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The best liquid highlighters for a super natural glow
These subtle face enhancers are your fast track to glossy skin
This season we're fully embracing the less-is-more glow – and the route to success is through a liquid highlighter. Gone are the days of seriously strobed cheekbones and blinding nose bridges. Today, we're seduced by barely-there finishes that give a natural glow.
While, yes, powder formulas can bring a beam that’s bright enough to stop traffic, liquid highlighters bestow that believable radiance that's a little more flattering. And with the festive season in full swing, we'll be wearing them as a pre-party polish to create dimension and catch the light of the dancing disco ball.
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Nyx professional makeup Born To Glow Liquid Illuminator Glowy Highlighter
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How to use a liquid highlighter
We get it: liquid highlighters can appear a little intimidating, but indeed they're the perfect pre-party polish that takes zero dexterity to apply. We'd recommend using your hands to tap the product in as the warmth from your fingers helps to seamlessly diffuse the pigment. Failing that, a damp beauty sponge will do the trick too.
Of course, the natural way to apply liquid highlighter is on top of any base products. However, depending on the look you want, you can apply before, after or even mix it in with your foundation. The latter is good for a healthy-looking radiance, whereas applying after is best for an amped up glow.
Along with a fast track to glass-like skin, these easy illuminators also come with supreme versatility. Mix a drop into a BB cream for that sought-after ‘lit from within’ glow, layer it beneath a foundation for a barely-there finish, or bounce the product directly onto your high points.
There are a whole host of liquid highlighters on the shelves, in varying levels of intensity and longevity. So it's a good job that you’ve got the expertise of an extremely fussy beauty team available to you.
Forget swatching your way through endless bottles and head straight for one of these editor-approved winners instead.
The best liquid highlighters to try now
Vieve's new Nova Glow liquid highlighter is beyond sexy. The gel-like texture doesn't leave you with suspiciously iridescent cheekbones, but grants an effortless 'lit-from-within' glow that looks completely natural. And with pigments so fine, the highlighter sinks into your skin without leaving tell-tale streaks.
Meet the primer-highlighter hybrid that we're all obsessed with RN: Saie's Glowy Super Gel.
The serum boasts a delicate shine, as opposed to a full-out shimmer shot, making it a great pick for any minimalist gals out there. You can layer it below your foundation for an all-over radiance, or highlight it on the high-points of your face as a pigmented highligher. Trust us, you'll be stockpiling this stuff quicker than you can say glow.
Rare Beauty Positive Light Liquid Luminizer
Rare Beauty’s Soft Pinch Liquid Blushes may get all the attention, but its Liquid Luminizer is our hall-of-fame icon.
The non-greasy formula contains tiny light-reflecting particles that lend the skin a gentle glow. You don’t have to apply much; just squeeze out a few drops and blend with your finger.
It makes complete sense that this illuminator is the brainchild of Jess Hunt (one look at her Insta and you’ll see she knows how to do glowing, sun-kissed skin).
The highly pigmented formula appears a little intimidating at first, but once patted on the high points of your face, it imparts a dewy, wet-look radiance. Definitely one to try if you’re into a glass-skin finish.
Nyx professional makeup Born To Glow Liquid Illuminator Glowy Highlighter
We are obsessed with the shade range with this highlighter. Sun Goddess is a molten-gold tone and works wonders on darker skin.
We apply it pretty much all over our body, focusing on the shoulders, collar bones, and down the centre of our shins to fake that just waxed look. It’s super good value too!
What exactly is Futuredew? How long have you got? Simply speaking, this multi-use oil-serum hybrid can be applied as the last step in your skincare regime for a dewy shine that shows through foundation, or patted on the high points of your cheeks for a hyper-realistic wet-look glow. Don't try to fathom the formula, just know it’s Glossier skin, bottled.
At first glance, this one looks intensely pigmented, but once diffused over your skin it gives a warm, healthy finish. We have the shade ‘Reality’ well stocked, which is perfect for a golden sun-tan tint. Plus, it’s thicker in consistency so there’s no risk of it running down your face before you have the chance to blend it out.
Charlotte Tilbury's Beauty Light Wands have become a sell-out success, with customers saying they’d never had a highlight quite like it.
So if you see one in stock, we’d advise you to 'add to cart' immediately. The sponge applicator makes it super easy to apply too – just dab on and glow.
Anastasia Beverly Hills Liquid Glow Face Highlighter
This one delivers more impact than the others, yet still looks dewy and flattering under both natural and artificial light.
Apply a sheer layer with a stipple brush to gently illuminate, or build up the pigment by dabbing on with delicate fingers.
Pai’s highligher drops tick a lot of boxes for us, but the big winner is that it feels undetectable without compromising on pigment.
One drop melts into your skin to spotlight your browbones, cheekbones or cupid's bow, or it can be mixed into your foundation for a subtle radiance.
Formulated with hyaluronic acid and algae, it’s also a winner in the skincare-makeup category.
Clare Stephenson is the Senior Fashion and Beauty E-commerce Writer for Cosmopolitan, ELLE and Harper’s Bazaar. She has been an e-commerce writer since 2022, creating matter-of-fact reviews and shopping pages filled with her favourite products for every budget and need – whether that’s a glow-giving foundation, a high-tech LED face mask or the perfect wear-with-everything blazer.
Alongside writing, Clare loves to be in front of the camera creating shopping content, putting viral products to the test to see which ones are truly worth the hype. Through her work, she has interviewed leading dermatologists, makeup artists and industry experts to bring readers trusted advice and product recommendations.
Clare has contributed to titles across the Hearst UK portfolio, including Women’s Health, Good Housekeeping, Red and Prima. Prior to joining Hearst, she earned a BA in Multimedia Journalism from Bournemouth University, focusing her studies on magazines and editorial. She later worked as an editorial assistant at Voir Fashion Magazine, covering events including Fashion Week and interviewing notable brand founders.
Outside of work? You can find Clare strolling through London’s Columbia Road Market, pouring her fourth coffee of the day or heading to a Pilates class.
Follow Clare on Instagram @clarefrancesstephenson.
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