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I Got So Many Compliments When I Started Using This (Totally Affordable!) Product

By Sarah Jio

If you told me last year that the beauty product that would be a total makeup game-changer for me would cost less than $30, there’s no way I’d believe you. It’s not that I don’t love a beauty bargain, in fact, I’m the queen of drugstore cosmetic finds and many of my mainstays cost less than $15. It’s just that over the years, the products that have really moved the needle for me have been more of the well, big-splurge variety (side note: if my husband is reading this, I deny everything.)

But not this time. Keeping this secret would be like hoarding all the rosé for myself (or the pinot), all of which would be major female party fouls. That’s why I’m going to tell you about my greatest makeup find of 2020 (or, dare I say, the last decade?!).

Here’s The Secret:

It’s not eyeliner, foundation, blush, or shadow. My dears, this holy grail product is a (drumroll please) … highlighter! I know, you’re probably thinking, what? And I totally get it—highlighters hardly fall under the category of breaking beauty news. In fact, you might already have two or three in your makeup bag, and your grandma probably does, too! But darlings, do you have this highlighter? The highlighter of all highlighters…

One part magic wand, two parts dull-skin fighting superhero, I’m here to tell you that BareMinerals Endless Glow Highlighter is a total beauty game-changer. I don’t know how they do it. Micro-fine particles? Highly pigmented hues? A top-secret formulation? Rare snail extract?

But here’s what I do know. This stuff is epic, and I’ve never gotten more compliments on my skin since I’ve started using it (and it’s not even a skincare product!). In fact, the first time I dusted this stuff on my cheeks, my husband (totally out of the blue) took a look at me in the kitchen and paused. “What?” I finally asked. “Nothing,” he said, a moment later.

“You just look … really pretty today.”

(Insert the sound of angels singing.)

My friend Lauren noticed next. I texted her a selfie I’d taken to show her the results of my latest DIY box hair dye session (stay tuned), and her response had nothing to do with my subtle blonde boost.

“Skin!” she wrote instead. “You look amazing!”

I’d done my makeup so hurriedly that morning that I barely remembered dabbing a bit on my cheeks, brow bones, and the bridge of my nose, but then I took a quick peek in the mirror and did a double-take. What in the world was going on? Somehow, my cheeks looked lifted and my skin appeared fresh and glowy. Quick tip: Personally, I love the subtle “Whimsy” shade, but “Fierce” is amazing, too.

I chalked it up to a good skin day (don’t you looooove those?!), but the compliments kept coming (one from a stranger at a restaurant, another from my son’s friend’s mom), and I began to realize that I had my new highlighter to thank. And here’s the crazy part: I found it at the discount chain store, TJ Maxx, for only $9.99! It’ll set you back around $30 on Amazon or Sephora, but, trust me, for the guaranteed glow (and compliments!), it’s worth every penny. 

 

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Sarah Jio is a journalist and New York Times bestselling author of ten novels with Penguin Books (Plume) and Random House (Ballantine). Her books have been published in more than 25 countries. Sarah has written thousands of articles and blog posts for national magazines and newspapers including The New York Times, Redbook, O, The Oprah Magazine, Cooking Light, Glamour, SELF, Real Simple, Fitness, Marie Claire, Bon Appetit, Parents and many others. She has also appeared as a commentator on NPR’s Morning Edition and is a co-host of the Mod About You podcast (LINK: www.modaboutyoumedia.com). Sarah lives in Seattle with her husband, children and two doodle mixes. To learn more about Sarah’s work, visit her web site / instagram. www.sarahjio.com | www.instagram.com/sarahjio