I'm navigating life in a pretty relentless state of sleep deprivation. Despite my children having parents who could happily snooze an entire day away, they both seem to have decided that they’re just not that fussed about sleep. As a result, my skin looks zombie-like most days. However, there is one product that has the ability to take it from an extra from The Walking Dead into the land of the living in mere moments—and that’s liquid highlighter.
Yes, there are many different highlighter formulations on the shelves to choose from (powders, creams, gels), but after years of testing different kinds of highlighters I’ve come to realise that it’s a liquid texture that makes the biggest (and quickest) impact to my skin. However, it’s safe to say that there are some really disappointing liquid highlighters on the market which leave skin looking more like a sparkling ‘90s disco ball than a slick, glazed doughnut. My personal favourites are glitter-free, subtly sheeny and effectively leave your skin looking like a radiant beam of light. Oh, and they must be able to be applied effortlessly using fingertips. (Cranky zombies have no time for make-up tools.) While an effective skincare routine and glow-boosting moisturiser can help, it's a liquid highlighter that holds the most power.
Ahead, my round-up of the very best liquid highlighters for natural-looking glow.
1. Charlotte Tilbury Hollywood Flawless Filter
To give it full credit, this iconic Charlotte Tilbury product is way more than a liquid highlighter—it’s a radiance-boosting primer, a sheer skin tint and a highlighter in one. However, this is the product that I use almost every day to bring my skin back to life. If I’m in a rush, I’ll apply a tinted moisturiser and then sweep this liberally over cheekbones and down the bridge of my nose (you can be pretty heavy-handed with it, and slapdash in your application), and then I blend it in using clean fingertips. The difference between before and after is always stark thanks to the way it instantly injects luminosity into the dullest of complexions, and the fact it comes in an array of skin-inspired tones means it manages to create the appearance of naturally healthy skin rather than having a make-up-like finish.
2. ILIA Liquid Light Serum Highlighter
Unlike the skin-tone-like sheen of the aforementioned Charlotte Tilbury liquid highlighter, this one from ILIA comes in three popping shades—a sun-kissed gold, a pearlescent pink and a rosy gold. It’s infused with marine actives and hydrolyzed algae to offer up some conditioning skincare benefits alongside its glow-boosting capabilities, but its real beauty lies in the way it melts into skin for an expensive-looking glossy sheen. Typically, Nova—a soft gold—is my go-to, but the pink tones of Atomic also make for a beautifully dewy-looking blush.
3. Iconic London Illuminator
When it comes to the best liquid highlighters, the Iconic London Illuminator is one of the most-hyped on the market—and it’s worth all of the fuss. You need just the tiniest drop of this gleaming formula to deliver an impactful shine to your skin. For me, it’s a little intense to be worn every day, but it’s perfect for nights out or special occasions when you want your make-up to have a little extra impact. It’s versatile, though, so you can mix a little in with your foundation or tinted moisturiser to boost its glow factor if you don’t fancy such an intensely glossy highlight.
4. By Terry Cellularose CC Serum
As the name suggests, this product is actually a colour-control serum that aims to brighten and moisturise skin while it evens tone—and it does this brilliantly. However, I more often use this as a liquid highlighter by smoothing a couple of drops over my base product to add a natural glow to the skin. I always look so much healthier and fresher on days that I’ve applied it and, while it is more of an investment purchase, I really think that the skin-friendly ingredients and featherlight formula make it worth the spend.
5. Rare Beauty Positive Light Liquid Luminizer
As far as celebrity beauty lines go, Rare Beauty is up there with the best of them—I have genuinely been wowed with everything I’ve tried from this brand. And their liquid highlighter is no exception. First up, the shade range is great and has a lovely mix of more natural, skin-like tones and more fun hues. Mesmerize—a kind of rosy copper—is my personal go-to. The thing that impresses me most about it, though, is its longevity. Often, a liquid highlighter will look great when it’s freshly-applied, only to fade into nothingness by lunchtime. These ones impart plenty of glow and stick around for hours. Plus, you can layer them over or under foundation, mix them with your base product and they even pat on well over powder formulas, which is a difficult feat.
6. Glow Hub Baby Beam Dew Filter Glow Base
Fuelled by rave reviews on TikTok, Gen Z have been going absolutely wild for this liquid highlighter from Glow Hub—a skincare brand that has recently turned its attention to make-up. It flies in and out of stock incredibly fast, but I managed to get my hands on one and have to say that I can understand why everyone has been buzzing about it.
For me, it’s a multi-tasking product that compares most closely to my beloved Charlotte Tilbury Hollywood Flawless Filter (although at a fraction of the price). I enjoy wearing it most all over my skin for a really glowy finish, before applying concealer on top, but it does do a great job as more of a classic highlighter or mixed with your usual foundation for a more radiant finish. My only gripe? It’s really rich in hydrating ingredients so if you’re oily, like me, it isn’t the most long-wearing formula I’ve tried.
7. Lottie London Cheeky Glow
Generally speaking, I do find that a lot of the best liquid highlighters come with a higher price tag, but for under £8 I really rate this one from Lottie London. I know some people really dislike sponge applicators (I get it from a hygiene perspective), but I love how fast and easy it is to dab this product onto your skin and blend it out. There are some great shades to choose from that double up beyond a highlighter too—rosy hues that make gorgeously dewy blushes and bronzier tones for a more sun-kissed style. I will say though, these products are definitely shimmery, so I tend to reach for them of an evening or when I’m after more of a dopamine hit from my make-up as they have less of a natural finish than the others on my list.
