having a fabulous & blessed weekend so far?  We had an awesome church service this morning, a Sunday well spent brings a week of content right, yes preach it sister ;) lol.

Not only have I seen this beaut featured by huge youtube makeup gurus, but I love the brand philosophy (cruelty free yayy) and history:

"theBalm cosmetics boasts a complete line of makeup, skin care, hair care and nail polish. With a "beauty in five minutes" philosophy, theBalm's multi-use, mega fabulous products have become its calling card, offering quick fixes and wondrous solutions for a wide range of beauty wants and needs. The company's wearable colors and fantastic formulas allow women to release their inner artist so they can look and feel fabulous. In 2004, Marissa Shipman, founder of theBalm, realized there were a few simple products she needed to help her look and feel glam all the time-and if she needed them, other women did too... Marissa decided to indulge her cosmetic curiosities and went to Amazon where she bought 11 books on how to make makeup and started mixing in her kitchen. "I went makeup crazy. I incorporated the company, worked out a budget, hired a chemist and designed a website." She began integrating anti-aging ingredients, triple-milled pigments, fabulous scents...and theBalm was born. Fast forward ten years, you can now find theBalm's Paraben and Cruelty-Free products worldwide."

The Balm Mary-Lou Manizer available from Retailbox SA - R385.00

I absolutely adore the retro vibe, the concept that this is a woman that has been jailed for basically being utterly fabulous is so cute and lovely!  It's obvious that a lot of creative thinking went into the design of the packaging, which is something I appreciate and shows how unique the brand is (have a look at the fingerprint detailing on the back), honestly, 10 out of 10.

You can feel that the container is made out of sturdy material, it comes with a clasp and a mirror (perfect for travelling or keeping in your handbag).  Now I've used MAC Soft & Gentle for years, and recently added Revlon Skin Illuminator as a highlighter, I love both of these but I'm always interested in trying out new ones (hellooo I am a blogger that's what I do hehe).  So when Luzanne from Pink Peonies blogged about Retailbox SA I had to have a squizz on their website as to the products they have, and needless to say I've always wanted to try out The Balm goodies and decided to purchase 2 of their products (the other one will be up very soon).  I was in a bit of tug and war as I didn't know if I should try out the Cindy Lou-Manizer or Mary-Lou Manizer, I think I ended up making the right decision as I love this one!

This is definitely a pretty product, at first glance you can see it has a lovely champagne colour, it's beautiful! There's no glitter in this, but instead has a luminous and golden glow/shimmer.It's buttery soft to the touch, has no fallout and is very pigmented.  

The only way for me to really describe this highlighter is to say that it is as beautiful as the morning sun!  

I use this with a fan brush I picked up from Dischem, and you only need to tap it into the product very lightly, then dust all over the highest points of your cheekbones to give you a glow that looks natural and pretty.  I also love using this as an all over eyelid colour, it almost gives the same look as Stila Kitten, although not an exact dupe it's pretty close, I'll wear it just like that for a natural look, or I'll smoke it out with other colours. This works really beautifully in your tear duct or on the brownbone and can be dusted on your collarbone ~ basically this is a multi-functional product.  Powder highlighters are the best for people with oily/normal or combination skin, however, if you have dry skin just make sure that you hydrate (primer and / or moisturizer) well before applying this to avoid patchiness.

I have to say that this and the Revlon illuminator is my favourite highlighters, I like MAC Soft & Gentle, but for my personal taste The Balm and Revlon is the bomb!

Love and Blessings <3