LYS Beauty Brave Aim High Liquid Highlighter Review & Swatches
Brave
LYS Beauty Brave Aim High Multi-Use Liquid Highlighter ($19.00 for 0.6 oz.) is a golden peach with a translucent base and fine pearl throughout. Despite being very thin, fluid, and watery to the point where it ran down the back of my hand with ease, it fully dried down in less than 30 seconds. It was more foolproof mixed in with products or used all-over than as a standalone highlighter; to use it as the latter, I had to put some of the back of my hand, wait about 15 seconds, and then apply or else it was prone to lifting up base products, looking patchy on bare skin, and had very little visible coverage/sheen.
Mixed in with foundation, it added light luminosity to my base, but it was hard to detect without using a lot, and then it was almost too obvious in pearl on my skin (there didn’t seem to be a great happy medium when I trialed it). It lasted well for eight hours before fading visibly on me.
FURTHER READING: Formula Overview for details on general performance and characteristics (like scent).
Top Dupes
- Charlotte Tilbury Pillow Talk (P, $38.00) is more pigmented, cooler (90% similar).
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- ColourPop On My Mind (P, $10.00) is more shimmery, darker, cooler (80% similar).
- Urban Decay Fireball (P, $28.00).
Formula Overview
$19.00/0.6 oz. - $31.67 Per Ounce
The liquid highlighter is supposed to be used "over, underneath, or mixed with your foundation" and delivers a "superfine" finish that won't "accentuat[e] ... texture." They had very sheer coverage as the consistency was very thin, runny, and wanted to be spread out over a larger area, even if I used the barest amount. As a result, it was better and easier to work with mixed in with foundation (or moisturizer) or applied generously all-over the face rather than as a targeted highlighter (which is one of its three recommended uses).
The formula was quite runny initially, but it actually dried down when I applied it as a standalone cheek highlighter. The effect was barely visible and had little glow. When I tried it mixed in with foundation, I had a slightly dewier finish from my base that was generated by the liquid highlighter, but it was so subtle that I still had to hunt for it. I think there are a lot of mix-in highlighters on the market now, and this is one of the weaker ones I've tried.
The packaging is frustrating to use, as it really has to be held vertically (with the cap pointing downward) and the product almost leaks out with the barest pressure, but if you try to hold it more horizontally, the tube has a ton of air and almost nothing dispenses until you finally get some, and it's way too much. I also do not feel that a squeeze-tube is the right vehicle for such a thin, runny formulation--these are often in bottles (like Charlotte Tilbury Flawless Filter).
They lasted around eight hours as a standalone highlighter and didn't seem to impede the wear of my base/complexion products when used under or mixed-in.
Browse all of our LYS Beauty Aim High Multi-Use Liquid Highlighter swatches.
Ingredients
Aqua/Water/Eau, Propanediol, Mica, Glycerin, Myrciaria dubia Fruit Extract, Polyacrylate Crosspolymer-6, Hydrolyzed Vegetable Protein, Mangifera indica (Mango) Fruit Extract, Sodium Hyaluronate, Tocopherol, Ethylhexylglycerin, Phenoxyethanol, Tin Oxide. May Contain [+/-]: Titanium Dioxide (Ci 77891), Iron Oxides (Ci 77491).
Disclaimer: Ingredient lists are as available by the brand (or retailer) at the time of publishing. Please always check product packaging, if it exists, for the ingredient list applicable to the product you're purchasing, or the brand or retailer's website for the most up-to-date ingredient list.
If this had worked better than how you described when mixed with foundation, I would have loved it. But, alas, it either doesn’t show up or else it sounds like it gives a Tin Man effect. Neither of which seem appealing to me.
Perhaps a good pick for very oily skins?
This looks…..thin, patchy, and sparkly. I applaud brands that price their products more affordably, but if it comes with such a decline in quality, what’s the point? I suspect you can find a better performing highlighter at the drugstore.
Nope for me – it sounds waay to tricky to use. I would say mixing it with your foundation would be one way to use this product more easily, if you like a soft, radiant kind of foundation effect. I think there are much easier and convenient products to use in the market place than this one.