Though you might not think this of me, but I like a more medium coverage highlighter so something super pigmented/requiring a very light hand to apply tends to go unused as I’ll reach for something luminous and foolproof first.
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:
Curious how two shades compare to each other? Type in the shades below to get instant side-by-side swatches!
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!
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!
Glitter! While I do love sheen and shimmer, I don’t anything with chunky, cheap looking glitter particles. Strange, because one of my favorite highlighters of all time is MAC OtherEarthly, which could seem to some to be glittery, but I don’t think so.
Also, if it’s a cream highlight (or blush), a deal breaker would be if it lifted my other face products, ESPECIALLY foundation!
And I too appreciate more of a buildable formula, like you had mentioned. Easier to control that glow!
I feel alone in not really being sure of what to do with highlighters. I have one (MAC’s Pearl, which I bought on a whim) but I almost never use it. I see them in youtube videos but I wonder where they are going so lit up like that. Do people wear them to work? It seems like a lot for an every day look.
Maybe I’m not doing it right?
I feel you! I love wearing highlighter on a daily basis but I am far from strobing all over. To have a better controle over the application I use a small fan brush (from smashbox). This really allows you to get a subtle highlight :).
MAC Pearl is a beautiful, but quite a subtle highlighter, that is why you do not see much glow, IMHO. And my guess is that in the videos it is the strong lighting that helps see the glow better. So, I guess you are not doing nothing wrong, it’s just that you expect it to be like wow that glows!, when it is more a natural one.
The one crucial thing with me is that I can’t stand a highlighter that emphasizes my pores. I’m willing to try my hand with anything else, but that is a deal breaker.
Like you I don’t really enjoy when a highlighter is too pigmented (even though I mostly apply it with a fan brush).
Glitters, a formulation moving around on the skin and/or emphasing pore are also a deal-breaker for me!
If it’s too glittery or emphasizes my pores I’m outtie.
It has to be easy to blend to a natural finish. When I first swatched Benefit’s High Beam (the cream in a stick/tube), I thought it was wonderful but when I tried to use it and blend it out, it went patchy and sort of “lifted” and smeared my foundation. I haven’t tried a similar formula since and stick to powder or more liquid-y types of products now.
I think my only deal breaker is too big of glitter particles. I have a pretty good range of subtle-to-serious intensity and I love them all, it just depends on my look and application. Oh and cream formulation, usually- powder only for me!
Christine, any chance you’re considering reviewing the new Skin Frost highlighters from Jeffree Star? They are launching today with some interesting colors!
Oh, and a chalky base – that’s another deal breaker!
Oh gosh, yes: that! I had forgotten about chalky bases! Deal-breaker for me, too.
Since I’m so fair there’s many highlighters out there that’s way to dark for me, so the first thing I look at is if it’s light enough to act as a highlighter. After that the most important thing for me when it comes to highlighters is to see if it will look glittery or sparkly when I’m out in the sun. I’m not sure why but I absolutely hate when I see sparkles on the skin, I really want it to look natural.
I’ve been on a mission lately to find the perfect highlighter and I’ve tried lots of them but I’ve sadly been disappointed in most of them. I thought either Laura mercier matte radiance in highlight 01 or the Hourglass ambient strobe lighting powder in Incandescent light would turn out to be my holy grails but I didn’t like either of them, they were too glittery which really surprised me since I’ve heard people say that the one from Laura mercier doesn’t have any glitter in it.
My favorite thus far is a cream one from RMS, living luminizer but I would love to find a powder one I love as well. If any one has any suggestions on products to try I would be really grateful!
I’m pale, and my all time favorite is Colour Pop Double Dip. Nars Tribulation is a close powder dupe but I’m not sure if it was LE or not.
Color pop seems like such a good and affordable brand, unfortunately they don’t ship to Sweden (I’m hoping they will in the future). I’m going to check out if that Nars highlighter is permanent though, thanks!
Pricey, but I think you might like Candlelight powder by Kevin Aucoin.
I was actually choosing between Candlelight and the one from Laura Mercier but I’d heard so much great things about Matte radiance highlighter 01 so I choose that one.
I’m gonna put Candlelight on my (very long) wish list, thanks!
I bought a Makeup Revolution Vivid Baked Highlighter on a whim, and was quite surprised (and a bit disappointed, initially, LOL!) at how subtle it is. I typically like something with a punch, but I really do like it for “everyday” use. I even ended up picking up another shade. I have Radiant & Golden Lights, and both are pure glow, no shimmer/glitter.
That said, the staying power isn’t the greatest, and they may not work on skintones deeper than Medium-Tan. For under $10 USD, I think they’re worth looking into! They’re also talc-/petrolreum-free.
I don’t think I would mind if the staying power wasn’t that great, It’s easy to bring the product with you and reapply. It does sound like something I would be interested in and I love the fact that it’s so inexpensive (I don’t even want to know how much money I’ve spend looking for the perfect highlighter).
Talc and petroleum free is also a big plus (that’s something I don’t like about the becca highlighters, for that price they should be able to do it without petroleum and talc).
Thanks for the suggestion, I’m gonna look at swatches now!
Im also a pale person so can relate! I really love the Sleek highlighter in the ‘Face Form’ palette in the ‘Light’ shade, the other shades have slightly different highlight tones.
I know sleek doesn’t seem the most exciting option but it really works.
Actually purchased only one, but have others through Sephora favorites et al. Like powder formulas for the true purpose and liquids as mix-ins for TM, BB for subtle, allover brightening. the Fiona Stiles trio is very subtle; raging highlights aren’t the best on an older person. The FS has a warm pinky, a light sandy gold, and a light bronze, not intense. Kind of English white girl, though, and would not work for darker mediums or deeper. Obvious highlighter at night seems silly, as there is no light to be caught, except for party and photo lighting. heavy handed highlighter could be a product of social media hype, the whole IG, selfie bit. I actually feel like making a train whistle gesture at night job a few times a week. But, hey, if you’ve got product, flaunt it. The nose tip highlights are especially amusing….see the Wayne G gag reel…esp on YT gurus.
Under pigmented and dry is my highlighter sin. I’ve used eyeshadows as a highlighter a lot of the time in the past so too pigmented has never been a problem for me.
1. Anything that lifts or disturbs layers below
2. Anything that runs too whitish with too much opacity
3. Anything that emphasizes texture or fine lines
I like something subtle but buildable. If it’s too pigmented it might as well be called a blush on my skin.
Highlighters that look (too) dark on my pale skin are a no-go for me. I also prefer when powders are well pigmented, I’d rather apply the product with a light hand than having to build it up in several layers.
I’m not big on highlighters. Actually, most scare me with chunky glitter particles and those that make the cheek bones look like bronzed statues. However I do wear subtle ones like MAC Pearl Blossom that have hardly detectable sheen only noticeable in certain light. I’m going for the same beautiful glow both my children have in powder form 🙂
I second or third “glitter.” I want highlighter to look like, well, highlights, not a children’s glitter party on my face. I’m currently loving UD’s Aura sooooo much (got it because of YOUR review, Christine!).
I guess I don’t wear highlighter enough to really have any deal breakers. I only have Mac lightscapade and Benefit High Beam. The Balm’s Maryloumanizer. I guess they would be similar to my deal breakers for blush. Has to be blendable and not too shimmery.
Chunky glitter, color all wrong, and lack of blendability.
I really don’t like when they emphasize pores -because my pores around the areas I use highlighters are huge anyway!
Large glitter, and highlighters that emphasize pores too much. I use highlighter VERY sparingly and not every day, I’m really not joining the strobing trend!
Glitter chunks and pore highlighting. I also tend to prefer light to medium coverage that’s buildable. I’m a real life gal, not a fashion face.
It can’t be too subtle, I like my highlights loud and metallic/shimmery 🙂
Also it can’t be bronze or orange toned, and if it has certain ingredients that could possibly break me out I pass (like coconut oil and petroleum by-products sometimes break out my cheeks)
Chunky glitter, because hell no, and too much pigmentation. Like blushes, I like more sheer pigmentation so I can build up to my liking, I hate it when I have to barely touch my brush because it’s easier to build up rather than taking away.
For me a highlighter has to be sheer (or at least apply sheerly with a fan brush) and not powdery, and not emphasize pores. Seems simple but many are metallic, glittery and make craters out of my normal pores.
1) Like anything else, any strong unpleasant, floral, or perfume scents. Besides being unpleasant, they can cause an allergic reaction on my facial skin.
2) Powders: Too chalky, dusty, or stiff. Creams/liquids: Not sticking to my oily skin, too runny, too greasy, or lifting my foundation.
3) Chunky glitter.
4) Too dark.
5) Poor wear time.
I hate (like almost every post here) when a highlighter is glittery. While I will use it, Bobbi Brown’s Bronze Glow is just a glitter bomb. Now, her Bronze shimmer brick is LIFE on chocolate skin. I don’t mind it being super pigmented, but the glitter is a #1 no-no.
I don’t wear a highlighter all the time but when I do I like subtle. I think that is when using a powder form you really want a quality product so as not to have it very glittery and not to accentuate pores. If it has any shimmer at all the more sheer and subtle the better. It also can’t be too white. I am medium complexion and don’t like a highlighter that shows as white against the skin it looks clownish.
Glitter, emphasizes pores and kills your perfectly applied-40 minutes makeup.
AND
Creamy highlight .. Why?
Chalkiness or a shade that’s too dark. Otherwise, load me up – I am a highlighter junkie!
Not much of a highlighter fan. I only have one…Laura Geller’s Vanilla. It is just the right amount of glow for me. I don’t need to be seen from space.
If it has sparkles I won’t buy.
It has to look like there is no product. Just my own perfect luminous face 🙂
Just as long as it gives me a luminous glow. I’m not very picky as price goes, Wet N Wild is awesome by my standards.
Any highlighter that leans gold/yellow or contains too much shimmer is a deal-breaker. I prefer a sheen that delicately catches the light — something that makes an obvious difference when applied while remaining virtually undetectable. I never want someone to compliment me on my highlighter (or any contouring product)!
If it is: sparkly, yellow-toned, patchy, chalky or pore-emphasizing. If it is a color that is not already in my skin somewhere. If it contains any chromium pigments or MCI/MI.
When you pay $72 and in order to get at the incredibly cheaply packaged products, you have to somehow open an air-sealed plastic pouch and while trying to dig out said CHEAPLY PACKAGED products, 500 gold sequins fall all over your carpet where they will linger for years probably and then eventually clog the vacuum. Hm . . . guess that ONLY applies to Pat McGrath Skin Fetish.
I love a strong, smooth highlight so I don’t like weak, glittery, or chalky highlighters. I also avoid anything that’s hard to blend.
I love to bathe myself in glow, work days included, but I hate glitter fallout, I bought the urban decay illuminated and it’s awful! It’s just pure glitter, I’d still like to try the afterglow highlight but illuminated was a huge letdown from such a (generally) reliable brand.
Been using the Sleek solstice highlight palette and for a dupe it’s amazing, I can be a bit of a brand snob (can’t help it LOL) but this is phenomenal and only £10, outperforms UD by far. Awaiting the arrival of Jeffree Star peach goddess so I’m sure if his other products are anything to go by I will love it.
Glitter is just not acceptable in a highlighter (and I love glitter!). I’m pretty pale (neutral) and have found that obvious gold highlighters just don’t work for me but that’s probably just my skin tone.
I have tried quite a few high end highlights but my all time favourite is the one in the Sleek ‘Face Form’ palette in ‘fair’. I just whished they sold it individually cause I don’t tend to use the bronzer and blush that much but it’s so affordable its not a deal breaker.
For me it’s anything too dusty, chalky, or glittery. Don’t get me wrong, shimmer can be sexy and beautiful and a hint of glitter can be lovely. But too much glitter does not a highlighter make. Anything dusty or chalky is too hard to use even on my vampire skin, let alone if I apply it to anyone over NC-20. I also dislike the way chalky/dusty highlighters can cake on the skin, which is even worse when there’s a ton of glitter involved.
I’m also more on the medium-pigmentation level. I love high-impact pigments, but even for my favorite “weird” colored highlights (I prefer the term “ethereal colors” for things like lavender, violet, blue, green, etc) I want something that imparts a glow instead of a harsh amount of color. Medium-pigmentation highlighters also allow for more layering and therefore more customization options (green-blue gradients, gold-pink gradients, layered silvers for a robotic look, etc). The reason I love Pat McGrath’s Skin Fetish is that it doesn’t look like I applied a heavy metallic eye pigment on, but just magically sweat beautiful colors 😛
I started picking out highlighters that are more complimentary to my complexion. I have medium skin, so I like peach and champagne highlighters with a pink duo-chrome.
I avoid highlighters were pink is the dominate shade. My two favorite highlighters are Lunch Money and Fireball.
I love shimmery highlighters but don’t like if they feel chunky or gritty due to glitter or sparkles. I also hate uneven or patchy application.
Any “glittery” highlighters are a definite no-no. It’s gotta be quite finely milled or it’s not going on my face. I prefer more subtle ones as well like the Hourglass Ambient Lighting powders (not their strobe ones) or Charlotte Tilbury’s Filmstar Bronze & Glow and Wonderglow, though I have Becca Champagne Pop for the rare occasions when I want the “disco ball” effect.