Shay it's an illuminator as well..reflects light and adds a nice glow to u're face. I like Revlon SkinLights :)
MAC has one called fairylite Benefit has one called "High Beam"- supermodel in a bottle! The Body Shop - Glow Enhancer
G, how r we supposed to use illuminator... after moisturising? and which one is better MAC product... fairylite or strobe cream? any idea how much itll cost here in dubai?
The strobe cream is an illuminating cream containing antioxidants/vitamins that supposed to give you that glowy/dewy look. I’ve read that makeup artists apply it on celebrities to give that that dewy look. It’s geared toward all skin tones and can be applied either by itself or mixed into your foundation. Or you can apply it on areas where the light hits your face. The strobe cream is richer whereas the strobe liquid is lighter. It’s by MAC. I’ve been interested in it for quite some time and plan to check it out myself one of these days. I’ve read you can get a sample of it and try it out before purchasing. Or, you know what Psquared, just try it out at your nearest MAC shop/sephora. Have one of the artists apply it on you and check it out. Maybe take your sister/friend with you to get an opinion. I’ve posted the links below. It it works well, then you’ll gave the DEWY look for yor wedding day 
M·A·C Cosmetics | Strobe Cream
The Indian Make-up Diva: Great Make-up: Kareena Kapoor at the Film Fare Awards
thx this was helpful… so now i m confused. what is primer then? is it the same as highlighter/illluminator that we r talkin abt? i have dry skin so apparently the cream is better for me and not liquid. i dun even have to use moisturiser if i put cream… yay!!! here in Dubai i dunno if we can get a sample… iwud just love that. Gina, wud u know if they wud give sample if i ask??
Mall,
The purpose of the makeup primer is just to help your makeup stay on your face instead of fading, creasing, smearing, etc. It's kind of like how hairspray sets your hairstyle in place, so that it doesn't move, lol. For example, if you put primer underneath your eyeshadow, then your eyeshadow will stay on longer without creasing. If you don't feel like spending the money, there are other ways of keeping ur makeup in place. For example, putting foundation on your eyelids prior to eyeshadow, will keep your eyeshadow on for longer and more smoother coverage. If you put a little face powderon your lips before coloring them, the lipstick lasts longer.
Mall,
The purpose of the makeup primer is just to help your makeup stay on your face instead of fading, creasing, smearing, etc. It's kind of like how hairspray sets your hairstyle in place, so that it doesn't move, lol. For example, if you put primer underneath your eyeshadow, then your eyeshadow will stay on longer without creasing. If you don't feel like spending the money, there are other ways of keeping ur makeup in place. For example, putting foundation on your eyelids prior to eyeshadow, will keep your eyeshadow on for longer and more smoother coverage. If you put a little face powderon your lips before coloring them, the lipstick lasts longer.
oh thanks... so sweet of u!! so basically primer is not a must. i m not a v social person and if i do go out its for a couple hours or so, i dun think i need it. but the MAC strobe cream got me thinkin. i def need somethin that glows my skin. i m fair in complexion (a lil on yellow side) so that wud b gr8.
oh thanks... so sweet of u!! so basically primer is not a must. i m not a v social person and if i do go out its for a couple hours or so, i dun think i need it. but the MAC strobe cream got me thinkin. i def need somethin that glows my skin. i m fair in complexion (a lil on yellow side) so that wud b gr8.
Mall, you can even go to youtube.com and type in strobe cream in the search box and you can click on videos of girls demonstrating makeup application using strobe cream:)
Mall, an illuminator goes-on after u're moisturiser or blend it into u're foundation.. it has tiny light reflecting particles which give the illusion of fresh/youthfull skin and a dewy and gorgeous complexion!
MM, I was cutting down the list when I suggested the cream-to-powder foundation it goes on as a cream foundation and sets as powder.
Naqsa, strobe or any radiance brush will take attention away from any scarring or blemishes.. def use it when u have pictures taken!
Mall, an illuminator goes-on after u're moisturiser or blend it into u're foundation.. it has tiny light reflecting particles which give the illusion of fresh/youthfull skin and a dewy and gorgeous complexion!
MM, I was cutting down the list when I suggested the cream-to-powder foundation it goes on as a cream foundation and sets as powder.
Naqsa, strobe or any radiance brush will take attention away from any scarring or blemishes.. def use it when u have pictures taken!
thanks G!!! i thot i cud use strobe cream rather than a moisturiser cus it has moisturisin elements in it... or do u suggest i shud still use moisturiser before(have dry skin) can i mix the foundation and strobe cream with fingers and then apply on face?
Yes, you can mix strobe and foundation together and apply it on your face.
Re: Make up mysteries - help!!
dus anyone know if MAC in dubai wud give me a sample of strobe cream if i ask? ive never been to MAC.
Used to live in Saudi and I know they didn't have any makeup artists around to apply/demonstrate stuff. Don't know about Dubai though, lol. Ask if they have a sample or can provide a sample. Most beauty stores contain testers that you can try out. So take a tester tube and put some on your face and get someone's opinion about it.
Re: Make up mysteries - help!!
redvelvet, they do have makeup artists at a lot of the stores now-- both male and female ones. stores like sephora, gazzaz, faces, MAC, and others too i'm sure.
anyway, the primer from MAC (PREP + PRIME) is supposed to "Calms and soothes the skin, blots away excess oil, and evens out skin redness. Improves the laydown and application of foundation or powder."
it works sort of like an illuminator for me. also helps make sure i dont get any crease lines or dry spots.
lolz..shay considering how long the 'list' is , couple of those 'outtas (outta stock ,ran outta time ..;) will be needed
Gina I'm in Bahrain and that's what I thought, make up is more expensive in ME..I don't remember items that costly in UK or maybe that was a few years ago
Sara, normally for gift I do the same I stock up sale items, but this thing was a bit last minute and although its still the sale season here, there's hardly ANY sale on cosmetics... but anyway I'll manage something..
I'll ask the at the store for this face shiner thingie and let you guys in...
If its going to b a problem for u, just b straight forward and tell the person, i would like to get all the stuff u asked for, but it was very expensive and I cannot afford to spend that much, so i got u this instead.
Trust me, it should work (as long as the person is somewhat reasonable!).
I've done it b4, to someone who didn't like me. She was in Pakistan and wanted premium brand items, didn't even ask if i could get them, just demanded a whole list. I didn't buy anything she wanted (as a matter of principle) and got her the same stuff as i got everyone else (which wasn't bad either!). She demanded her other stuff, i TOOK GREAT PLEASURE in telling her it was very expensive and i didn't want to spend that much un-neccessarily, cos i have better things to spend MY money on.
^ i agree sometimes people ask for the most ridiculous things i remember being asked for a ghd straightener. Ofcourse i did not buy it for her. Instead I brought her body shop make-up.
I know you're not asking about this, but I don't think you should go off and spend so much money on makeup just because you were asked to buy this stuff.
My cousins in Pakistan sometimes make unreasonable requests and we do what we think is appropriate. In their defense, I don't think they realize just how expensive it is, or how hard we work to save and earn our money.
Recently my male cousin asked for a Rado watch. He's 23 and he wanted a model that was nicer than his own father wore! We got him the lowest model Movado and he actually loved it and appreciated it.
Also try The Cosmetics Store (they have these in a lot of outlet malls). It is like a brand name makeup closeout store (MAC, Bobbi Brown, Clinique, Estee Lauder - all the usual suspects). For around $15 The Cosmetics Store will have those sample sets with a makeup pouch. We buy them for all my younger cousins and if they end up liking a product or two, we send them a full size.
Don't stress yourself out over this! Also, take your list with you to Sephora and someone will be able to answer all your questions.
I think that was great advice and every now and then my cousin will ask for things and i'm like thinking i myself don't have that why would i get one for you? I think a lot of people back home think those of us abroad are a lot wealthier than we are and it doesn't help when they always send money, gifts with people that go back home. I think our parents gave the wrong impression in that matters. I remember once my uncle asked me to get jeans for his nephew, not even someone in my own family and my dad made me go around town looking for some stupid levi pants. i was highly annoyed but glad it wasn't anything expensive. I think i get annoyed because i was raised to never really make demands or wish lists and such like that. if ppl want to get me a gift it's appreciated but im not going to tell them i want an outfit from karma or something.
Re: Make up mysteries - help!!
Hey girls, what about those of us who don't use foundation? Can I use the strobe cream after my moisturizer and before the blush? Can I even use the blush with it?
Another question: Do you apply strobe cream all over your face or it is simply to highligh your cheekbones and eyebrow bone?
Oh one last question, can I use it on daily basis?
Re: Make up mysteries - help!!
^^SLH- I agree. A few times I have been asked by relatives in Pakistan if I want something (more as a courtesy I am sure) but I have said no even though who wouldn’t mind a nice outfi or something delicious snack to eat from there.. but then I think that it will be inconvenient for them or that I don’t want to burden them with something that I don’t really NEED.
And I hate it when people there ask us to send the most costliest thing and say, please get this for us, we will pay you when you come. How nice is it gonna look if I give them the stuff and say, by the way, it’s this many rupees because dollar rate is so and so. I have been asked to bring laptops, expensive cellphones, digital cameras and even GPS (even though they know it will NOT work in Pakistan!!!) and how they will pay me when I am there. Even more annoying is when they call to say, oh find us a good deal on so and so thing, we really want one. I have spent HOURS looking for things for people there and in the end it’s like, oh no it’s okay, we don’t really want it. Now when they ask me to look for something, I email them links to Best Buy or Walmart and ask them to find it themselves.
Once someone in my mom’s family asked her to send this really expensive Coach purse when I was going and how she was going to pay me when I was there. So I took it and while I was giving it to her, someone made a comment about how expensive it must be. To which, she replied, expensive for them? Probably not, they live in America, I am sure they can afford such expensive gifts. I don’t know if she was hinting that we shouldn’t be cheap and ask her for money but I was so annoyed, I was like, actually I was gonna buy you a knockoff from Chinatown since they are so much cheaper but since you wanted to PAY for it, it seemed an original one wasn’t gonna be a problem for you. Oh by the way, it was about $300 so you can do the conversion 
After that, I don’t EVER say yes to buying anything expensive for anyone there!
Hey girls, what about those of us who don't use foundation? Can I use the strobe cream after my moisturizer and before the blush? Can I even use the blush with it?
Another question: Do you apply strobe cream all over your face or it is simply to highligh your cheekbones and eyebrow bone?
Oh one last question, can I use it on daily basis?
Strobe cream is a moisturizer- I hardly use foundation, I just use the strobe cream under it or alone when going out, it keeps my skin very hydrated. You can use blush, bronzer, anything you like on it.
Strobe cream is for all over your face, it's not a highlighter. It was recommended to me because I have yellow undertones and SC brightens up my face in a subtle way. You can look at the description of it on the MAC site. And yes, you can use it everyday, I love it.
way to go! I would have done the same thing. My cousins from pakistan want the most expensive things as well. They have NO idea how hard I work!
Last year my sister spent over $1000 on gifts alone to pakistan - and the poor girl is a student.
Strobe cream is a moisturizer- I hardly use foundation, I just use the strobe cream under it or alone when going out, it keeps my skin very hydrated. You can use blush, bronzer, anything you like on it.
Strobe cream is for all over your face, it's not a highlighter. It was recommended to me because I have yellow undertones and SC brightens up my face in a subtle way. You can look at the description of it on the MAC site. And yes, you can use it everyday, I love it.
Hey, thanks so much shay9164. My sis had it recommended to her, but the MAC lady said to use it as a highligher. No wonder sis didn't get the desired results.