19 Best Highlighters, Tested and Reviewed for 2023

I love using this cream highlighter to give my skin a moisturized, dewy glow (especially helpful for when you’ve over-powdered your face). And unlike some cream formulas that slide off your cheeks in a few hours, this one has just enough density that it sticks onto your skin all day long. It’s also a favorite of makeup artist Jamie Greenberg, who notes that it has a subtle look that “still makes your skin look super glowy.”

THE REVIEWS: “These are so dreamy,” writes one tester. “They blend perfectly and give a lit-from-within glow that not only looks great in person, but absolutely magical in photos.”

Don’t want your cheekbones to look like they’re beaming off your face? Can’t relate, but I get it. Opt for this cult-favorite baked powder from Essence, which will give your skin an ever-so-slight shimmer without major glitter or shine. And the best part? It’s so lightweight, you can dust it across your entire face for some natural-looking luminosity, or just concentrate it on the high points of your face.

THE REVIEWS: One tester writes, “This highlighter is so pretty. Looks natural but not in the sense that it is dull, but in the sense that it isn't glittery and is more of a sheen than glitter. Beautiful and glowy!”

Powder highlighters often have more pigment, which can give your skin a more pronounced shimmer (not always ideal for subtlety). But this one from LYS is actually super-finely milled, so it blends into your skin without looking heavy, settling into texture, or creating a solid stripe across your face. Greenberg loves it too “because it feels weightless on your skin, yet still gives you a strong glow,” she explains.

THE REVIEWS: “I really love this highlighter, and what surprised me the most is how much it packs a punch for the price!” writes one tester. “You seriously cannot beat the fact that it’s clean, has a high end feel, and the price. 10/10 recommend!”

TikTokers are absolutely obsessed with this sponge-tip highlighter (like, it’s got 1.5 billion TikTok views and counting), and Madison Beer even sold out the Pink-gasm shade when she said she uses it as a shimmery blush. The dewy formula comes in six tints and finishes (three radiant, and three shimmer), so you can customize your highlight. And thanks to both mica and lightweight oils in the formula, these shimmery liquids make your cheeks shine.

THE REVIEWS: “I love this, and it lasts me forever,” writes one reviewer. “I use one dot and use a foundation brush and tap to blend out. It is stunning.”

If you hate how highlighters can sometimes leave you with an intense stripe across your cheekbones, you need this formula from Iconic London. The lightweight liquid highlighter just melts into your skin, especially if you mix it with your cream blush or your bronzer for a diffused look. It has a really intense glow, which I personally love, but it doesn’t rely on shimmers or glitters, just a strong sheen. Another application trick? “You can also add a drop to your foundation to give your entire face a little extra glow,” adds makeup artist Sarah Tanno.

THE REVIEWS: According to a reviewer, “The most beautiful glow. This is the best highlighter I’ve used. I have dry skin, and for me, this looks more dewy and natural than powder or cream formulas. I’ll be buying again in the future.”

If you tend to skip highlighter because it ends up making your skin texture, pores, and bumps even more noticeable, then try this viral balm from Tower 28, which gives your skin a natural-looking “glaze” without highlighting your skin texture. Dab it on your cheekbones with your (clean) fingers to help melt the product into your skin, leaving you with a high-gloss, non-sticky finish that won’t require you to wear your hair up.

THE REVIEWS: “This is the absolute best highlighter I have ever used,” writes one tester. “It truly gives me lit-from-within skin and makes my skin look so healthy and dewy.”

The best part of a stick highlighter is how easy it is to dab on your skin before walking out the door. So what makes this one from Chanel even better is that it comes in three tinted shades (bronze, rose, and champagne), and one completely transparent shade (my favorite). With a clear formula, you can quickly pat it across your cheekbones, bridge of your nose, Cupid’s bow, and wherever you want a little shine without even looking in a mirror. It essentially just gives your skin a moisturized, dewy finish that never settles into fine lines or gets patchy.

THE REVIEWS: “It comes in a lovely metal tube packaging that feels luxe,” writes one reviewer. “The formula is balmy but not sticky. and it actually lasts on my cheeks. It gives a very dewy glow that kind of looks like skincare.”

Hi, meet the La Croix of highlighters. It’s almost like a finishing powder, in that it adds a whisper of a glow to your skin when you dust it all over with a fluffy brush, while subtly “blurring” skin texture. If you’re averse to high-shine illuminators on your skin, you’ll definitely love how natural and sheer this one looks, whether you just focus it on your high-points (cheekbones, Cupid’s bow, bridge of nose) or sweep it across your entire face for a slight radiance.

THE REVIEWS: One tester writes, “Beautiful product! Goes on so smoothly. Makes me look like I have a filter on my face! Even better, people have told me that I look great when wearing this but can’t place a finger on why. I really like the no-makeup glow this gives me.”

Merit’s highlighters are not only clean (if clean beauty is your thing), but also offer nearly zero pigment—just a slight glimmer—making them great for the fairest of skin tones who find most highlighters to be too yellow or rosy against their skin. The formula comes in three shades to suit golden, pink, and olive undertones, so you’ll have no problem finding one that works well with your skin.

THE REVIEWS: “This highlight looks like you are just glowing,” reads one review. “It looks so good on your skin. It’s cream but honestly you can even put it on after powder. It blends so well. No chunky glitter. So pretty and lasts forever!”

This highlighter comes in 10 pigmented shades, including a deep reddish-brown, a cool bronze, and a golden copper that all blend beautifully into dark-to-deep skin tones (just watch this TikTok raving about Chocolate Opal—pictured here–for reference). Though they’re technically pressed powder, trust me when I say the texture is more of a cream-like formula that, as makeup artist Sarah Tanno describes, “melt into your skin to create an almost glass-like finish.” Ty, Lady Gaga.

THE REVIEWS: “Lady Gaga changed the game with this highlighter,” writes one reviewer. “Easily the prettiest, most pigmented highlighter I have EVER used! I am so in love with it and how smoothly it goes on. If you love highlighter and want the most pigmented glow out there, this is the product for you.”

Like options? Hate commitment? Grab this highlighter palette that includes six gorgeously shimmery shades, ranging from icy white to bronze (in the lighter palette), and champagne to chocolate-brown (in the deeper palette). Feel free to mix and match the shades together to create a custom highlight, or, for a hella shimmery look, swipe ‘em on top of your blush, bronzer, or eyeshadow.

THE REVIEWS: “These are some of the smoothest highlighters I’ve ever tried,” writes one reviewer. “Every color works on my skin tone and gives a beautiful glow. Not glittery, but a beautiful glisten—I’m obsessed.”

There comes a time and place where I actually do want to douse my face in glitter, and that’s when I reach for this highlighter range. The powders come in two formulas: (1) an intense metallic with a duochrome finish—which looks sick with graphic colored eyeliner—and (2) a super-sparkly glitter. I like to dust it over my blush and cheekbones with a fluffy brush when I want major glitter, but I’ll also dab it onto my cheekbones with clean fingers for a more precise glitter application.

MY REVIEW: Every time I wear one of these highlighters, I get hella compliments and questions asking what I’m wearing because the shades are so unique and reflective. I also use them on my eyes too for a monochrome look.

I love the lilac shade of this clean Saie highlighter. A few swipes make me look like I got eight hours of sleep, did a yoga class, journaled and meditated, and drank a green juice…when I did none of those things. It adds a slight glisten to my skin, which is why I love patting it across my eyelids, nose, forehead, and cheeks for a no-makeup glow, or even dabbing it under my concealer as a dewy, color corrector. The formula also comes in bronze and rose-gold shades, which reviewers say work well for brightening medium-to-tan skin tones and adding a golden glow.

THE REVIEWS: “Once you work the product between your fingers and warm it up, it almost melts into this ethereal, hazy pink and lilac shift,” writes one tester. “I love it on my cheekbones; it gives such dew and a glossy finish, and the color is unique to my collection.”

This creamy stick highlighter comes in eight shades, but would you expect anything less from Fenty Beauty? So if you feel like every other highlighter on the market is too golden or too icy or too sheer for your skin tone, play around with a Match Stix, which has a mix of undertones ranging from a reddish-brown with caramel shimmers, to a chocolate-brown with bronze shimmer, and even a cool-toned bronze with muted glimmer.

THE REVIEWS: According to one review, “I wore this to work, and all the girls were like ‘what are you wearing why are you glowing?’ It was just this on my upper cheek bone and lids. That’s it. Glides on, smudges so we’ll. 10/10!”

I like glowy cheekbones and a matte T-zone—sue me! So when my skin is going through a major oil spell (like around my period), I choose this shimmery powder highlight from Benefit. It’s filled with dimethicone, which makes it feel silky-smooth and also helps it stick to my oily skin, even when the rest of my makeup just wants to slide down my face.

THE REVIEWS: “Such an intense and sophisticated shimmer,” one tester writes. “And it adheres so well on my skin. I tried this on the back of my hand in the store. After one wash of my hand, the beautiful shine, surprisingly, did not fade too much, given it is a powder product.”

Want a smooth, extremely radiant highlighted-look? Opt for this loose powder from Juvia’s Place, which has super-tiny, finely milled flecks of mica that dot the surface of your skin instead of sticking to texture or pores. Just note that the formula has quite a bit of pigment though, so it’ll leave you with a strong glow. So if you want a sheerer application, dust it over your cheeks with a fan brush, since a denser brush will pick up a ton of product.

THE REVIEWS: “This highlighter is very pigmented, you only need a very small amount and will have the perfect glow,” writes one tester. “It is especially complimentary when wearing your favorite blush. I've been using it with a fan brush and couldn't be happier.”

On my no-makeup-makeup days, when I’m only wearing a little concealer, skin tint, and brown mascara, I always reach for this highlighter from Rare Beauty. It gives me a glowy look but feels completely weightless on my skin. Plus, it blends in smoothly without patching, whether I’ve got makeup underneath or just my sunscreen. I just dab the doe-foot applicator where I want a little shine and blend with a beauty sponge.

THE REVIEWS: “It’s so easy and effortless to blend and leaves the perfect amount of shine,” writes one reviewer. “It’s also buildable and.a little bit of this product goes a long way and lasts all day on my skin.”

If other powders feel chalky or drying on your skin, but you still want a blinding glow, try Pat McGrath’s. It has a gel-powder consistency, so it applies like a powder but looks and feels like a dense cream once you work it into your skin. Just make sure to blend it in with a dense brush to pick up the powder evenly. Trust me: The glow is good; like, you miiight just be seen from space, especially if you dust it over your collarbones and shoulders too.

THE REVIEWS: “This highlighter is beautiful,” reads one review. “It looks VERY glowy indoors, but in natural lighting or in flash photography, you can really see the glitter and the glow. This highlighter is not for those wanting a natural glow from within, but for a blinding highlighter.”

I constantly get compliments when I wear this powder highlighter from Wet N Wild because it adds a shimmery sheen to my cheekbones when they catch the light. But don’t let “shimmery” fool you—you won’t find any chunky glitter flecks all over your face after you dust it on: The formula is actually gel-like, so it blends into your skin like ~butter~ with a dense brush.

THE REVIEWS: “If you are on a budget, then I would definitely recommend this highlighter,” writes one tester. “It goes on really smoothly. You can dress it up or dress it down with how much you put on. It honestly is just as good as more expensive highlighters.”