“Shine Bright Like a Diamond” – Favorite Highlighters

“All that glitters is not gold…” – Shakespeare, “The Merchant of Venice”

Leave it to Shakespeare to give great life advice, but truly, these highlighters give gold a run for its money! I’ve been on the prowl for the perfect highlighter and am still not completely convinced I’ve found my dream one, but the one’s I’ve been testing lately aren’t terrible. I wanted to share with you my top picks and why they’re essential to your beauty kit!

Below are swatches of all of the powdered highlighters I own – I adore shimmer, so I just had to show them off to you:

best-highlighter-swatches

best-highlighter-swatches

L to R: Dose of Colors in “Pearl Dust”, Bobbi Brown in “Pink Quartz”, Becca in “Moonstone”, Laura Geller in “French Vanilla”, Laura Geller in “Portofino”, Bobbi Brown in “Beige”, and Physicians Formula in “Translucent Pearl”

Want to watch them in action? Go HERE to see them scintillating in natural light!

As you can see, there are different hues and tones, but I’ve listed my favorites (including their pros and cons) below starting with Laura Geller!

Laura Geller Baked Split Highlighter Duo – $43

The color on the right, “Portofino” is my favorite. “Vanilla” seems chalky, both in color and in texture, and just barely shimmers, so if I’m going to fully “highlight”, I’d swipe “Portofino”. I have to say, though it does posses some light reflective properties, this compact isn’t exactly what I’m looking for when I think of that almost wet, shiny look that really catches the eye on a cheekbone. This kit also comes with a useless, double-ended sponge tip applicator (reminiscent of those eyeshadow applicators in any given $5 drugstore compact a decade ago) which was disappointing and confusing, given the fact that this is considered a high-end product. Poor choice, Geller…

Bobbi Brown Shimmer Brick Compact – $48

Shimmer bricks have been my kit staple for over 2yrs. now, ever since I signed up for Bobbi Brown’s pro discount (since they’re not the cheapest little guys!). “Pink Quartz” outdoes itself in providing a gorgeous peachy-pink-hued shimmer that perfectly tops any blush on fair to light skin tones. I own also “Bronze” for tanned or darker skin tones and “Beige” which is a universal highlighter, and they work nicely, but “Pink Quartz” has just the right amount of finely-milled glitter particles and similar color options in the rows of powder.

Becca Shimmering Skin Perfector Pressed Highlighter – $38

I found this Becca highlighter thanks to a review by KathleenLights, my Youtube vlogger idol. I own “Moonstone” and “Pearl” – “Moonstone” is a neutral, fair highlighter while “Pearl” has more of a cool, iridescent property. They’re both lightweight pressed powders, so if you want more of a blendable, creamy glow, try their sister-highlighters, Shimmering Skin Perfector Poured (who have the exact same simplistic names as their powder counterparts). I do love the creams, but since I use primarily airbrushed foundations on clients, creams seem to strip away the foundation underneath due to airbrush foundations’ chemical make-up.

Physicians Formula Powder Palette Mineral Glow Pearls – $14

Yay for drugstore successes! I haven’t tried anything from Physicians Formula except for this highlighter which has a brilliant, pale sheen similar to Becca’s “Pearl”. Though its glitter is a bit more chunky and not terribly shimmery, it pulls “color” softly and cleanly for a gentle glow. There’s this highlighter from the same line that I’d really like to test to compare how different shimmer products measure up to each other inside a single brand.

Despite the fact that these powdery shimmers are each beautiful in their own right, I feel like I still haven’t landed on that perfect one, so if you can recommend a compact that you’re in love with currently, please let me know!

P.S. – I’ve ordered “Citrine” from Jour Cosmetics, so be on the lookout for more highlighter reviews in the weeks ahead…