Victoria RogersThe best high-end highlighter for your particular look may be just what you need to achieve that glow you’ve been trying to create or take the one you have up to the next level. Either way, we’ve got you covered, we did all the research so you wouldn’t have to.
15 Best High-End Highlighters to Boost Your Glow
Nothing helps dull, tired-looking skin look better faster than a good highlighter. Fortunately, there are plenty of products to choose from, but they are not all created equal. To give your complexion the lift it deserves, you’re going to want to go with a quality face highlighter.
That still leaves you with a great deal of choice – which is a good thing, because not everyone is looking for the same effect from their favorite products. In fact, not everyone wants the same effect all of the time. For instance, there may be times when a single, subtle shade is all that’s called for. Other times, you want to take the glow up several notches or customize your look by building layers of multiple shades.
That’s why we looked at a wide variety of offerings, from many different manufacturers, to find the best high-end highlighter to suit every look and need. Even though you are looking for a specific type of highlighter, you may want to see what all of them have to offer, because there may be something out there that you didn’t even know you needed!
So let’s take a look at what we believe are the best 15 products on the market, to find the best high-end highlighter specifically for you.
1. Milk Makeup Flex Highlighter in Lit
A highlighter that hydrates is like a magical combination. This one has chamomile to calm your skin and blue lotus to moisturize it. Add hyaluronic acid and crushed gemstones, and what you get is an appearance that’s plump, glowy, and gleaming.
Plus, even though it’s a pressed powder highlighter, you don’t have to worry about caking or creasing because this formula also contains marshmallow root extract. That’s the same ingredient that makes marshmallows so…squishy, and it means the highlighter can move with your face. This product is vegan and cruelty-free.
2. Ofra Cosmetics Nikkietutorials Glazed Donut Highlighter
Nobody knows glow better than Nikkie Tutorials, and she brought that savvy to a collaboration with Ofra Cosmetics. Together, they created the best high-end highlighter for skin tones that are light to fair, including those with yellow undertones.
It’s made with actual pearls, in a meltingly smooth formula that just glides onto your skin. It’s nice and shiny, but neither chunky nor overly glittery. In fact, it just continues to look more and more natural as you go about your day.
3. Hourglass Cosmetics Ambient Metallic Strobe Lighting Palette
Not just a highlighter, but a whole palette of flattering shades that can be used wet or dry, alone or in any combination of the three. Both vegan and cruelty-free, this quality face highlighter flows smoothly onto your skin.
The concentration of ultra-fine micro pearl particles intensifies the reflection of light on your skin. This is the best high-end highlighter if you want a look that is completely customizable, depending on how you build it.
4. Fenty Beauty By Rihanna Killawatt Freestyle Highlighter
Rihanna’s Fenty Beauty line has been a raging success, and with good reason. She’s made a point of creating products for all skin tones, and this one is no different. It’s a hybrid of cream and powder that has a super-smooth texture and an ultra-fine shimmer. Very lightweight, it blends with practically no effort whatsoever. And, best of all, it is very long-wearing.
5. Charlotte Tilbury Face Palette Lightgasm
Not just a highlighter, but an all-in-one palette of four colors that are magic for all skin tones. And they all have the same gorgeous, glowing soft-focus translucent finish.
Highlight with a soft champagne tone for highlighting, add illumination for a next-level glow, and a touch of youth with a rosy blush. Sculpt and contour with the neutral bronze. If you are all about a rainbow of tones for your look, conveniently in one place, then this is the best high-end highlighter for you.
6. Pür Skin Perfecting Powder After Glow
The major advantage of this dual-use formula in this highlighter is that you can use it with makeup or all by itself. It has an Energy Complex that nourishes your skin and a Ceretin Complex that the look of your skin by diffusing its imperfections. The result is that this illuminating powder provides a very natural looking glowing radiance to a flawless, youthful look.
7. Burberry Fresh Glow Highlighter – Pink Pearl No.03
Illuminate your complexion and define your features with this quality face highlighter. This buildable, luminous shade will brighten your skin everywhere that light will naturally touch it. Use the included applicator brush to apply this translucent pearly powder, and it will be equally effective all over your face, on your eyes, and decolletage.
8. NARS Highlighting Powder
This vegan and gluten-free powder is all about the glow, with no glitter whatsoever. It blends pearls with sheer powder to achieve a luminosity that is next-level. Although it’s a powder, it applies almost like a gel, it’s not at all dry or grainy. In fact, it’s almost dewy looking. This is the best high-end highlighter if you are looking for a noticeable effect, but not a really dramatic one.
9. Becca Cosmetics Shimmering Skin Perfector Pressed Highlighter
This cruelty-free highlighter is a pressed powder that gives you medium coverage with a radiant finish. It has a creamy formula with a very buttery texture that allows for a seamless blend. What you get is a luminous glow that is very natural-looking, with no glitter to it. Whether your skin is dry, oily, normal, or combination, this quality face highlighter is very long-lasting and is great for everyday looks.
10. Mac Cosmetics Extra Dimension Skinfinish
You will get a very well-defined, luminous finish from this liquid-powder formula because it was specifically created to both highlight and sculpt your face. Not only will it add a perfect glow to your skin, but it is extremely long-lasting, giving you up to ten full hours of coverage. It works equally well with all skin types, too.
11. Nudestix Nudies All Over Face Color Bronze + Glow
In a more uncommon design, this dual-ended stick has a soft, waterproof color on one side and a great blending brush on the other. The bronze highlighting is really pretty, with a very subtle shimmer. It looks more glowy and dewy, even on dry skin, rather than sparkly or glittery. Not only is this product hypoallergenic and vegan, but it is also fragrance-, gluten- and cruelty-free.
12. RMS Beauty Living Luminizer
No grease, no glitter. What this highlighter has is coconut and castor seed oil that provide hydration to moisturize, soften, and soothe your skin. It also has Vitamin E, which not only does the same things but provides antioxidants that protect your skin, as well. This is a creamy illuminator like no other, that will nourish your skin as it delivers a natural-looking, delicate glow.
13. Natasha Denona Super Glow Highlighter
If you’re looking for the best high-end highlighter to give you a sophisticated, enhanced evening glam, then this is the product you need. It has a lightweight, meltingly soft formula that is good for all skin types. It’s made from crushed pearls and chroma crystals that create an unusual strobing effect that is very glass-like. The result is an extremely intense glow.
14. Anastasia Beverly Hills Loose Highlighter – Vegas
Although a lightweight, finely-milled loose powder, this highlighter has a soft, velvety texture that is very easy to blend. It consists of iridescent, highly reflective pearls and gives you a silky finish with an intense sparkle. However, this is a quality face highlighter with buildable coverage. So you can achieve looks that are subtly luminous, dramatically highly reflective and everything in between.
15. By Terry Paris Brightening Cc Serum Illuminating Primer
It’s always nice when you can get one product that fills multiple needs, and this one is a perfect example. Yes, you get a subtly gorgeous glow, but it will color-correct and even out your skin tone as it instantly brightens. Layering will enhance the results to your satisfaction.
With skincare built-in, it is also a versatile radiance-boosting primer that you can use in strategic areas, or to prime your entire face. You can even achieve a remarkable glow from mixing a few drops with your foundation.
FAQ About High-end Highlighters
What is a highlighter?
Highlighter is a type of makeup that reflects light. Highlighters brighten those areas and create angles and the perception of dimension on your face. It can be used on the face or other parts of the body.
Different ways to use a highlighter.
Experts advise that using a cream highlighter before foundation will allow your foundation to glide on for a smooth and seamless finish. If your blouse permits, a smidgen of highlighter to your collarbone and the centers of your shoulders give a glowy nighttime look.
How to apply a highlighter?
Highlighters should be applied with soft, fluffy, or angle-shaped makeup brushes. In addition to soft and fluffy, a fanned-shaped makeup brush is fantastic for a sweeping highlighter to your cheekbones and down your nose.
Where to apply a highlighter on your face?
Highlighters should be used on the places on your face that naturally reflect light. That includes tops of cheekbones, around your brow bones, on the inner corners of your eyes, your Cupid's bow, and the bridge of your nose.
How to find the best highlighter?
While there are many beautiful highlighters for all skin types, as a rule, you want to select a highlighter that is two shades lighter than your natural complexion. You want your highlight to enhance your natural complexion and leave you looking as natural as possible.
15 Best High-End Highlighters with the Biggest Impact
With such a wide variety of products to choose from, hopefully, you have found one or more highlighters that will give you the result you are looking for. Whether you prefer subtle or dramatic – or both at different times, and no matter what skin type, you can achieve exactly the effect you prefer best by choosing the correct highlighter.
Even better, though, you have the option of combining other advantages, as well. It’s easier to avoid creasing and caking when your highlighter has moisturizing ingredients in it. And you can achieve more customized looks with palettes with multiple colors, or single shades that can be layered for greater intensity. All you have to do is decide which will suit you best.
