Lets talk about highlighters

If I had to pick 5 beauty products, highlighter would definitely be at the top of my list. If I'm wearing makeup, I never skip highlighter. I love a dewy, glowing finish to my skin all year around, and I feel that using any of these products can make a huge difference to the overall look of my makeup. I didn't start using highlighter in my makeup routine until about a year ago, and I am kicking myself that I didn't discover them sooner! 

If you are new to makeup or you don't tend to wear a lot of different products, highlighter can be a bit of a daunting step. Many people ask themselves what shades suit my skin tone the best? Do I use a powder or a cream? WHERE do I put this stuff?! Trust me, I had those questions too. Highlighters are designed to brighten up the highest points of your face to add dimension and make them stand out. I like to apply highlighter to the very tops of my cheek bones, my brow bone, down the centre of my nose, my forehead, my chin, my cupids bow and on the inner corners of my eyes to brighten - basically everywhere. A lot of beauty bloggers say 'don't use too much or you'll look oily/like a disco ball', 1. I have never had a problem with my highlighter making my skin look greasy, so don't let that put you off. & 2. Most highlighters don't have massive chunks of glitter, they add a glow to your face not sparkle. If you feel like you want to add a little more, do it. Some may think I over do my highlighter a little, but thats the way I like it!

The Balm, Mary-Lou Manizer 

This is definitely a cult beauty product, but this has to be my all time favourite highlighter. Mary-Lou Manizer is one of three very well known highlighters, the other two that I have not yet bought are Betty-Lou Mangier, a bronze highlighter & Cindy-Lou Manizer, a peach highlighter. Mary-Lou Manizer of course is my favourite out of the three, a champagne highlighter with the most incredible colour pay off. Its such a pigmented product, just a tap of your brush and you have the most beautiful glow on your cheek bones. I discovered this product mainly through Australian beauty bloggers as The Balm wasn't very easy to get a hold of in the UK, although now you can get it online through Feel Unique. If you are in the market for a new highlighter, I really recommend this one. 

(quick tip, this works as a beautiful eye shadow too!) 

Nars Copacabana 

Copacabana is a pink toned, illuminating liquid that has two great uses. It can be worn over foundation, used as a traditional highlighter or you can mix it in with your foundation to create a dewy look - this is my favourite way to use it. In the summer this is a great alternative to using a powder highlighter as I feel like it sits better on my skin during the warmer months. I will typically mix 1 part highlighter with two parts tinted moisturiser on a day-to-day basis and if I feel like I need a little more glow, i'll pat this into my skin were I want to be highlighted. I love this shade on tanned skin the most, it compliments warmer skin tones perfectly, which is why this is my go-to summer highlighter.

Bare Minerals, Montana

Im not to sure if this was intended to be used as a highlighter, but thats what I use it for. Montana is a golden toned highlighter which helps me fake a sun kissed glow all year round. I wouldn't have thought that gold highlighters would work for me, but used lightly over bronzer it creates a beautiful look on even pale skin tones. Again, this is a product I love to use in the summer to accentuate my tan, but I like to use it now and then during the winter months too. This is by far my favourite radiance product from Bare Minerals, and I am savouring every last bit of this product as it was limited edition, but here is a similar one

MAC, Soft & Gentle 

This is a mineralise skin finish that again, seems to be one of those cult products that every beauty blogger raves about, but this is an amazing highlighter. Soft & Gentle is a champagne highlighter with pink and gold undertones which leaves a subtle, rosy glow on your cheeks. Its a never ending product as you use so little of it, i've had mine for over a year and as you can see from the picture, it looks as if i've barely used any. This is a great product to travel with as you can use your fingers to dust it on your cheek bones and also sweep it across your eyelids to add a wash of colour. If you are a MAC lover and you don't have this in your collection, I suggest you purchase this next. I promise you will not be disappointed. 

Benefit, Watts Up

Another Champagne highlighter (Are you noticing a pattern here?) Except this one works a little differently to the others. Watts Up is a cream to powder highlighter in a stick form, its super easy to apply and once its blended in, it give your cheek bones a gorgeous glow. I had always have my eye on this product, but for some reason I never got around to trying it untill I received a travel sized version, and then I fell in love with it. I seem to get a lot of compliments when I wear Watts Up, I think because I blend it in with my fingers, the warmth helps it blend into my skin and gives a really natural looking finish. 

Bobbi Brown, Nude Glow Shimmer Brick

I had never tried any of the Bobbi Brown shimmer bricks until I received this one for my birthday last year. I love the look my skin gets when I swirl all of the colours together and lightly dust it along my cheek bones. I find this highlighter more subtle than my other ones, so I use this if I have heavy eye makeup on so my cheek bones don't look too over powering. This is a great multipurpose product as you could use all the colours together, separately and its another one of those products that works great as an eye shadow because it has the different shades in. 

What are your favourite highlighters?