Best & Worst Drugstore Cream Highlighters

Highlighters can be tricky. They can either be too sheer and become pointless or to pigmented and shimmery that they end up making you look like a disco ball. I decided to go on an adventure of sorts to find some of the best highlighters out there starting with the drugstore. Today we discuss cream and liquid highlighters. The selection was definitely limited compared to powder highlighters, but I still managed to find several from the drugstore that have really impressed me. Below is a ranking of these highlighters with their pros and cons. Please feel free to let me know what you think and if you have your own recommendations.

Ranking (Worst to Best):

6. ELF All Over Color Stick ~ $1

Shades: Spotlight (left) & Toasted

Pros: 

~Inexpensive

 ~Good color selection

Cons: 

~Sticky (and remains tacky on skin)

~Hard to blend

~Scented

~Some colors such as "Spotlight" are streaky and poorly pigmented

5. ELF Shimmering Facial Whip ~ $1

Shade: Lilac Petal

Pros:

~Inexpensive

~Very pigmented (a little goes a long way)

~Good color selection

Cons:

~Sticky and remains slightly tacky on skin

~Can be hard to blend out

~Very pigmented and shimmery

~Scented

4. Kardashian Beauty Intimate Spotlight ~ $9.99

Shades:  Burnish (left) & Incandescence  

Pros:

~"Burnish" is a beautiful amber/light bronze highlight without glitter (universal shade)

~Cream to powder texture

~Easy to blend

~Can be used as an eyeshadow

Cons:

~"Incandescence" has small pieces of glitter in it that migrate all over face throughout day

~"Incandescence" not as pigmented as "Burnish"

~Staying power is so-so. Begins to wear off by mid-day.

3. Revlon Photoready Skinlights Face Illuminator ~ $12.99

Shades: Bare Light & Pink Light

Pros:

~Easy to blend

~Liquid to powder finish

~All shades except for Bare Light have decent pigmentation

~Provides pretty sheen/glow to skin without glitter/sparkle.

~Can be mixed with foundation as illuminator or on top of foundation as highlighter

~Good packaging. Protects product from contamination.

Cons:

~"Bare Lights" does not have great pigmentation (better as subtle illuminator)

~If used as highlighter, liquid formula can cause other make to shift/fade on face

2. L'Oreal Visible Lift Color Lift Blush ~ $12.99

Shade: Rose Gold Lift

Pros:

~ Cream to powder finish

~Easy to blend

~Beautiful color as a highlight

~Good staying power

~Provides glow to skin without glitter

Cons:

~Some colors have better pigmentation than others

~Not pigmented enough as a stand-alone blush

~Cheap, flimsy packaging

~Expensive for amount of product that you get

1. ELF Shimmer Palette ~ $3 (BEST VALUE)

Pros:

~Comes with 4 color choices

~Cream to powder finish

~Pigmented

~Great value/inexpensive

~Good packaging with mirror / travel friendly

~Good staying power

~Shimmer without glitter

Cons:

~Can feel a little wet when applied (until it dries)

~Only available on ELF website: http://www.eyeslipsface.com/studio/face/shimmer/shimmer_palette