My Favourite Four High Street Highlighters

The basic concepts of a highlighter or luminiser seem pretty easy to replicate, but sometimes high street brands get it so wrong. I've tried my fair share of products that are either bright white, horribly glittery, or just so badly formulated that they look like nothing on the skin, and each has left me wondering whether cheaper products can really do as promised. Thankfully I have found some high street highlighters that I really enjoy using, and think are definitely worth picking up. Here are my current favourite four:

MUA Undress Your Skin Highlighting Powder (£3)- this is one of the best highlighters for its price in my opinion- at £3 this powder is so light on the purse that it's often sold out in superdrug stores and on the MUA website. It has a lovely iridescence without being too sparkly and can be applied lightly or built up for a really glossy look. This product isn't overly finely milled, which means there isn't much fallout from the pan, but also means it can tend to highlight the pores so a light hand is needed for areas where pores are particularly large (for me, thats across the nose and centre of the cheeks). The product is lightly pigmented with a pinky tone, and when bought new it has a really attracted embossed wave pattern which I think makes it look far more expensive than it actually is. The hinge on my lid has unfortunately broken off, so the packaging doesn't get a thumbs up from me, but  this product is one of the best you'll find for £3 and excellent value for money.

Autograph Liquid Glow Illuminator (£9.50)- A great high street dupe for Mac Strobe Cream, this light lotion is moisturising and luminising with iridescent light reflecting particles that create a natural look in the absence of sparkle or shimmer. The illuminating liquid can be used underneath foundation, mixed with foundation, or tapped and blended on  top over the high points of the face to make them stand out. This lotion is so easy to blend into the skin with fingers or a brush, but I find on my oily skin I sometimes need to set it with a little powder just to keep in place through the day. The packaging features a pump with plunger at the bottom of the bottle instead of tube in the centre, which means you can be sure to use up every last drop of the 30ml. The Liquid Glow Illuminator is available in White or Bronze, and while bronze is too dark for me I think it's great that they've created an option for more tanned skins.

Topshop Highlighter in Sunbeam (£10)- This highlighter has unfortunately been discontinued (although it seems to still be available online at John Lewis), but deserves honourable mention for its uniqueness. First, I love the simple packaging of this product- the matte cream compact is solid but lightweight, and the hand-drawn stars make it stand out in my make up collection. This is the most pigmented highlighting powder I've tried and a light dusting creates a lovely warm metallic glow to the face without being chalky or grainy. A light hand is definitely needed to avoid the golden powder showing up too obviously on the skin, but I find highlighters that lean too pink can look a bit unnatural on my skintone, so this is the perfect shade to give an iridescent warmth. If golden highlighters aren't your thing, Topshop also sells Crescent Moon, which has the same formula but in a much lighter and pinker shade.
[I've just heard from lovely Lucy at The Little Blush that Sunbeam will be available at Topshop again this Christmas, I'll definitely be buying myself a back up!] 

Bourjois Poudre de Riz de Java (£9)- A recent release from Bourjois celebrating their 150^th birthday, this finely milled pearlised rice powder illuminates the skin in a really delicate way. The translucent light pink powder can be used lightly all over the face to brighten (and is praised as an undereye setting powder), or more heavily along the cheekbones for a stronger but natural glow. I find I can get away with using this product all over during the day, but at night the artificial light tends to bring out the gold shimmer so I stick to the natural high points of the face. The powder contains rice starch, oakmoss extract and rose extract which give it a light scent that reminds me of roses and baby powder, and the packaging is definitely worth talking about- a convenient twist lock sifter sits inside a vintage style pot, which looks eyecatching rather than outdated and the green stands out perfectly among the black and white compacts of my collection. I was so eager to get my hands on this product when it launched, and it certainly didn't disappoint me!

In my opinion, if you can't swatch a highlighter before buying, its best to seek out reviews from people with a similar skintone to you- a product that looks gorgeous on, for example, a warm olive shade of skin can look completely different on a lighter complexion. Even though I already own more than enough, I've got my eye on the Balm Mary Loumanizer (£16 from Feel Unique) as the next to add to my highlighter collection. A product that I originally saw in a video by Shaaanxo, and which seems to look gorgeous and glossy on every skintone!

What are your favourite highstreet highlighters?