I love highlighters, it's a commonly known fact.
About a year ago I was still frowning at them and wondering what the fuss was about.
The second I tried one I was sold.
This is not a comparison post, because I feel that comparing a lot of these highlighters is comparing apples and oranges.
Instead it's just my opinion about every single one of the highlighters I own, with pros and cons, and hopefully this is helpful for people looking out to buy some highlighting goodness for themselves.
Let's get started!
Barry M, Illuminating Highlighter palette
I actually did a full review about that here on my blog, so I'm just going to link to that. I am adding pros and cons here though, because I've been testing this a little more so I want to add these as conclusions.
Packaging: Cardboard with mirror 3 pans of 4 grams each
PROS:
- Cheap, especially considering it's a palette with 3 different colours
- Two of the shades are multifunctional (as a blush topper or bronzer/bronzer topper)
- Natural glow highlight
- Cruelty free
CONS:
- Very soft glow
- Very hard to build up
- Not long wearing at all, you definitely need to set this with a setting spray or it'll be gone in a few hours, and then you may still need touch ups.
- You're likely only to have one or two colours really match your skintone as a highlight. I personally can only use the lightest one and then use the others as toppers. It's good that I can, but that's not what I expect from a highlighting palette.
- Doesn't apply nor blend easily
- There's a LOT of talc in it, which can clog pores and cause break-outs if you are sensitive to that. I get subdermal break-outs from it, so in all fairness, I've stopped using it.
----
Belladonna's Cupboard, Moon Magick palette
I have written a full review of this in BCM #31, which you can download for free here. So make sure to check that out if a 12 shade highlighter palette is something you are in the market for.
Some of these may seem pretty similar in the pans, but I can assure you that once you start testing them out, they are all different. I absolutely LOVE this and would 1000% recommend this.
Especially considering this is from an indi brand with actual ethics.
Packaging:
- Cardboard, no mirror
- 12 pans. I'm not sure how much is in each as it just lists the total weight of the palette, but I'm hazarding a guess around 2 to 2,5 grams as they are very eye shadow sized.
PROS:
- Long wearing, extremely so
- Glows to the gods and beyond
- Versatility, because you're bound to always have a colour that matches the rest of your make-up
- Can be used over a black base as super pigmented foiled eye shadows, which is also amazing.
- Doesn't emphasise skin texture much at all
- Something in it for literally everyone and every occasion
- Paraben free, cruelty free and vegan
CONS:
- The packaging isn't the most sturdy, so be careful when it comes to storage and traveling (it's absolutely fine, you just have to be a little more careful with it).
- Very soft highlighters. This means MEGA glow, but it also means they will get damaged easier (same issue as Becca highlighters reputedly have). As with the previous point, you'll be absolutely fine as long as you are careful when it comes to handling this palette.
To be honest, for me personally it had no cons at all, but I'm listing those two because I want to be 100% fair about about this palette and I know some people might not like this.
----
Chella, brow highlight in Ivory Lace
I got this in an Ipsy bag (the March one) so there is little I can say about what it's generally like (this isn't a full size) or what it costs.
It's a decent product really.
In the spirit of fairness, I wouldn't have gone out and bought this, I would have just used highlighter under my brows (on days I bother to actually put product in them at least).
But now that I have it, I enjoy it enough to use it up.
PROS:
- Applies and blends easily
- Longwearing
- Cruelty free
CONS:
- Only suitable for fair and light skin tones I feel
- You need a sharpener for this, which may not make it the most practical to travel with. I don't about you guys, but I don't tend to travel with a sharpener.
----
essence, blossom dreams - rainbow highlighter in prism of light
This is the only limited edition highlighter I own, and I'm not sure why essence is bothering with such a lenghty name, especially as there was only the one highlighter in the blossom dreams collection. That said, I'm including it for the sake of completeness but also in case this is still around online.
You get 5 different colours in this, which you can either mix up and wear as a soft pastelly golden glow, or you can take a brush and take one of the colours separately. I really do like the colours in this, and I have loved wearing it ...
BUT. And it's a really big BUT.
I feel like there is a LOT of talc in this, to the point where it clogs my pores and gives me subdermal break-outs. Which is more than a little unpleasant. So I've stopped wearing this.
Packaging:
- Plastic with clear lid
- 8 grams
PROS:
- Cheap (I paid €3,39 for it at Kruidvat)
- Versatile, as you can wear it in 6 different ways
- Sturdy packaging
- Applies with a blending brush. True story. So you can easily pick out a single colour to wear as well.
- Longwearing
- Fun and pastelly (if you're into that, if not, move this to the cons)
- Looks good on a lot of skin types
- Applies and blends easily
- Cruelty free
CONS:
- Limited edition, so hard to find, if it's still around at all
- If your skin is sensitive or prone to break-outs, I would avoid this, as it may cause you problems like it did for me.
----
M.A.C, extra dimension skin finish in
Beaming Blush
This was the first highlighter I bought. I oohed and aahed on it, put it off because it's quite pricy (€31) and then caved in the end.
Haven't regretted it since.
It's beautiful on it's own, and layers well with other highlighters, even those by different brands.
It's a soft pink duo chrome that shifts to gold. So it's a very natural gold that looks nice on a lot of skin types. Even on fair skin.
The main strenght, however, is that you can wear it subtly as an every day highlight, or build it to glow to the gods.
So it is very much suitable for every ocassion where you can get away wearing a gold highlighter.
Packaging:
- Hard plastic with clear lid
- 9 grams
PROS:
- Very flattering colour
- Very long wearing
- Applies and blends easily
- Mixes well with other highlighters, even those by other brands
- Easy to decide how much you want it to pop
- Very sturdy packaging
CONS:
- Expensive
- Not cruelty free (as M.A.C sells in mainland China)
----
M.A.C, strobe cream
First of all, this is the regular strobe cream, the one that comes in the travel size (so none of that e.g. goldlite business).
I like it a lot because it gives a nice glow to my entire face, if I apply it over my entire face, or an extra oomph to my highlight.
Aside from that, its also very hydrating, which is much appreciated by my dry skin.
Packaging: 30ml tube
PROS:
- Handy squeezy tube
- Goes well with all highlighters (at least, all the ones I've tried it with)
- Can be used as a standalone, subtle, glow-giver
- Very hydrating so definitely compatible with (very) dry skin (at least compatible with mine)
- Suitable for strobing
CONS:
- Useless if this isn't your thing
- Not cruelty free as M.A.C sells in mainland China
----
NYX, Duo Chromatic Illuminating Powder in Twilight Tint
What's it with NYX and ridiculously long names?
Anyway, this GLOWS TO THE GODS if you build it just a little bit. It's crazy.
It also mixes well with other highlights.
I liked wearing it with my M.A.C one to create this amazing pale gold glow. But it's beautiful on it's own too.
It's definitely an affordable highlighter and a good one if you like bright glows that go from white to blue. I do believe that this would look nice on a wide variety of skin tones as well.
BUT, like other highlighters I've mentioned before, it can really clog up pores and cause your skin some issues. Like with the Barry M and essence highlighters, this caused me subdermal break-outs. This is not likely to be an issue if you don't have sensitive or break-out prone skin, but still, I feel it's only fair to mention my experience with it.
Packaging:
- Plastic with clear lid
- 8 grams
PROS:
- Affordable (it's generally between €10 and €12, depending on where you buy it)
- Easy to apply and blend
- Glows to the gods
- Easy to mix with other highlighters, even those by other brands
- Sturdy packaging - Cruelty free (in theory at least)
CONS:
- NYX is a L'Oreal subsidiary (L'Oreal is not cruelty free, and owned by companies that are basically the devil). - It's not a colour that is very wearable, especially not on a daily basis (for most people)
- If you want this to be long wearing: spray a setting spray
----
Too Faced, Love Light prismatic highlighter in
Blinded by the Light
Everyone that is into makeup undoubtedly remembers the craze surrounding the highlighters Too Faced came out with for their summer collection back in March.
They were getting very mixed reviews, and I did seriously wonder whether or not it was worth to get one.
But in the end I felt I needed a nice, natural highlight (that would stay put), so I caved.
Haven't actually regretted it. Not for a second.
Even though this doesn't glow to the gods, this is probably my fave single highlighter, strangely enough. Just because of the overal effect it has on my make-up and skin full stop. It really is stunning in it's subtlety.
And if I want it to glow harder, I combine it with strobe cream or another highlighter.
Packaging:
- Hard plastic with mirror inside
- 9 grams
PROS:
- Sturdy packaging, that is also cute and that comes with a mirror
- Beautiful natural glow
- Suitable for a variety of skin tones
- Long wearing
- Buildable (but you'll never really glow to the gods)
- Paraben free - Cruelty free (in theory)
- Wears beautifully, it really does look VERY natural
- Immediately gives a super healty, beautiful glow to your entire (make-up) look
- Can be combined with another highlighter without problems
- Applies and blends well, BUT you need the right kind of brush (I use the Spectrum A04 face brush)
CONS:
- Expensive (if you're in the EU, you can get it via sephora.fr where it's €30+ without shipping).
- Doesn't GLOW TO THE GODS (it's not a con for me, but I know it is for a lot of people)
- You need a really good highlighter brush for it (my elf highlight brushes are utterly useless with this)
- Too Faced is owned by Estée Lauder, which isn't cruelty free because they sell in mainland China (but they're not nearly as evil as L'Oreal, which is something)
----
Too Faced, Sweet Peach Glow
Only one of these is a highlighter, the other is a glowy peach blush and a glowy soft bronzer.
All perfect for summer as they each have that glowy peachiness going on for them.
The highlighter is a peachy champagne colour, that has quite a bit of glitter/sparkle to it.
In general, it is the one out of these three that gets the best reviews, and I wouldn't agree with that, because I personally love the bronzer and blush on my skin tone. And whilst I don't hate the highlighter, I don't like it as much as several of my other ones.
That said, I know my skin tone is a little difficult so I can absolutely understand it's not for everyone. I would definitely say that this is for fair skins only.
Also: you need a really good brush to apply these products. If your brush is too soft, forget about it. Especially for the bronzer and the blush this could be an issue. I use a Spectrum A04 face brush for the highlighter and an essence powder brush for the blush and bronzer.
As a side note, it really does smell like peaches, which could be either a pro or a con, depending on how much you like the scent of peaches (it's not a natural preachy scent, I don't think it smells bad, but I can see how people would be put off by it).
Packaging:
- It's in a tin with a mirror inside, in the same style as Too Faced's eye shadow palettes, which makes it very practical for traveling.
- Highlighter: 3 grams
- Blush: 5,5 grams
- Bronzer: 3 grams
PROS:
- It's practical to have a highlighter, bronzer and blush in one tin, especially for traveling
- Long lasting
- Easy to apply and blend, provided you use the right kind of brush.
- Gives you a very healthy natural glow if you're fair skinned
- Paraben free
- Cruelty free (in theory)
CONS:
- Pretty pricy, I believe it's around €40 on sephora.fr, shipping not included (then again, you do get three products)
- Novelty cosmetics (let's be honest here)
- Seasonal (I feel like this is only good for warm(er) spring days and summer)
- Really emphasises all the texture on your skin
- The colours aren't suitable for a wide variety of skin tones (none of the three are)
- Too Faced is owned by Estée Lauder, which isn't cruelty free because they sell in mainland China (but they're not nearly as evil as L'Oreal, which is something)
- Needs very specific, pretty dense brushes in order for it to work well.
No comments:
Post a Comment