Top 5 Highlighters
There are a few ways to stand out – flashy clothes, neon colours or new hair style. All of these are great ways to grab some positive attention, but there is a more subtle way to make yourself pop: highlighter. With a subtle shimmer here and a contrast of brightness there, your face will not only look luminous, it will make you look younger and fresher.
Highlighter is a great little trick in the make-up world. By applying a nice stroke across your cheekbones, temples, eye bone and even collarbone, you will create a contoured effect that brings out your bone structure to accentuate what you’ve got and make it glow. I’m a major fan of highlighter, it creates dimension, especially when it’s an evening look or a photo shoot day. Well applied, highlighter will pick up on the light and if you really know what you’re doing, can subtly change parts of your face by bringing elements to the fore and recessing others (with a little bronzer contrast). Here are my top 5 highlighters:
Fenty
Killawatt Freestyle Highlighter
What I love about the Fenty Killawatt Freestyle Highlighter is that it feels weightless across your skin, and the reason that is so important is because the last thing you want is to feel like there is a pound of cake sitting on your face. It’s a cream-powder hybrid, which means that it glides on like a cream but absorbs into the skin like a powder. The technology is simply amazing and I just love the ultra-smooth feeling as it melts away into my cheekbones. It also has a shimmer effect which kind of makes me feel like a fairy, lol!
Tarte
Stunner Highlighter
The Tarte Stunner Highlighter is seriously long-lasting. Twelve uninterrupted hours of perfect radiant glow, who could ask for anything more!? Powered by Amazonian clay, the highlighter brightens each point of the face to create a buildable illuminating effect. The colour is so soft and plays off some of my favourite bronzers quite naturally. That’s another important thing, you have to match your highlighter to your bronzer.
Charlotte Tilbury
Filmstar Bronze and Glow
Charlotte Tilbury, the makeup queen herself, came out with the duo compact of the decade The Filmstar Bronze and Glow was an instant hit and for good reason. The colours balance so well off of each other, that it can sculpt your face into the most perfect version of you! There are universal shades that flatter a golden base, and with a quick tutorial on the best places to apply the highlighter, you will honestly feel like a celebrity in no time. I always wear this duo highlighter, day, night, photo shoot, you name it. It’s always in my makeup bag!
Becca
Shimmering Skin Perfector® Pressed Highlighter
Some highlighters are fantastic and then others are award-winning! I’m not kidding. The Shimmering Skin Perfector® Pressed Highlighter by Becca won awards for being one of the best highlighters out there. With its buttery texture, the highlighter blends into your skin for an ultimate high-impact glow. Adjusting to the natural undertones of your skin, the Opal colour I use amplifies your natural radiance. Elegant and not too glittery, this highlighter looks like the sun is shining in all the right places.
Cocokind
Mai-Light Rosé Highlighter
The Mai-Light Rosé Highlighter by Cocokind is exactly what it sounds like: rosé. A subtle dewy shimmer that has a hint of pink to it, this plays off fair skin tones very nicely, but also, in my case, picks up on the blonde. My favourite part is that it’s made from organic maitake mushrooms which are packed with hydrating elements that also happen to fight inflammation. So, basically you can look amazing and also be doing something great for your skin. Um, yes please!
I’ve tried a whole bunch of fantastic highlighters and there are even some I have featured here, but these 5 are tried and tested, and I can personally attest to how they all blend so well on the skin and don’t leave a sticky residue or a cakey feeling on your skin. It’s important to find the right colour match for your tone and palette, something that accentuates what you’ve got and still looks natural.
Photography by Patricia Brochu