Ever since I wrote about my favorite moisturizers, I thought about writing about my favorites in different product categories. Next up – HIGHLIGHTERS!
Putting on highlighter is probably my favorite part of my makeup routine. While eyeshadow is my favorite makeup PRODUCT, it’s not my favorite part of my routine. Highlighter is sort of like frosting on a cake – it just makes everything instantly better. It elevates a look instantly. The inner corner highlight on the eye + hitting the high points of the cheekbones? Perfection.
My highlighter preference is that I like a blinding highlight. I love both glossy and metallic highlights with no glitter. I feel like glittery highlighters tend to highlight skin texture, as, obviously, they are highlighters. So I tend to stay away from those.
So what are my faves? Read on to find out more.
Stila Heaven’s Hue Highlighter in Kitten ($32): This might be my very favorite highlight that I own, and is also probably the most unique one that I have, a the texture is actually putty. When you touch it, you can see your fingerprint! You can move it around and mold it back into place. It’s fun. It’s a little denser than the Colourpop formula, in that it’s not quite as fragile. I find that it’s best to put it on with my fingers rather than a brush, although I’m sure with a dense brush, you may be able to pick up the product. While it’s sort of a champagne-y color, I do find that it leans a bit pink, so I wear this one with any cool-toned looks that I do. This is definitely a very blinding, glossy highlight with absolutely no glitter that looks so gorgeous. And the formula is very forgiving and doesn’t emphasize texture, and just glides over the skin. It’s the best.
Melt Cosmetics Highlighter in Stargazer ($39): I bought this highlighter at The Makeup Show Dallas last year at a bit of a discount, which is nice. This is actually my second favorite highlighter that I own. This highlighter is the baked gelee formula, which means that it’s not very powder-y at all. You almost feel like you will never hit pan, as you feel like you hardly make a dent in the product, yet you definitely get great color payoff with a brush. This is a champagne-y color but unlike the Stila, this one leans more gold. So I usually wear this one with warm-toned looks. This is a very blinding, metallic highlight, with absolutely no chunky glitter. I always use my Luxie highlighter brush to apply this, as it’s a little bit dense, which works well with the baked formula.
Colourpop Flexitarian Super Shock Highlighter ($8): I bought this one awhile back after the queen of highlighters, Nikkietutorials, recommended it. And then it sort of sat in my makeup collection for awhile because I thought it was too light for me. Only recently have I busted it out and I’ve learned that as long as I blend it out really well, it looks incredible. Very metallic, very blinding. It has the typical Colourpop Super Shock texture – that sort of sponge-y cream-ish formula. It definitely works best when tapped on with your fingers. (Also, I realize mine looks like hell – let this be a testament to the fact that I use it all the time and I’m constantly having to push it back together. I will need to get a new one with my next order!)
Click here to see a quick video these swatches.
Colourpop In-Nude-Endo ($18): Out of all the highlighters I will mention today, this is the one I would recommend the most. First of all, it’s $18 for 6 highlighters. And they are all the most wet, glossy powder highlighters I have ever used! No glitter! I have only had this since Valentine’s Day, and I find that I am reaching for it over and over. When I travel, I will pack this, as it has both warm and cool tones. There are two shades that I don’t use on my face, though I think they would look gorgeous on deeper skin tones. I haven’t tried them on my eyes yet, but I bet they would look so pretty for a no-makeup makeup look with the cool girl glossy face/eyes. You can really use any brush with these highlighters, as they are just a regular powder formula. I personally like to use my Sigma High Cheekbone Highlighter Brush.
The Shades and Descriptions
Glad You Came: warm ivory
On the Loose: soft gold
Fine Line: silvery cream pearl
On Tempo: soft rosey taupe with highlights of gold and silver
Morning After: light peach with highlights of gold and pink
Losing Sleep: amber with gold highlights
Click this link to view a short and kind of terrible video of these swatches!
Before In-Nude-Endo, Colourpop released the Gimme More highlighter palette, and it was honestly very glittery and not very good. So if you are looking at Colourpop highlighter palettes, definitely get the In-Nude-Endo palette.
So those are my top five fave highlighters. What are your favorites? Tell me in the comments below!
xo,
L
Purchased; All opinions are my own
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laurenelectro
A self-proclaimed beauty junkie/hoarder with a serious Sephora problem. This blog is a total rationalization of that problem. Everything is TOTALLY fine. Her free time is a mixed combination of making fun of reality TV with her husband, hanging out with cats and finally trying to figure out how to do her hair.