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The Best Highlighters for Glowing Skin

The Best Highlighters for Glowing Skin
SkinStore Editors
Writer and expert7 years ago
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We recently revealed that over 70% of women are now using more products during their morning routine, due to adding in that 'extra step' for beautifying. The products that come under this extra step are those that weren't so heard of 5 years ago - like skin enhancing primers, brow gels, contour creams and highlighters.

At SkinStore, we have certainly seen a rise in interest across all of these four makeup categories, but highlighter definitely shines the brightest for us (yes, pun intended!). It seems women these days can't get enough of shaping and sculpting their faces, reflecting that healthy glow and generally adding definition to their everyday face.

As it's only looking set to continue being a high riser, we've rounded up the best highlighters out there for that pearly glow. We've selected the best in cream, pencil, powder, balm and liquid - so pick which ever suits you best!

Cream Highlighters

Cream highlighters are a popular choice mainly for how well they blend into bare skin and foundation. You can either apply a small amount to your fingertip of concealer brush, and dab on top of the cheeks, the corners of the eye, down the rose and over the cupids bow. By smudging into the skin, you can create a sheer glow, or a bold highlight - it's totally up to you.

Illamasqua's Gleam Highlighter is a firm favorite with makeup artists and customers alike, mainly due to its iridescent cream formula and pearlescent pigments, allowing you to create depth, definition and a luminous glow.

Powder Highlighters

Powder highlighters are a lovely option for when you just want that touch of shimmer and shape, but without going highlighter overload. With powders, you can simply select a range of shades, from champagne, pearl, gold and pearlescent pinks, to gently sweep across the tops of the cheeks and the decolletage.

Laura Geller's Baked Sculpting Powder compact is an excellent choice as it lets you bronze and contour your face with the darker brown, and then lightly highlight and sculpt further with two lighter highlighting shades.

Liquid Highlighters 

Highlighters in liquid formats can provide quite a striking result when layered up, and they also allow you to apply these under your makeup, and then again on top if desired. They usually come in a light pearly pink shade, which can be 'painting' onto the tops of cheeks, down the center of the nose, the forehead, above the lips and under the brows to create the illusion of light hitting the face.

Foundation can then be pressed into the skin on top of the highlighter, with the liquid glow being re-applied after the final foundation coating for more definition where needed.

Balm Highlighters

Balms can be similar to cream highlighters in texture, but are usually a little more sheer and not so heavily pigmented. They act as a light 'gloss' over the skin, especially when applied to the tops of the cheeks.

You can find balm highlighters in twist up versions or in little pots, letting you apply as much or as little as you like. You can be quite experimental with balm highlighters in terms of shades, with the color usually being very light and sheer.

Pencil Highlighters

Last but not least, we have pencil format highlighters, which are more commonly used for those hard-to-reach precision areas. For instance, if you want to create the illusion of wide-apart eyes or a striking arched brow bone, a sharpened highligther pencil is great for drawing precision lines.

These pencils can also come in soft, kohl-style formats, making them also great for marking onto the face and blending in with a finger.

For the full range of highlighters at SkinStore, visit our page here.

SkinStore Editors
Writer and expert
View SkinStore Editors's profile
Our team of beauty experts cover everything from skincare to makeup, picking out the most effective products from the best brands and latest trends. Stay up to date on everything beauty with the SkinStore blog, and find all your essentials in one place.
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