Archived Post
Hit List: Worst Liquid Highlighter
What’s the Worst Liquid Highlighter?
What brand/products win this category? What makes it so awful ?
Explore Temptalia
We're here to help you make better beauty purchases that you'll enjoy and love! We recommend signing up to take advantage of personalized features like tracking products you own, viewing dupes that you already have, and more!
Here are some useful resources for you:
Compare Any Two
Curious how two shades compare to each other? Type in the shades below to get instant side-by-side swatches!
37 Comments
Comments that do not adhere to our comment policy may be removed. Discussion and debate are highly encouraged but we expect community members to participate respectfully. Please keep discussion on-topic, and if you have general feedback, a product review request, an off-topic question, or need technical support, please contact us!
Please help us streamline the comments' section and be more efficient: double-check the post above for more basic information like pricing, availability, and so on to make sure your question wasn't answered already. Comments alerting us to typos or small errors in the post are appreciated (!) but will typically be removed after errors are fixed (unless a response is needed).
We appreciate enthusiasm for new releases but ask readers to please hold questions regarding if/when a review will be posted as we can't commit to or guarantee product reviews. We don't want to set expectations and then disappoint readers as even products that are swatched don't always end up being reviewed due to time constraints and changes in priorities! Thank you for understanding!
Comments on this post are closed.
We try to approve comments within 24 hours (and reply to them within 72 hours) but can sometimes get behind and appreciate your patience! 🙂 If you have general feedback, product review requests, off-topic questions, or need technical support, please contact us directly. Thank you for your patience!
Benefit High Beam, it just wouldn’t blend into my skin no matter how I applied it.
Definitely goes to the ELF Shimmering Facial Whip in Spotlight. It looks overwhelmingly metallic on the face, and it’s just a bizarre consistency which dries within seconds, so blending becomes impossible. Horrible product and even for a dollar, it’s not worth it. Save your money ladies!
Worst Liquid Highlighter = MAC Strobe cream/liquid. I know there are lots of fans, and it starts out all lovely and stuff on me, but it just doesn’t do all that much over time and fades so darn quickly.. a couple of hours at best! Total waste of money and disappointing. Oh, and I do not mix with foundation, I stipple lightly over with either a brush or a sponge. I don’t want glow everywhere, just on top of my cheekbones, down the center of my nose, a touch on the forehead, and in my cupid’s bow. Benefit High Beam has far better staying power.
Benefit’s Moon Beam
ELF Shimmering Face Whip, granted it’s only a dollar, but the product is just a mess. It comes out all loose and oily.
Definitely the ELF Shimmering Facial Whip. For only $1 I don’t expect miracles, but I certainly expect at least a useable product. The Facial Whips are a complete mess. The vast majority of the time the only thing that comes out of the bottle is oil, but when you are “lucky” enough to actually squeeze out some of the actual product it dries almost immediately so blending is impossible. The product is either dry as a rock or an oily mess, and I’ve found absolutely no way to make it work.
I’ve only tried one liquid highlighter, something by Sally Hansen, and I just didn’t like it. It wasn’t so much a lack of quality in the product, but I just don’t care for the medium. A cream-stick or powder are much more convenient, and are much easier to use for the same result.
I know Benefit High Beam is a lot better than most liquid highlighters on the market, but I just can’t make it work for me. If I apply it on my foundation it doesn’t blend well and almost acts like a remover to the makeup I’ve applied. And before foundation, it just will never blend do it kind of looks like a streaky mess.
Hi Anna: You can try applying over your foundation very lightly with a stippling brush or a sponge.. just use a very small amount of product and gently tap onto skin where you would like the highlight to be. For me, it works better over the foundation and so you are not blending out the product.
@wwendalynne That’s what I do with both Benefit High Beam and NARS’ Copacabana! If you’re in a rush your finger even works well if you pat gently.
I had so many people swoon over the ELF Shimmering Facial Whips, but I despised them! The product separates so much in the tube that they’re literally nearly impossible to use, I’ve had such success with several of ELF’s products, so this was a shame.
@Adriana K Why Moonbeam? I was looking forward to trying it out, I love Sunbeam. Let me know, thanks!
@Shana B Well, I though it was gonna look great on my olive skintone (I’m MAC NC25-30 and can easily tan). Turns out Moon Beam looked PINK, I mean, not peachy golden but BARBIE PINK on my skin. I tried applying it using different techniques and amounts, but it always left nothing but a pink shimmer on me. Afterwards, I tried High Beam and Girl Meets Pearl and those worked great! Especially the latter. I also like Mac Soft and Gentle (although the shimmer in this MSF could be finer, I find it a bit too chunky sometimes). I’ve also tried Smashbox Artificial Light Luminizing Lotion in Flash as an overall luminizer mixed with foundation, and even though the product initially looks a lot like Moon Beam, once applied it doesn’t leave the Barbie Pink tint on my skin. So far, I’ve tried plenty of highlighters and the only one I haven’t been able to pull of, the only one that looks awful no matter what, is Moon Beam. However, I believe you should definitely try Moon Beam in the store and then have a look under natural and artificial light to check if it works well on your skin tone. Who know, it might work for you! 😀
I always hate naming Benefit, because I really like some of their products, but Moon Beam- as much as I loved the colour- was terrible on me. It settled into my pores something wicked and made me break out.
#1 Crushed Pearls Firming Highlighter – Light Pink (0.37fl oz.) “A highlighting and moisturizing formula for adding a dewy glow to the skin. What it’s used for: Featuring particles of real crushed cultured pearls, this moisturizing formulation highlights and illuminates the skin for a fresh, youthful glow. It features an easily blended texture that sinks into the skin with a silky, smooth finish. It also helps the skin to appear firm and toned, thereby boosting the skin’s youthful disguise.”
My reasoning, in the light or sun, the highlighter picks up to many larger sparkers. I like a natural looking highlighter such a Benefit’s Sunbeam. If you dont mind sparkling, then go for it! 🙂
#2 Macs Strobe Cream – I reach for it on occasion but truthfully I do not like the Oyster tones in it and it doesnt do much for me in terms of a long lasting highlight.
In contrast to those mentioned above, my favorites are Benefit’s Watt’s Up and Sunbeam, as well as something I never hear about but swear by, MysticGlo- a facial Bronzing Shimmer Cream. The best illuminator I own. Add a drop to your foundation and GLOW, use sparingly until you get a blend you like.The product is made by Mystic Tan. Enjoy!
I’ve pretty much only ever used two liquid highlighters…Benefit’s High Beam and NARS’ Copacabana. I prefer the latter — I only need a very small amount to get a gorgeous highlight on my cheekbones and browbones.
Any of Nars liquid illuminators. They’re too glittery to look pretty and natural on the skin. Looked like I took loose glitter and put it all over my face.
Yes Nars liquid illuminator was not good on me either! I used to have Orgasm, it did nothing on me, I didn’t see any kind of glitter or color or anything I don’t know now if I have the right thing everyone is talking about how glittery they are :S
The only liquid highlighter I own is by Gosh and I never use it. Its greasy feeling:(
I would say Benefit’s High Beam. Even with a lot of blending, it looks patchy. i blame my dry skin really, because i know a lot of people love this.
Benefit’s high beam for me also, it made my skins texture look awful and accentuated my pores. Not a look I really aim for.
I tried Benefit High Beam and hated it because it was hard to blend out and I’m pretty sure it broke me out because I never break out on my cheeks. I also think it looks ashy on my skin tone.
It’s more of a cream, but I didn’t like Benefit’s Girl Meets Pearl.
ELF’s shimmering facial whips are awful. Mine is totally watery. But if you get their radiance enhancer in spotlight, it’s a total dupe for high beam and I love it!
@kathrynvm and see I LOVE my ELF shimmering facial whip hahaha
@TophCam Lol! My friend has the same one and said hers isn’t that runny, so maybe I got a bad batch or they just vary a lot.
@kathrynvm Elf quality tends to vary a lot. I’ve bought 5 of the same brush in one order and gotten essentially 3 different kinds of brushes.
I HATE anything with a pearly finish to it. No one glows with a pinky purple shine to their face. No one. Benefit High Beam, I’m talking to you.
@TophCam Haha! Pink based highlighters look awful on my yellow skin, so I swatched it in Sephora and hated it. Moon Beam looked great though.
Stila All Over Shimmer. Glittery!!!
Benefit High Beam was awful !
Any of the elf shimmering whips are HORRID they are so liquidy its like water
I really like benefits high beam but it can tend to be oily. how do i make it work for my oily skin?
I’ve only tried one (like everyone else it seems) and that was benefit High Beam. However, I love it. It isn’t too glittery, and gives a nice soft pearly shimmer. I have a feeling that this works so well on me because i’m pale.
Benefit Sun Beam! It pretty much disappeared on my face…it had no pigment at all!
Benefit High Beam. Awful texture and so unnatural looking!
Benefit high beam is getting a lot of hate here, shame really, cause on it’s own it’s admitidly a bit OTT, but mix it with your foundation and be amazed, your skin will look fresh, young, plump and brightened and not oily, I have oily skin and it’s just the perfect glow combination 🙂