Share: Tell us what you love and hate about Highlighter Pens!
my answer: Sometimes you can get too little/too much product, and not all of the pens will make it easy to know when you’re running low. I like how they brighten the under eye area, though!
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I love the illuminating effect they give, but I hate how expensive they are for what you get!
Rant: hard to control how much product you use.
Rave: love my YSL Touche Eclat in 1.5 for light undereye circles. That neutral/yellow shade is a lot better for me than the original pink 1 shade. So glad they added a wide selection of shades!
Same here, they have pros and cons 🙂 Love then for under eye brightening.
I’m not a fan of these, even for undereye brightening. They seem to highlight my dark circles when I would rather just cover them.
Same here! Just give me a concealer! I look like a disco zombie with under eye illuminators.
Loved them when I was younger and used YSL touche eclat for a number of years. Not a fan now my skin is maturing and I need bigger guns for the excess baggage. I find they are far too drying.
I like highlighting pens for highlighting purposes but not for under the eye. I have the maybelline dream lumi pens in radiant and ivory. I bought radiant to use over my bobbi brown corrector for under the eye but don’t like it for that purpose. I prefer nars radiant creamy concealer for under the eye which has a similar brightening effect but more coverage and diffusive properties than the dream lumi while still being much cheaper than the YSL.
I don’t think I’ve actually ever used one… I did have a Physician’s Formula concealer that came in this form, and I loved it. I just love the idea of a liquid product with an external brush, though; while it’s true some product may be “wasted”, it’s still far less than throwing away half the product because it’s too old. For me, undereye “issues” aren’t something I deal with very often, so while I may toss a “traditional” liquid concealer after a year, or so, I can keep aa “pen” quite a bit longer if I consistently disinfenfect the brush, and end up finishing it.
As for “brightening”, I prefer a powder product like NARS Nico, or WnW Reserve Your Cabana. I simply use a fluffy eyeshadow brush, sweep it on, and buff it out with a clean brush. As long as there’s no glitter/shimmer/sparkle, any “flesh-toned”, luminous shadow works (I used NARS Abyssinia in the past, as well).
I love Givenchy Mister Light. Only thing I’ve found so far that get rids of my hideous dark circles!
Love the MAC Prep+Prime Highlighter Pen! The Shade Light Boost is similar to YSL’s Touche Eclat Shade 2 and much lower in cost.
I strongly dislike highlighter pens. To me, they feel like you don’t get a lot of product for the price. It’s hard to get the product to come out and I usually end up with nothing or too much. I much prefer highlighter in a stick form or even a tube with a doe-foot applicator. Or even a powder. Or a cream. But no no no to pens!
Hate them. I LOVE the Elias Faas range but you either get too much or…nothing for 5mins as you twist that annoying little dial with it’s annoying little clicky noise….Otherwise they are a fantastic product, it’s just not the sensible way to present it.
I used the YSL Touche Eclat as well, but I prefer to use it as a highlighter than as concealer. Do you guys have any experience with Dior Skinflash Primer? If so, how do you use it? Do you like it?
I love the Clinique Airbrush Concealer in 01 Fair. I’ve used up probably 7 of those by now! It’s a highlighting pen similar to YSL Touche Eclat. My mother has the YSL one and I’ve tried it, but it didn’t do anything at all on me to be honest. I use my Clinique one every single day! I don’t suffer from extremely dark under-eye circles but I can definitely tell a huge difference. I always put a little bit under each eye and use either my fingers or one of those small Sigmax kabuki/concealer brushes to blend it out, and when I’ve done it to just one side, I’m always amazed at the difference! It just brightens up the area and makes you look healthy and awake.
I do have just one fine line under each eye and my skin is quite oily, so I like to set it with a powder. That doesn’t completely stop it from settling into the lines, but it does help. I’ve used Benefit’s Powderflage for ages but I’m running low now, and they’ve discontinued the product 🙁 So I just ordered the bareMinerals Well Rested powder and we’ll see how that goes with my Clinique pen.
Even on days when I’m not really wearing makeup but decide to go grocery shopping or whatever, I’ll pop a little bit of my highlighting concealer underneath my eyes and I look a whole lot more awake! One pen usually lasts me about 6 months and it’s not extremely pricy!