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Wednesday 5 June 2013

Searching for a highlighter

Hi guys, today I have a bit of a different post for you. I have recently decided I want to try a bit of contouring so have been stocking up on the necessary products. As I don't really know really know what I am doing I have been wanting products that are relatively cheap and fool-proof. I picked up a bronzer from Rimmel London during My Chemist Warehouse's 50% off sale however when I went to get a highlighter I noticed a lack of products called "highlighter" on the shelves. I also noticed things called "illuminators" so this post is going to focus on what the difference between a highlighter and an illuminator and let you know about some of the cheap products available. If you have any suggestions please feel free to comment below, as I said I have only started thinking about highlighters and illuminators in the past couple of weeks so I am by no means an expert.



So what is the difference between a highlighter and an illuminator?

A highlighter is a product you can apply to add dimension to your face and to brighten areas of your face that you want to make stand out a bit more. They come in various types; cream, liquid and powder. They are generally more concentrated, compared to illuminators, so are usually applied to the brow bone, the top of your cheeks, along your nose-bridge and perhaps under your eyes. Personally, I'm going to be applying it to the top of my cheeks and nose-bridge. From my obsessive youtube-watching I know that people also use eyeshadows for highlighter. Obviously you would have to be selective...

An illuminator, on the other hand is less concentrated; softer and more diffuse than a highlighter which means you can apply them all over your face to brighten your complexion and for a "glow".




Now onto what's out there in the shops.
  • Australis Mineral Face Highlighter (Two shades: pearl and gold) $14.95. Comes in a pump bottle. 
  • L'oreal Paris Lumi Magique Highlighter $27.95. Comes in a wind-up brush pen. 
  • Model Prefer Highlighter Quad $9.99. A quad of four different powders. Available from Priceline exclusively.
  • Rimmel London Wake Me Up Instant Radiance Shimmer Touch $12.99
  • Nude by Nature Soft Focus Illuminator $22.95 
Okay so I have been harping on about the difference between highlighters and illuminators but despite all that I think I accidentally came home with an illuminator. I came home with the Rimmel London Wake Me Up Instant Radiance Shimmer Touch because out of all the swatches I made it was the one that suited my complexion the most and it wasn't too expensive. If I master contouring I might get the L'oreal pen or perhaps a powder from Physicians Formula.


What highlighter and illuminator do you use? 

Thanks for reading and have a lovely day :)








3 comments:

  1. Ergh glad it's not just me. I've been trying for the past month or so to find a powder highlighter and there is just nothing out there at a drugstore level. The closest i found were the illuminating pearls that FoA briefly had on shelf but are now gone. It's incredibly frustrating, like you i was also trying to look into contouring a bit more but have so far failed to find anything but liquid highlighters which just don't really work for me. best of luck

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    1. Great to hear I'm not the only one! Physician's formula have a powder in a compact that looks like it might be good and priceline has 40% physicians formula at the moment. Maybe worth a look? Let me know if you find one that works well for you :)

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  2. For a cheap powder highlighter I like Nyx Mosaic powder in the highlight version. I also love The Balm Mary Loumanizer too but that one isn't cheap. Try ebay for the Nyx one, or Cherry Culture if you feel so inclined. Just don't drop the Nyx one like I did or it will break:(

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