There's A Light

I might be in the minority on this one, but I love a good shimmery spring/summer cheek highlight. I don't even mind if there is a little glitter in it. Don't get me wrong it's nice to have a more natural option sometimes, but I find that most highlighters can be manipulated to create a number of different effects on the skin.

Let's start with the creams...

L: Illamasqua Cream Blush in Lies R: Revlon Highlighting Stick in Golden

Creams are by far the best way to get your skin to look naturally luminous. While both of these products rank as some of my favorite highlighters they are very, very different textures and and create equally diverse effects on the skin.

The Illamasqua Cream Blush in Lies (link!) was my very first product from the brand and for a long time was one of my favorite products period. The texute of this is strange. In fact I think if this were intended to be a solid cheek color I would probably not care for it. In the case of a highlighting item however, the light, slippery, slick nature of this works tremendously to create a bright sheen accross the areas it's applied to. This type of texture would lead you to believe that the product doesn't last on the skin but quite the opposite is true.(at least in the case of my normal to combo skin) The product may look pink in the pan but blended on the skin it comes across as a high shine silver white tone. This for me is an extreme glossy bright look, for some though I can see it being more of a nightime choice. As with any highlighting product if not applied properly it can emphasise imperfections.

The Revlon Highlighting Stick in Golden was a limited edition item from one of the more recent Revlon collections. If you can still find it I highly reccomend it. It's a great multi-use product and provides a nice warm golden sheen on the skin. It's a drier consistency and has a much more believeable finish on the skin. These are the types of colors I usually aim for and if you're looking for a subtle effect it's far easier to achieve with a product like this.

Now the powders...

L: LORAC Luminizing Powder in Spotlight R: ELF Studio Bronzer in Warm Golden

LORAC Luminizing Powder in Spotlight



ELF Golden Bronzer swatched individually R-L and swirled together on the far left

These two are both clearly more golden and less shimmery than the other offerings. The effect they offer is relatively similar. The ELF Golden Bronzer (link!) offers a nice variation of shades that don't really function as a bronzer but easily make a lovely highlighter or even a nice set of neutral eye shades. I clearly gravitate towards the lightest of the shades. I find that swirling them is just a bit too dark to be convincing but leaning toward the lighter end of the powder suits me nicely.

The Lorac Luminizer (link!) is really similar in color to the ELF but the difference in price leads to one key distiction between the powders. The quality of the shimmer in the Lorac Spotlight is infinitely more refined than the ELF powder. It's the perfect choice for anyone. If you're looking for a natural vibe you can use a nice light hand or if you're like me you can go a bit heavier for a more in your face effect.

Highlighters are one of my favorite summer must haves. As much as I love them in the Summer I don't often reach for them when I'm paler. I have so many more than what I've shown here but these just happen to be the ones that I reach for the most often.

Do you guys have any favorite highlighters? Do you have any products that you only reach for this time of year?

xoxo

Molly