Top 10 of 2011: Blushes & Highlighters

It’s so hard for me to pick favorites, but these are ten products that really caught my eye this year for adding color and/or glow to cheeks. Since these are products for 2011, I did exclude any spring 2012 products that may have been reviewed this year, as they’re technically for next – so these feature products new for 2011 and permanent products I discovered this year!

1. Guerlain Parure de Nuit
2. Laura Mercier Rose Rendezvous
3. Guerlain Blush G Serie Noire
4. Benefit Watt’s Up
5. Tarte Exposed
6. Guerlain Terra Inca
7. Tarina Tarantino Feather
8. NYX Menage a Trois
9. NARS Oasis
10. Chanel Beiges Ombres Tissees

What was your favorite blush/highlighter that you discovered this year?

5 Holiday Highlighters

1. Benefit Watt’s Up — creamy, glowy highlighter
2. Guerlain Parure de Nuit — soft, subtle highlighter (still available at Neiman Marcus + Dillard’s)
3. theBalm Mary-Lou Manizer — shimmering gold
4. Benefit Sugarbomb — soft, glowy warmth
5. NARS Miss Liberty — wet-looking sparkle

What’s your favorite highlighter for the holidays?

Benefit Watt’s Up! Highlighter

Benefit Watt’s Up! ($30.00 for 0.33 oz.) is a “champagne” hued cream-to-powder highlighter that’s designed to work on all complexions. Benefit suggests applying it to cheek and brow bones and use the soft blender to sculpt and blend out the protect. It can be used on its own or over existing makeup.

It’s a shimmered champagne beige that almost seems like it’ll be too much, but once it’s blended out, it results in a beautiful, glowy sheen that’s luminous and lit-from-within. It sits on top of makeup well without looking heavy or caky, though it certainly works well against the natural skin. The consistency is creamy without being thick or greasy; it has enough glide to apply without bunching up in places, but it stays where you put it.

I like blending out the product with fingertips, but the included applicator (on the other end of the tube, which feels like a plush sponge) will work, too. I’m just wary of washing it, but it would do in a pinch, and I think it smears around any underlying makeup.  I was really pleased with the wear, because it lasted for a full eight hours and didn’t settle into pores or look uneven after a long day.

The Glossover

P	Watt's Up! A
	Benefit's latest highlighter really impresses--it delivers a luminous glow that looks natural, soft, and effortless... because it is as close to effortless as one can get! The creaminess makes it easy to apply and blend, while the cream-to-powder finish delivers good wear.
	Product 10/10 Pigmentation 10/10 Texture 10/10 Longevity 9/10 Application 5/5
	Where to Buy
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Benefit Watt’s Up! Highlighter

Benefit Watt’s Up! Highlighter

Benefit Watt’s Up! Highlighter

Benefit Watt’s Up! Highlighter

Benefit Watt’s Up! Highlighter

Benefit Watt’s Up! Highlighter

Benefit Watt’s Up! Highlighter

Benefit Watt’s Up! Highlighter

Benefit Watt’s Up! Highlighter on cheekbones, Illamasqua Ambition blush on cheeks