My Highlighter Collection

Words by Matt Huxley

Look. I’ve never been one to do things by half, and that principle certainly applies when buying stuff. I am a marketer’s dream, my ambition only being limited by my non-existent budget. A bargain bin excites me like nothing else (except perhaps a buffet) and when it comes to makeup, highlighters are my one true love. I think it stems from the fact that I don’t really do eyeshadow, other than to matte out my oily eyelids, so I tend to emphasise my cheekbones. Cheek products are certainly my go-to when I’m on the hunt in priceline.

That being said, I’ve amassed a significant enough collection to warrant (in my eyes) a blog post. Now naturally some of these are included in palettes with other products. But I’ll only be reviewing and talking about the highlighter section. And yes. I swatched. I’ve never felt more like a third rate youtuber in my life.

1. Australis Contour and Highlight Palette (Light)
2. The Balm Mary Lou Manizer
3. Sleek Face Form Palette
4. Elf Colour Stick (Golden Peach)
5. The Body Shop Eyeshadow (Oh Honey)
6. It Cosmetics Vitality Face Disc
7. Savvy Blush/Highlight Duo
8. Mac Mineralised Skinfinish (Lightscapade)
9. Revlon Sculpt and Highlight Palette (Light)
10. Australis High Life
11. Dusty Girls Eyeshadow (Paperbark)
12. The Body Shop Eyeshadow (Be My Clementine)
13. Elf Blush (Gotta Glow)
14. The Body Shop Eyeshadow (Sugar Glaze)
15. Sephora Trio

1. Australis High Life: Honestly, I never use this aye. It’s incredibly powdery and is far too warm toned for my skin. It looks quite muddy on my skin which is annoying. There’s definitely a lot of shimmer in it, but the undertones make this one unsuitable for me.
2. Revlon Sculpt and Highlight Palette (Light): This was the one developed with Chloe Morello. I like it. But I think it could be better. The colour itself is quite nice and it’s very subtle on the skin. It doesn’t have much shimmer at all, making it suitable for those days where you don’t wanna look lit af.
3. The Body Shop Eyeshadow (Sugar Glaze): Yes eyeshadows can be multipurposed to anything you want. This is a shimmery white one, and looks nice on my skin. It can be a little bit visible so you need to really blend the edges of it to make it seamless.
4. Sleek Face Form Trio: A nice, shimmery, champagne coloured highlighter. This one is pretty cool toned which is good. I really should reach for this one more then I do.
5. Elf Colour Stick (Golden Peach): The one cream highlight that I own. This product is veeeeeery peach toned. It works on natural days blended in with a brush. Don’t apply directly from the bullet as it’s very easy to get way too much on ya mug.
6. Mac Mineralised Skinfinish (Lightscapade): My current holy grail highlight. I love this stuff dearly. It gives the perfect amount of shine, blends seamlessly and there’s a tonne of product in the pan. If you have pale skin you need this in your life. Iconic.
7. The Body Shop Eyeshadow (Oh Honey): A really nice, cool toned shadow. This one adds a lot of shine and gives the skin a nice sheen. It’s decently blendable too which is nice.
8. Sephora Trio: It’s not really showing up in the swatch, but this subtle highlight gives a pink tinged shimmer. It looks quite nice layered over another subtle highlight, but it’s not one I really reach for regularly.
9. Savvy Blush/Highlight Duo: This highlight isn’t very shimmery and comes off a bit chalky on the skin. I don’t love it, but it can look nice layered under another highlight.
10. Dusty Girls Eyeshadow (Paperbark): This golden toned shadow works well on slightly warmer skin tones than mine, but I can still pull it off.
11. The Balm Mary Lou Manizer: Now this is the product you use when you want your cheeks to be absolutely glowing. It’s even a tad too shiny for even me. Like you are genuinely lit af with this product.
12. Australis Highlight/Contour Palette (Light, shades 1 and 3): The two highlight shades in this palette are pretty similar to the revlon one. They aren’t phenomenal and are on the matter side for highlights. To be honest, this palette is only worth buying for the contours, which are really good.
13. The Body Shop Eyeshadow (Be My Clementine): This is coming out far redder on camera then it does in person. It’s a lovely cool-toned pale orange with a subtle shimmer through it. It’s kinda like a blush and highlight in one and I’m actually bummed that they’re discontinuing it. Works really well with a nice fluffy brush to lightly sweep over your cheekbones.
14. Elf Blush (Gotta Glow): A bit of a dupe for the Nars Albatross highlight. But this one is far inferior. It’s probably the most powdery and chalky one of the lot. It’s a good colour and definitely adds a tonne of glow to your face. But just blend the shit out of it.
15. It Cosmetics Vitality Face Disc: This was my go-to highlighter for the longest amount of time, before it was surpassed by my Mac one. This colour and shimmer is really lovely on the skin and it’s very finely milled, making it seamless and easy to apply. Love it.

Buy Sigma Brushes here.

Don’t forget you can get 10% off all ApoteKah products using the code MATTH10.

Of course you need to follow me on Instagram and Snapchat @infirmofpurpose, Youtube, Facebook, Twitter, Bloglovin and Lookbook.