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Rant & Rave: Liquid Highlighters

This Week’s Topic: LIQUID HIGHLIGHTERS!

Your Mission: Tell us what you love, hate, or are otherwise indifferent to about liquid highlighters.  Do you find them better than powder?  Never use ’em?

54 Comments

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Ana Avatar

I love liquid highlighters! My favorite is “NP Set” cosmetics (Sold at Target) in “Moscow.” It was discontinued at my local store, and I got each bottle for $7! It smells AMAZING and is just enough shimmer — one pump takes care of my cheeks, nose and above my eyeshadow. Perfect.

Christopher Avatar

I don’t know why so many people love Benefit HighBeam.. I HATE it! Maybe I just got a faulty one, but whenever I use it, it wont blend out. I love the color but even if I apply it with a stippling brush or a sponge, it only sticks to the exact spot I place it. So I just have little sparkly streaks on my cheeks. It sucks :/

ashley Avatar

try adding a little to ur face cream or foundation blend together on the back of ur hand before ur apply to ur face that should help

Brandi Avatar

I don’t like liquid highlighters. I find them difficult to blend, and my cheeks end up being spotty. Also I find they fade away alot faster and tend to accentuate my pores. I really prefer cream highlighters, and powder occasionally.

Dana Avatar

I am not a big user of highlighters in general. I have very oily skin and highlighters just seem to accentuate the oil. Powders are just easier for me to use, I never know when to put on the liquid highlighters. If I apply before translucent powder, the powder kills the highlight. If I apply after it just tends to look weird over the powder. And translucent powder is a must for me. I also wear powder foundations a lot like BE or Philosophy powder so same problem. It’s easier just to dust some over everything when I need a bit of glow.

CM Avatar

MAC Lustre Drops or CCB’s are the best.
Liquid/Cream hilighters look much more believable on high def and give a very beautiful “dewy” radiance on the skin.

natalia Avatar

I prefer powder highlighters overall, but I do love Strobe Cream by MAC as an all-over face illuminator/highlighter mixed in with founation. Also Chanel Soleil de Chanel Sheer Fluide in Sunkissed is gorgeous!

Kajal Couture Avatar

I did like the Stila liquid luminizer but I really really like the Mac lustre drops. My all time fave highlighter is the mac beauty powder loose in drizzlegold, but unfortunately all beauty powders loose were discontinued.

Jamie Avatar

I’m really enjoying liquid highlighters, but I have found a lot of misses. I swatched a few liquid highlighters at Sephora, and too many came across glittery. I like Lancome’s liquid highlighter because it’s very natural. I just bought the Becca Shimmering Skin Perfector in Opal, so I’m hoping it’s a hit!

Sarah Avatar

I’m not a huge highlight person, so I don’t really have a preference. I’ve got the MAC Pink Power MSF & Pink Rebel drops, and I find they both work well for different things. 🙂

Carrie G Avatar

I hate them… i feel like it blocks your pores more, holds more bacteria and has a much falser look to the glow then a powder that just has the iridescent glow in the light rather than trying to be a shiny piece of metal.

Marcie Avatar

I tried Benefit High Beam for the first time a couple of weeks ago because of their Feelin’ Cheeky set that has the minis. I fell in love! However, I did break out a bit on the cheekbone area (which has never happened!) and I don’t know if it was the High Beam. Which I find unfortunate because I love the effect it gives.

MJ Avatar

LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Becca Shimmering Skin Perfector. I have it in Opal and it is by far the most natural looking highlighter I have ever used. I have MAC strobe light, but it is too single dimensional for me. I much prefer liquids to powders on me, because I find them to blend more easily and build without looking like a disco ball.

Michelle Avatar

I have one that I use almost everyday, and I love it because a little amount gives my cheeks a pretty glow! It’s the Radiant Highlighter by The Body Shop.

GrantMichael Avatar

I like powder highlighters much better. If you can correct the discolorations, then why not use a minimal formulated powder highlighter (no bismouth oxychloride, please!) from a mineral makeup company instead? I like Diorskin Shimmer Star Amber Diamond the best! But will no repurchase, because of this damn economy…. makin us all a little more dull lol.

OH WELL! Love you Temptalia. Peace and Blessings,

GrantMichael

telle Avatar

LOVE them!!!! Definitely more bold and vibrant! I only have come across one liquid liner that did not perform, that was Lorac’s liquid liner. I did speak to someone at Sephora about it and she said there was a batch of bad liners, so maybe that was the case. When I had applied it to my eye, it bled! ACK!
My FAVORITE liquid eyeliners Lancome’s artliners and Lise Watier’s Feline liner.
🙂

telle Avatar

ha ha! Good thing I read well! 🙂 I am a little cautious about liquid highlighters but do like Clinique’s liquid highlighter on occasion!
🙂 Telle

meme Avatar

Like most things, like some, hate some. I like Benefit HighBeam. I love the liquid highlighter side in the Peter Thomas Roth unwrinle concealer/highlighter. And of course I adore the Touche Eclat Radiant Touch Highlighter in light peach – used to use the origional – but like light peach #2 these days way better. However I do reach for powered highlighter a lot under and over the brow – often adding a touch of it to the very top of the cheek at times. There are very few pencil highlighters I have found that really do the trick for me – tons out there – tried tons too – but they always end up dead in my stash.

Kris Avatar

Like most, I love High Beam. I also have Moon Beam, which is fine, but I bought the full bottle, that has the awful applicator, it’s like a little nail polish, individual strand wand? I never get things where I want and it leaves a ton left in the bottom of the bottle that it can’t get. I switched to the “travel” version when I invested in High Beam. Long, lean tube with a sponge-tipped applicator. Much better. My skin tone is pretty much alabaster; and I use the HB pretty sparingly. One pull for more than enough to cover what I like. I find the best way to blend it out to be fingers, honestly. I can see why a brush or sponge wouldn’t disperse it well.

I’m also really like Nars Albatross recently, for my highlighting. I use HB when I’m doing a more casual look and just want a little glow, but Albatross really pops when I’ve done something a bit more dramatic.

Queentut Avatar

I find the liquid highlighters tricky as far as placement. I find it easier to get a “natural” “lit from within” look with a powder. The liquid also seems to settle into my pores more than the powder does. I love the shade selection of the liquids though…golden, iridescent, rosy. Powders are usually pinkish or bronze period.

Angelique Avatar

I absolutely love them! I find that you can place it more precisely on your face rather than a powder. I use the Sephora highlighter. I believe it was around $14-16. It’s so nice and I always find myself with the “Kim K” glow with it.

Moonchime Avatar

I LOVE the Boots No.7 High Lights Illuminating Lotion. I’ve seen it touted as a dupe for Benefit’s High Beam–at half the price–and for twice as much product. The Boots No.7 High Lights Lotion can be found in the USA in all Target stores. It sells for $12.99 for a full ounce. The bottle is glass and has a pump. I love it!! It only takes one small pump to highlight both cheekbones.

Helen Avatar

I like them. I use them in the corners of my eyes, and sometimes around my lips. Sephora and Illamasqua are the 2 brands I have experience with. I don’t think powder would work as well, especially around my eyes.

Trish Avatar

I prefer not to use liquid ones because I have very oily/sensitive/acne prone skin. And in hot weather it just makes things worse. So I stick with powder ones (Bare Escentuals, Smashbox) instead.

Lisa G Avatar

I don’t like liquid highlighters at all. They tend to not blend out very well, but sit on top of my foundation and look odd. I prefer powder highlighters because they are idiot-proof.

Laurel Avatar

I like liquid highlighters better than cream, but less than powder. I think it just depends on your skin type and what kind of face products you use to determine whether liquid will work for you. If I am already using a liquid foundation, then liquid highlighters work the best and will blend easier. But if I decide to use a powder AND a powder blush, then liquid becomes difficult to blend out. I love the now discontinued Revlon Bare it All illuminator and also the NARS Copacabana illuminator.

Mariella Avatar

With the exception of MAC Strobe Cream (does that count as a liquid highlighter or is more of an illuminator?), I’ve only ever used powder highlighters – MSFs from MAC, Snow Bunny from Too Faced, Mary Lou Manizer from TheBalm. I like powders as they seem easy to apply and control so I can get them just where I want them and buff them out. It seems to me that liquids would be a bit harder to use and that in blending them you could easily get them where you don’t want them or rub off whatever makeup you have underneath.

Karina Avatar

I have used both Benefit’s High Beam and Moon Beam and I don’t really like them. I much prefer highlighting powders to liquids. The consistency of the liquids bothers me, and makes me look really oily and too shiny. I guess my skin just won’t tolerate liquid highlighters.

Adelita Avatar

What I love:
Benefit’s High Beam, Girl Meets Pearl Moon Beam & Estée Lauder Spotlight Skin Tone Perfector.

Hmm… it’s an okay:
MAC Lustre Drop (too much pigment) & Strobe Liquid

Stay away from:
Stila All Over Shimmer (the name fits perfectly, shimmer all over your face and voilà… disco ball!) & The Body Shop Glow Enchancer (I can’t tell the difference whether I’m wearing it or not)

Btw, can anybody tell me about Smashbox Artificial Light Luminizing Lotion performance?

Helena Avatar

I think liquid highlighters look more natural than powder ones, but I don’t really have too much preference. What I hate about any highlighter is when it’s too dark, though!

Miss Ruby Rouge Avatar

I’m not too sure if they still stock it, but a when I worked for “Origins” they used to have a lovely liquid highlighter called “Halo Effect” and it was sooo nice and gave such a beautiful highlight!! Sadly my bottle has now gone bad, but if you’re in the US (or a country that stocks Origins make-up) it’s definitely worth checking out, but I’d recommend it for a light to medium skin tone, any darker and it might look a little ashy!!

Kat Avatar

I love Becca Shimmering Skin Perfector in Rose. The Rose has a nice pearlescent sheen which gives skin a nice luminous glow. I use it everyday!

Shavonne Avatar

Based on my experience I prefer a powder highlighter, but if choosing between cream or liquid with powder foundation I would choose cream or like a cream to powder highlighter, like Nars multiples. This product blends well over powder foundation using your fingers or a brush. I used liquid before and I dabbed it on under my powder foundation, which I stippled over the highlight. This method was ok, but too time consuming. Hope this helps.

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