While I can understand why a highlighter palette with similar tones may make more sense for a particular skin tone, I prefer ones that have a good variety as I think that’s a good way to get value out of the palette.
— Christine
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Love: mixing shades, using them on the eyes (if not too glittery)
Hate: why why why so freakin’ BIG? It will take me YEARS to use them all up unless I decide to do body painting or use a body brush. Also, sometimes the palettes have colors that don’t work for everyone, which is annoying…
They rarely work for me. Most contain colours I don’t like/that don’t suit me in addition to those I might like. And I really don’t need a whole “assortment” of highlighters. I don’t wear them all that often and I’m just happier having singles.
Yep.
Ditto!
Rant: They usually are not very fair skin friendly. Most seem to only have one or two shades that will work on me, so I end up passing. I’m not spending extra $ on pans of product I can’t use.
Rave: They are really convenient and offer variety, which I love. Something like the ABH Glow Kit in Afterglow or the KVD Holographic palette are really fun and versatile for me, and all the shades work on my skin.
I love the Kat Von D one, and both the ABH Moonchild and Aurora for my pale pale skin. They’re the only ones that I’ve seen with colours that don’t show up 5 times darker than my skin tone! Most other pallettes have like one shade that would work and the rest are too dark.
LOVE: If they have enough difference in between shades to make it more interesting. Another selling factor for me is that they be usable as eyeshadows as well. This is why I love the 2 highlighter palettes I do own: ABH X Nicole Guerriero and KVD Alchemist.
HATE: When all the pans look like tiny variations of the SAME shade! Boring! Or if they are ridiculously glittery or have lots of fallout. Not a huge fan of ones that contain both creams and powders, as they can get messy over time.
YES I feel like the cream/powder combo palettes are universally disliked but every once in a while a company will do it. whyy?
I’m quite pale so most palettes only have one shade that works as a highlight for me, so I tend to prefer singles for regular shades. I do buy palettes with unusual highlighter colors, though, because blues, greens, and purples don’t usually come in singles and I have a thing for incorporating fantasy colors into everyday looks. The variety of highlighter color options on the market lately has been a lot of fun in my opinion.
Honestly two years ago I thought having more than 2 highlighters was unnecessary but now I like them so much that I love trying all the shades that come in a good palette. I definitely prefer palettes that offer a lot of range because I figure if I can’t tell the difference between two shades on my skin, then what’s the point of having both?
There’s nothing to really hate except when the palette form is noticeably poorer quality compared to permanent singles from the same company. Also while metallic finishes are great, I hate it when there are loose glitters that end up looking just plain messy.
I don’t have a need for an entire highlighting palette. If I were a MUA sure but there is no way I can wear some of those colors to work lol.
I personally have no interest in highligher palettes as they always have at least one shade I’d never use so it’s a waste of money for me. I’m picky about my highlighters so prefer to buy singles so I can reach for exactly what I’m wanting that day. I do have some makeup artist friends who love them as they can use them for more varied skin tones or layer them for different looks.
Love: I love the fact that I have a variety of shades to choose from at once and can easily mix. I also love that they’re super convenient for traveling. Again, I’m not forced to stick with just one highlighter
Hate: I actually love highlighter palettes a lot so there’s not much to hate honestly. I do agree that a little more variety within highlighter palettes would be nice because sometimes they can all look the same. My biggest complaint is that there’s too damn many!!! I’m either going to go broke or learn my lesson and stop buying them. Knowing me, I’ll probably go broke first because I still want both of the new ABH ones ?
I wish there were more highlighter palettes with difference in colors/undertones/finishes but not much difference in depth. I like having pale gold and pale pink highlighter in one palette, but not pale gold and deep gold, because while highlighters are sheer enough to use even if they don’t fit my undertone, darker colors simply wouldn’t work on me.
I only have the one highlighting palette, the Nyx Strobe of Genius, and I love it! It has enough variety for me (although two of the colours are quite similar, but out of 7 that’s not too bad), and the only colour that’s too dark on me (a bronze-y colour) looks beautiful as an eyeshadow. I don’t think I’d bother getting any more palettes though, unless they were very unique colours, but even then I probably wouldn’t use them often enough for it to be worth the money.
I am the complete opposite. I feel like if there is too much shade variety, I will end up using only one or two shades and the rest will be wasted.
I love highlighter palettes! I only have one, ABH Moonchild, but I definitely want more. I love them so much that I had a dream about swatching highlighter palettes the other night!
Rant: already pointed out, but most aren’t fair skin friendly. Any palette containing strong gold, orange or bronze toned highlighters are absolutely useless to me and I don’t want to waste my money on products I’ll never use. Also, because I am a highlighter fanatic I already own so many individual products I don’t want to spend money on any palette that contains a shade I already own.
Rave: admittedly, I don’t own any highlighter palettes, just a ton of individuals! I am however very intrigued by the ABH Sweets Glow Kit and the Moonchild and Aurora palettes.
Rave: If it is in your shade range, it can be lovely mixing the shades together.
Rant: I am not really a fan of highlighter palettes as there are always a couple of shades or finishes that are not going to be used.
Secondly, they are often bulky (eg the Becca Jacklyn Hill one) and difficult to take with you in your bag for a daily touch up
Thirdly – often they are so big, have so much various product that you will be using it for the term of your natural life
I agree totally.
I like to purchase individual highlighters for the most part.
The only one I ever thought would work well for me was put out by Laura Geller. I think it included Ballerina, Gilded Honey and Peach. I didn’t get it because I had already purchased these in singles, which is why I know it would have been a good one to have. I did buy an Anastasia palette in Sundipped but because of both the shades and intensity find I don’t use it as much as I thought I would. The size alone has caused it to be stored differently than the majority of the highlighters I own, which means I need to be planning on using it before I open the drawer that holds all my single highlighter compacts.
That said, if Becca ever released a well packaged highlighter palette containing Moonstone, Opal, Champagne Pop and Pearl (or shades reminiscent of them) I would find it difficult to not purchase.
RANT: Too much glitter and being fair most of the time they don’t work for me.
RAVE: Having a nice shade selection and being able to use on the eyes and lips. I love KVD Alchemist and Hourglass Ambient Lighting.