Italian indie brand NABLA Cosmetics (one of my fave cruelty free/ vegan brands!) recently dropped their Summer collection DENUDE* and it’s a beaut! Everything a good summer collection should be…fresh and glowy! You know me (if you’ve been here before and if not, you do now)…personally whatever the season I lean towards the more goth/ grunge side of things, especially when it comes to eye makeup! But…I do love a lighter summer base and a good bit of glow! Who doesn’t right??
Quick overview of the DANUDE Collection, we have (drumroll)…
✖ 3 x Glowy Skin Highlighter Sticks
✖ 2 x Glowy Skin Blush Sticks
✖ 4 x Metalglam Liquid Eyeshadows (these remind me so much of the Stila and Pixi versions!)
✖ 5 x Velvetine Lip Pencils
✖ 5 x Cult Classic Lipsticks (Creamy bullet form lippy in matching shades to the Velvetine Pencils)
✖ 4 x Pressed Highlighters (What we’re here for!)
✖ Highlighter Brush (Also what we’re here for! We’re REALLY here for this…keep reading!)
* There’s also a cute makeup bag and a really good selection of bundle options, but they’re exclusive to the NABLA Cosmetics website. Go check them out, might save you a bit of cash if you wanted multiple bits…their shipping is fast and not spendy at all (free to the UK/ Ireland for over a €69 spend too!).
The collection as a whole is beautiful…I have loads of everything already though (ofc!) and prefer powder highlight/ blush to cream stick (although cream contour…yes!) but knowing how much I love NABLA in general, I had to pick something up to try! Obviously that was going to be a highlighter and I’m always on the hunt for the holly grail of highlighter brushes (even if I’ve already found so many amazing ones, which I have!) so one of those had to come home with me too!
The DENUDE Pressed Highlighter comes in 4 shades, so there’s something for everyone/ inclusive which is brilliant work by NABLA…
✖ WAVE – very light neutral champagne
✖ VENUS SAND – light pink with golden peach reflects
✖ SAVAGE – medium warm gold
✖ SUNDANCE – warm bronze with rose gold reflects
I went for the shade Wave, which was the best option for my pale skin…I could have made Venus Sand work too, but only really as a blush topper. NABLA have formulated these with a high concentration of super fine pearl pigments, meaning no glitter in sight and a true almost wet look highlight which I love! The highly pigmented formula means you get perfect payoff on first swipe. As much as I do like/ use highlighters that give a more buildable, subtle glow…I generally prefer a highlight more on the blinding strong side ’cause it allows me to use way less product to achieve my perfect level of glow and NABLA Wave definitely does that for me! I’ve been applying it alone or for even more glow over setting spray…you know it has to be the Kat Von D Lock It Setting Mist* or Urban Decay All Nighter Setting Spray* with all this heat we’ve been having over the last few weeks too!
The formula of these highlighters is powder, but feels creamy to the touch and melts on to the skin looking super luminous and giving almost mirror like shine. They’re long lasting and wear all day…I’ve worn it since launch (I haven’t worn anything else actually which speaks for itself!) and it’s still very much definitely there when I take my makeup off at night! The way it feels and looks on reminds me so much of the Anastasia Beverly Hills x Amrezy collaboration highlight which I’m also obsessed with (read more about it/ see it here), but in case you missed it (I have a feeling that ABH x Amrezy will make an appearance again, but up to now ABH have made no promises/ said no so who knows!) and if you want something that’s still available and half the price (NABLA’s are £14.75/ €16.50 for the same amount of product!) these (especially Wave) are the perfect option!
So the Highlight Brush* (also available here)…basically you’re not going to want to miss this one! Holy grail found and I’m contemplating a second (or maybe more) already! This little guy (it has a shorter handle and slimline brush tip for precise application) seamlessly buffs the highlight on, without disturbing the rest of your makeup and without any effort whatsoever! Just the right balance between fluffy and firm. It’s also cruelty free and vegan and there’s nothing really much else to say apart from that it’s perfection!
NABLA DENUDE Collection (or at least the pressed highlighters and brush) didn’t disappoint…yet more of their products that I’m obsessed with! One of my fave things about the Pressed Highlighter in Wave, apart from the formula, how it looks and it’s all around beauty and everything let’s be real…because the formula is so smooth and pearl particles so tiny, it doesn’t emphasise any skin texture at all which is a big thing for me! If you’re looking for a glass like glow that won’t fade, this is your guy! And that brush…do yourself and highlight game a favour and grab one. An amazing brush for the price (it’s only £10.50/ €11.50!!)…you’d easily pay more than twice that for a brush nowhere near as good! Keep doing what you do NABLA!
Lyd x
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I’m now based in Cork, Ireland. Although I do take select bookings for North Wales/ Cheshire and Dublin (get in touch for more info) and am available to travel country wide…I’m mainly taking makeup bookings for Cork City and surrounding areas.
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