Let's talk HIGHLIGHTERS/ILLUMINATORS!

You know those people that have their favourite type of item so much so that they continuously just hoard as many as they can full knowing that they probably 1. don't need it, 2. never use it or 3. don't ever finish it. Well, i'm one of those people and i collect highlighters lol. I have serious problem where i just buy so many different highlighters even though they somewhat end up looking the same and i don't think i've ever gone through a whole tube/bottle/palette/stick before. So today I wanted to share with you guys 10 of my highlighters/illuminators that i grabbed from the top of my makeup drawers.

Most used highlighters/illuminators

 My favourite type of look is the flawless skin, fresh faced dewy glow hence why i think i buy so many of these kinds of products, so i can fake that glow! With Spring upon us and the sun coming out, i've been reaching for these products more to give myself that healthy glow.
Let's have a look at the products one by one (Swatches will be shown at the end):

Bobbi Brown Shimmer brick in ROSE.

This is a gorgeous blush but can double up as a highlighter if you use just the top 2 or 3 shades and swipe it across the cheekbones. It's quite powdery and a little chalky so i don't often reach for this as a highlighter but more as an all over blush. It's also quite pricey too here in Aus, retailing for AUD$85 for 10.3g of product.

SportGirl Glow&Behold illuminating bronzer

I purchased this back in either 2010/2011 during the Christmas season. I do remember finding out that they ended up bringing back this product but under a different name. Again, this is more of a blush/bronzer type product but the colour is so beautiful you can always just use this as a highlighter. i love love this product and i actually only JUST used it around August because i had totally forgot i had it. See what happens.. I still have the price on the back of it which says i got it for $9.95! bargain, i hope they bring it back this year!

Benefit's Highbeam

Well.. who hasn't heard of highbeam? otherwise known as "model in a bottle", or so i was told by the Benefit SA. This stuff is pretty amazing, i love using it down the bridge of my nose and on the browbone, it has a very nice glowy sheen and isn't shimmery hence why i like to use it to highlight those particular parts of my face. It's a liquid form and with 13ml of product i doubt i will ever get through a whole bottle of this. I believe this retails for around AUD$52 at any Benefit counter.

Face of Australia liquid illuminator in "Angel Flame"

I kind of stumbled across this product by accident while holidaying in Echuca in August. I'd never heard of this product before but after some research after purchasing it, i found it it was a limited edition product released in 2010 which 3 other shades (How did i not know about this!). At the time it retailed for $14.95 each for 50ml of product! I purchased this on sale in Priceline for $7.50. Had i known this was a LE i probably would have picked up an extra just for the sake of it but really, what caught my attention was the massive ILLUMINATOR sprawled across it, i could not walk away! So i'm glad i purchased it because this stuff is gorgeous. It's a very liquidy light pink illuminator with gold flecks and looks perfect on top of a rose pink blush. It just gives a really nice sheen which is how i like to wear it. So if you're lucky enough to still come across this product i definitely recommend getting it because it won't disappoint! if only i could find the other 3 shades..

MAC skinfinishes in "Whisper of Gilt" and "Superb"

These came out with the Extra Dimension collection back at the start of the year i think. Gorgeous gorgeous highlighters and I couldnt decide which one to get so i just grabbed both! I actually haven't used "Superb" yet until today and that was just to do the swatch down below. These retailed for $50 each and sold out pretty quick so i was really happy to pick these up. Whisper of gilt is a beautiful shimmery gold highlighter that is of a powdery-liquid consistency. It glides on so smoothly and again, i love to apply this to my cheekbones to give a healthy dewy glow to my face. Superb is just as beautiful but is more of a bronze colour, but has the same consistency as Whisper of Gilt. Both are gorgeous products.

Revlon Skinlights

This is a pretty old product, I don't even know if it was released here but i received it as a gift. I used to use this more often back in the days as it was one of my first highlighters/illuminators. I'm not sure if you can still find it around at discount outlets but i have seen them here before. It's a liquid form that comes out of the pump and at 44.3ml, it's taking me a looong time to get through. I doubt i'll make it halfway lol. This product is a shimmery bronze-pink which again, i use to apply on the highpoints of my face but i find that it's tends to become quite oily after a few hours and the shimmer just melts off or disappears, so i guess the staying power is not all that great.

YSL Touche Eclat

This is marketed as a highlighter but i find that it's more of a concealer. I wouldnt really apply this on my face as a highlighter because i find it doesn't really do anything in terms of highlighting. Instead i use it to brighten up any dark spots around my face, generally under my eyes and around the sides of my nose just to even and brighten up the skin tone before applying powder over it. I find it works better this way but it's probably not something i have to have. I wouldn't repurchase it for AUD$58.

Illamasqua illuminator in "Halcyon"

I purchased this from Sephora when one of my friends was coming back to Melbourne to visit. It's also my first and only Illamasqua product and coincidentally i just had to choose an illuminator. It looked really nice online so i wanted to try it out. Let me tell you, this stuff dries QUICK. By quick i mean, once applied, you barely have time to put the brush back in the tube and twist the lid to close before you touch your face again kind of quick. You literally have to apply it and then blend it in STRAIGHT AWAY or else it will dry up and will.not.move. That can be a good and bad thing i suppose. Good in that at least you know you have a super long lasting illuminator that won't melt off your face and bad because if you don't work quick you can end up having a blob of illuminator stuck on your face that you would have to literally scrub off just to start again. So it's a win-lose kind of situation. The shade i have is a white shimmery gold and because of the quick drying effect i hardly use it unless i have a lot of time to blend or else it would look like i just have a blob of glitter sitting on my face. not pretty. I'm not sure how much it retails for here or if they even stock it here but i'm more positive that they do rather than dont. I would estimate that it's probably sold around the $30 mark.

TheBalm Mary-Lou Manizer

This is my newest addition to the highlighter/illuminating family. I purchased this last week in David Jones for $34.95 and it came with a free gift of the Balmbini face palette valued at $49.95. The offers still on so check it out if you're interested! (Deal is spend $27.95 or more on any of TheBalm products to receive the free gift) This highlighter is amazingly gorgeous. It is a finely milled powder that is nicely pigmented. It gives off the most natural glow compared to all the other highlighters i mentioned and is so easy to work with. If i were to recommend one product, it would definitely be this one and for 8.5g of product, it will last you a long time! I can't get over how pretty this highlighter is and i just dust it on all the high points of my face and my face just instantly lights up. Especially when i'm out in the sun i love the glow it gives me and i'm so glad i purchased this! i'm sure you can find it cheaper online so if you're interested just have a browse around, i promise you won't be disappointed!

Time for swatches!

Natural Light L-R: Illamasqua, Benefit, Face of Australia, YSL, Revlon

(Flash) L-R: Illamasqua, Benefit, Face of Australia, YSL, Revlon

Illamasqua Illuminator in "Halcyon"

I also wanted to show you guys what happened when i wiped off all the other highlighters off my arm, the illamasqua still would not budge, the staying power is amazing!

Natural light L-R: MAC "Superb", MAC "Whisper of Gilt", TheBalm, Bobbi Brown, Sportsgirl

Flash L-R: MAC "Superb", MAC "Whisper of Gilt", TheBalm, Bobbi Brown, Sportsgirl

Sorry the last two swatches aren't of great quality, my camera wouldnt really pick up the colours as much as i would have liked but i tried to categorise them into the liquid highlighters and powders.
Hope you guys enjoyed reading!

Also, i would like to know, do any of you guys collect certain products? if so, which ones?? let me know down below! :) x