The 8 best highlighters to fake a well-rested glow, tested by our beauty editor

Highlighter works best on the parts of the face that naturally catch the light. The tops of the cheekbones are the natural starting point, where a small amount of product instantly lifts the complexion. From there, a touch on the brow bone can open up the eyes, while a light tap along the bridge of the nose adds subtle structure. Some makeup artists also place a pinpoint of product on the cupid’s bow to make lips appear fuller.

The key is restraint. Because highlighter reflects light, applying it sparingly on the high points of the face (making sure to blend) will create a believable glow rather than that dreaded and obvious stripe of shimmer of yesteryear.

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The most natural-looking highlighter starts with the formula. Products that create a believable glow tend to rely on finely milled pearl or a sheer glossy base rather than visible glitter particles, with gel luminisers and balm formulas giving you the most convincing “skin” effect. Powders can work beautifully too, provided the shimmer is refined enough to blur rather than sparkle.

Application should be minimal. Tap a small amount onto the high points of the face and blend it into the skin to create a diffused reflection that catches the light with a soft, dew-like sheen. When the texture is right, highlighter should simply looks like light hitting healthy glass skin.

What it is: A liquid highlighter dispensed through a cushion-tip wand applicator for targeted application on the high points of the face. The lightweight formula blends easily into the skin and is designed to deliver buildable luminosity with a pearlescent finish.

Why we love it: There’s a reason Charlotte Tilbury’s Beauty Wands are among the most duped products on the market. The formula delivers visible radiance without dipping into glitter, with more punch than the sheer, glass-skin style luminisers currently doing the rounds. Our only gripe is shade depth: on paler complexions, the lightest colours can come across like a rosy flush of blush rather than the desired high-shine highlighter, though come summer the effect is exactly what you want from a highlighter.

What it is: A finely milled powder highlighter designed to add luminosity to the high points of the face. The powder-to-cream formula melts slightly on contact with the skin, allowing the pigment to build gradually while maintaining a smooth, reflective finish.

Why we love it: The biggest pitfall of powder highlighters is chalkiness. But when they work, they really work. Think back to the cult-classified Becca highlighters (remember Champagne Pop?) that lit up many a 2016 dance floor – Caia’s modern powder-to-cream formula captures that same light-catching payoff, but with far more control. It builds gradually rather than depositing a stark stripe of shimmer, meaning you get glow with impact without leaving your cheekbones looking like the flour-dusted counter of a baker’s kitchen.

What it is: A translucent highlighting balm housed in a twist-up stick, designed to glide directly onto the skin and blend out with fingers. The creamy formula leaves a sheer, dewy sheen rather than obvious shimmer.

Why we love it: Merit has built its reputation on a uniform of effortless beauty staples, designed for those who prefer their makeup routine quick and unfussy. Their balmy highlighter fits neatly into that lineup. It won’t deliver the high-voltage shine some formulas promise, nor does it cling on until the early hours, but that isn’t really the point of this product. For that “your dew, but better” finish that melts into bare skin, few highlighters do it more convincingly.

What it is: A trio of Hourglass’s signature Ambient Lighting powders housed in a single palette, formulated with photoluminescent pigments designed to mimic flattering light.

Why we love it: Hourglass has been setting the gold standard for grown-up glow for well over a decade, and this is the compact that proves why. You get three distinct “lighting filters” in one: one to blur, one to brighten, one to warm, all finely milled enough that nobody’s clocking glitter fallout on your face. Swept over cheekbones (or, frankly, anywhere you want to look slightly more sculpted), it gives that suspiciously good skin effect, the kind that prompts “have you had a facial?” instead of “nice highlighter.”

What it is: A translucent gel highlighter in stick form, designed to be dabbed onto cheeks, lips and lids for a glassy finish. The formula is infused with Vitis Vita grape extract and hyaluronic acid, and uses iridescent pigments to create an opalescent sheen.

Why we love it: The magic here is the iridescent undertone: it deposits sheen and gloss without glitter grit, which is exactly why it tends to look flattering on basically everyone. Used as a swipe-and-go in transit, it brings back that just-cleansed, freshly moisturised look in seconds, especially when skin is feeling a bit flat. And yes, at this price point we expect more than shimmer in a tube, so the added skincare benefits feel like a fair ask rather than marketing garnish.

What it is: A lightweight fluid-gel luminiser that can be worn alone, used as a primer under makeup, mixed into foundation or moisturiser, or tapped on top of base for targeted highlight. The formula is designed to deliver a dewy glow without glitter.

Why we love it: This is a proper workhorse in the makeup cupboard. Yes, it’s gone viral as an all-over glow step, but it’s almost better when you use it in its most potent form: tapped onto the high points where you actually want light to land, rather than diluted through your entire base. The gel texture melts in quickly, provides dew without sparkle, and plays well with whatever complexion routine you’ve already got going, from bare skin to full-coverage foundation. The kind of multi-use product that earns its keep by doing more than most.

What it is: A powder highlighter with a “melts-into-skin” texture enriched with mango butter, shea butter and almond butter and a reflective shimmer finish.

Why we love it: The Buttermelt range boomed online for a reason, and while we rate the blushes and bronzers, this is where the formula really shines (pun intended). You get proper, megawatt payoff for a mini price, with the kind of light-catching finish that actually shows up on the skin. It’s not the subtle “is it skincare?” glow, and that’s exactly why we rate it.

What it is: A liquid highlighter from Dior’s Forever line, formulated with ultra-fine pearly pigments for long-wearing luminosity and a “no-makeup” finish.

Why we love it: Yes, it’s expensive, but this is the ride-or-die. When you try as many highlighters as a beauty editor does, finding one you genuinely don’t want to replace is rarer than it should be, and this is that rare find. The glow is pearlescent and polished without looking like product sitting on top of skin, which is exactly why it earns its place in every makeup bag (especially those going in a carry-on). It’s the one we keep coming back to, even when the testing pile on our beauty desk suggests we should “move on.”