Best Highlighters For An Instant Glow-Up

Whether you’re looking for a powerful glow or a natural glow - finding the one is hard. That why we’ve been testing out cult favourite brands, and gathered recommendations straight from our editor and what she really loves about each of them. No one highlighter is equal to the other, they’ve all got different ingredients and intentions but the below 15 are top tier.

Fenty Beauty by Rihanna Match Stix Glow Skinstick

Glow up with the Skinstick that lets you dew you. Match Stix Glow Skinstick takes your complexion to the next level with instant dewy radiance. The translucent base glides over skin like silk, leaving a touch of pearly iridescence for a subtle glow without glitter or sparkle. The result? A natural-looking glass finish that looks great on every skin tone. Whether you wear it on a bare face or layered over makeup, the lightweight, non-sticky formula leaves you fresh-faced without looking or feeling greasy.

Available at Boots.

MAC Strobe Cream

MAC's Strobe Cream is one of the most iconic makeup products of all time. It's also one of the most versatile. MAC Strobe Cream is a brightening moisturiser/primer, which helps to illuminate the skin and banish away any sign of dullness. Packed with a dose of vitamins and green tea, the cream melts into the skin for a radiant canvas, which never feels sticky or heavy. It’s the go to product to create a natural, healthy-looking glow.

Available at MAC Cosmetics.

Guerlain Météorites Light Revealing Pearls of Powder

The Météorites Pearls from Guerlain are a classic luxury highlighter before highlighter and “dewy makeup” was even popular. Meteorites Pearls skilfully adds radiance with Stardust technology, a light-creating polymer, making for perfectly tailored luminosity no matter your skin tone. With its satin, barely-there finish and beautiful violet scent, the Pearls have become a true beauty icon. Together with the rich inimitable violet fragrance, this product feels like the elegance of 1920s Hollywood icons.

Available at Guerlain.

Catrice Cosmetics More Than Glow Highlighter

A golden highlighter that creates an intense metallic glow. The effects of this highlighter are amazing considering it’s extremely budget friendly price of £3.95. The ultra-soft, silky texture gently blends with the skin’s complexion and emphasises natural tones with a radiant and metallic shimmering effects. The pressed-powder highlighter, which is engraved with blossoms and comes in beautiful golden packaging, is available in three versatile shades to compliment any skin tone.

Available from Justmylook.

Milk Makeup Holographic Stick

Milk Makeup’s Holographic Stick contains real meteorite powder for an out-of-this-world holographic finish. We’re not joking. The space-tacular highlighter will grace your skin with a wearable galactic sheen, whether applied to lips, cheeks or even eyes. With a cocktail of nourishing natural oils and butters, the vegan formula is super hydrating, boosting your skin’s natural radiance while granting a supernatural glow.

Available at Cult Beauty.

Benefit High Beam Liquid Highlighter

This satin-like illuminator sets complexions alight with its soft and lightweight pigment, releasing a glistening shade of pearlescent pink to enhance the skin with a truly luminous quality. Buildable and blendable, the highlighter subtly lifts and brightens the visage with a natural-looking, dewy radiance, delivering smooth and seamless results from day to night. The beaming liquid formula comes equipped with a padded applicator to ensure supreme precision and control while applying.

Available at Benefit.

Iconic London Radiance Booster

Get ready for the most iconic glow. This is truly a multi-functional, lightweight skin tint formula like no other that can be worn alone to complement your natural beauty or under foundation for a luminous under-glow. ​The brand's Radiance Booster contains a cocktail of innovative ingredients such as their Oleo-Gel complex, that works to smooth and even out your complexion and Luminizer Peptides to maintain flawless transparency. Skin is left polished and plumper-looking. What more could you want? ​

Available from Iconic London.

bareMinerals Endless Glow Highlighter

This mineral-based powder highlighter creates a naturally luminous finish to provide a long-wearing lit-from-within glow. Mineral blurring microspheres instantly blur the appearance of pores, texture and imperfection to ensure a flawlessly radiant complexion. With a range of shimmering shades, the illuminator creates a healthy-looking complexion. The formula can be built up from a naturally luminous finish to a beaming highlight than never looks cakey, creased or cracked. Free from chunky glitters, this highlighter creates a smooth, photo-ready finish for a truly endless glow!

Available at bareMinerals.

Estée Lauder Bronze Goddess Highlighting Powder Gelée

Bestow your complexion with the glow of a Bronze Goddess with the Estée Lauder Highlighting Powder Gelée; a luxurious powder highlighter that enhances your base with an added dose of luminosity. Allowing your summer glow to live on, the silky face illuminating powder draws attention to the high points of your facial contours for a chiselled and more defined look. Blending naturally into your skin and dressing it with a soft sheen that catches the light, the highlighter builds to a pearlescent finish.

Available at Estée Lauder.

Dear Dahlia Eternal Shine Illuminating Palette

Swipe subtle light onto the high points of your face with the Eternal Shine Illuminating Palette from premium vegan beauty brand Dear Dahlia. Beautifully encased in mirrored compact are four gleaming highlighter powders, ultra-fine in texture and concentrated with multi-dimensional shimmery pigments that impart a hint of luminosity. The long-wearing formula is also infused with Shea Butter oil and other natural, plant-based ingredients to ensure a super-blendable, streak-free finish that won’t clump or leave behind harsh lines.

Available at Look Fantastic.

NUDESTIX Nudies All Over Face Color Glow Highlighter

Made in Korea, the custom face colour delivers a dewy, skin-brightening effect with a lightweight feel. Suitable for the eyes, cheeks, and lips, the multi-tasking, water-resistant highlighter can be used to add luminosity to high points of the face (such as the cheekbones and centre of the nose), on the lids to create a popping eyeshadow finish, or dabbed on the centre of the lips to create a plumped-up appearance. Lightweight and easy to use, the soft colour balm can be easily blended and stippled with the built-in brush.

Available at Lookfantastic.

Illamasqua Beyond Powder Highlighter

The silky powder glides effortlessly over skin, and can be used for an all-over illuminated finish or applied with more precision to perform like a highlighter. Perfect for illuminating the high points of the face and reflecting light, the powder is effective when worn on the top of the cheek bones, brow bones and even the collar bones. Apply dry for a sheer, natural shimmer or apply the powder with a wet brush for a more dramatic, metallic finish, with long-lasting effect.

Available at Illamasqua.

Delilah Pure Light Compact Illuminating Powder

Brighten, highlight and enhance your best features with delilah's Pure Light Compact Illuminating Powder a compact highlighter that adds glowing, lit-from-within radiance to your complexion. But in reality, it’s more than a highlighter. This illuminator gives a pressed setting powder effect by delivering a soft, multi-dimensional finish that complements all skin tones. The micro-fine powder highlighter has undergone a ground-breaking blending process, and applies effortlessly with smooth, seamless, illuminating results.

Available at Delilah Cosmetics.

Jane Iredale Face Glow Highlighter Stick

Glow from within with the new launches from Jane Iredale; Glow Time Highlighter sticks. Inspired by the radiating beauty of a golden goddess touched by the sun, these highlighters evoke your inner glow with a creamy, buildable formula. In addition to a beautiful finish, the formula includes Jojoba Seed Oil to hydrate and smooth the skin.

Available from Jane Iredale.

Inglot Endless Glow Liquid Illuminator

Take your inner glow to the next level of illumination with the Inglot x Maura Endless Glow Liquid Illuminators available in two deliciously golden shades ‘Gilded Glow’ and ‘Bronze Glow’. This lightweight, glow boosting primer will not only extend your makeup game by hours, it also moisturizes the skin whilst minimizing the appearance of pores and fine lines. Get your glow on with lightly bronzed champagne shade ‘Gilded Glow’ or experience the illumination of dreams with deep hazelnut shade ‘Bronze Glow’. For a warm caramel glow, use shade Bronze Glow all over or on the contours of the face!

Available at Inglot.

Laura Kay London Illuminate Liquid Highlighter

This gleaming metallic formula offers a concentrated liquid glow, giving you that covetable glass-skin effect. Illuminate your best features with this high-impact illuminator which can be mixed with foundation, moisturiser or primer to create a customisable glow. The smooth formula glides onto the skin to create a wet-look shine on either the face or body.

Available at Laura Kay London.