My Top 5 Favourite Highlighters

Highlighters and Illuminators. Whats the point of them? If I have an oily face, why would I want my face to look shiny? Today I'm going to be talking about my top 5 favourite highlighters/illuminators and how you use them.

What is the point of using highlighters?
Well, highlighters are used to give you glowing skin and a dewy look. If you prefer to look matte then this is probably not the blog post for you! Highlighters add dimension and glow to your matte and contoured face. Rather than being flat with no dimension or shine.

Where do I apply my highlighter?
The main areas to apply your highlighter are:

• On your cheekbones/temples - Basically the point of highlighter is to emphasize the parts of your face where natural light would shine usually. You're going to apply the highlighter on the highest point of your cheekbones, and bring it up to your temples. You must remember to blend well because we don't want to look to glittery or shiny, the result should be a nice glowing sheen. We want the attention to be on our nice cheekbones and not on the shadows we contoured on our face. If you're interested in seeing my top favourite bronzers, click here!
• Eyes - Highlighter on your brow bone looks awesome because it can make your eyes appear bigger, and make your brows look a little lifted.
• Lip and Nose - Before applying your lipstick, it is also nice to apply a little highlight on your cupids bow and the center of your bottom lip. This helps enhance your lipstick colour and make your lips look fuller and juicy. Applying highlight on your nose isn't always necessary unless you want to make your nose appear slimmer, but make sure to just apply to the bridge and don't go all the way to the tip of your nose.

My Top 5 Highlighters

 Here is an overview of my top 5 favourite highlighters. I don't have a particular favourite order but yeah here they are!

Elizabeth Mott Pop! Goes the Shadow in "Champagne"

This is as you can see, an eyeshadow but it works great as a highlighter. I got this from my Ipsy bag so its nice to see that it is getting some use! 

"Champagne"

It looks extremely copper and goldish here but it definitely is a beautiful champagne colour which you will see in the swatch at the bottom of the post. This one is great for the brow bone, or even in your inner corner of your eye.

Hourglass Ambient Lighting Palette

This is the highlighter/illuminating powder that everyone wanted before. The Hourglass ambient lighting powders aren't originally made to be highlighters, because they are actually finishing powders. The shades in it are absolutely gorgeous though and they are quite shimmery enough to be highlighters.

From left to right: Dim Light, Incandescent Light, Radiant Light

My favourite to use is dim light and radiant light. I love to use radiant light all over my face to give myself a tanned glowy look. These are perfect for an all over shimmer look.

NARS Illuminator in "Copacabana"

This is only a sample size of it but oh my gosh this colour is absolutely gorgeous! I am definitely going to purchase a full size once I complete this sample. Its perfect for your brow bone and cheeks. I think this one may be number one on my favourites.

Benefit Watts Up Highlighter

One of the first highlighters I have ever used was this Benefit sample of the Watts Up highlight. I actually got this from Sephora's birthday gifts a few years ago haha. It glides on smooth and is a very pigmented champagne shimmer.

RiRi for Mac in "Diamonds"

Unfortunately this highlighter cannot be purchased from Mac anymore because it was limited edition. I know it looks super bronzy and dark in the packaging but trust me it is a gorgeous gold/bronze metallic highlight.

Very deceiving in the package right? Thats why I like to swatch in person before buying. When you buy online you never know how it is going to look! 

Swatches:

The three lightest would be the three on the further left, great for people with fair skin tones. Radiant light by Hourglass is good for people with a medium complexion. It would be a good all over powder, or even a bronzer for fair skinned people. Nars Copacabana has a very pink undertone, so it would look best on fair skin people, but honestly its so pretty I think it would look great on anyone. Benefit Watts Up is very gold and shimmery, great for highlighting your brow bone or if you're going for the summer glow with a very dark bronzing contour , this would make a great highlight. Similar with Diamonds, it looks more bronze than gold and would make an amazing summer highlight.

What are your favourite highlights/illuminators? 

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