Top: Illamasqua Illuminator, MAC Beauty Powder, Smashbox Soft Lights
Bottom: NARS Illuminator, LORAC Luminzer, e.l.f All Over Color Stick
I love highlighters, illuminators, and luminzers! They're all the same thing but I guess different brands like to come up with different names for their products...confusing much? (*Please note that in the swatches, the "blended" side is only slightly blended in order for the camera to be able to pick up the color. In real life, I would blend it in much more than that.)
First up is Illamasqua Illuminator in Fondle, a peachy pink. This was my first Illmasqua purchase ever, and it was made a few months ago. I'm quite fond of Fondle (ha!) but I don't find myself reaching for it all that often for some reason. I think it's just because I keep buying new products all the time that sometimes the older products get forgotten about :(
As you can see, it packs quite a bit of color. I generally use it over my blush or as a blush substitute. It's a bit too pigmented to use a highlighter on the cheekbone, in my opinion.
Next up is MAC Beauty Powder in Shell Pearl. So this technically isn't a highlighter or illuminator, but since it's a multipurpose product, I've chosen to use it mostly as a highlighter. I've used it in many a FOTD and it is beautiful! It's a pale, peachy pink color with the tiniest gold shimmers.
I know the swatch is unclear but the product is pretty sheer as well.
The crumbly mess on the upper right is my beloved Smashbox Soft Lights in Smashing Tint. I don't believe they make this color anymore, but I could be wrong. The product actually had a chip in it when I first got it from Sephora years ago but for some reason, I chose not to return it. With each use, the chip eventually developed into the mess it is today. I am happy to say, though, that the product is still as amazing as ever. It's more pigmented than MAC Shell Pearl and the color is a plummy rose with gold shimmer.
Next is NARS Orgasm Illuminator. I was apprehensive when I first started using this because I wasn't sure how my oily skin would react to a liquid illuminator. I am happy to report that the two get along great! It absolutely does not make my skin oily, nor does it settle into my pores. It is easy to blends and has a beautiful peachy pink color with gold shimmery goodness. For me, the color reads quite sheer but I know fairer skin ladies could probably wear it as blush or over blush for more color.
Before I discovered Revlon PhotoReady foundation I used to mix my Laura Mercier Oil-Free foundation with one pump of LORAC Oil-Free Luminzer in Pearl L1. It's a shimmery pearl color that helps to make foundation not look so muddy, and it also looks beautiful blended on top of cheekbones as a highlight.
Last but not least is e.l.f All Over Color Stick in Spotlight. I really like this for it's color, which is similar to the LORAC Luminzer but less pigmented, but I have to admit that the actual product can be a bit tacky and sometimes difficult to blend in. It helps to use your fingertips to warm the product up a bit before applying it as a highlight.
*Note: Swatch shows product applied straight from the stick and not blended.
What are some of your favorite highlighters and illuminators?
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