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Highlighters can add instant radiance to your skin, giving a youthful glow by enhancing and awakening your complexion.
Highlighters are most flattering when they mimic the natural way fresh, healthy, plump skin looks when sunlight bounces off of it. And to achieve this, you must first find a highlighter that; one, works with your skin tone; and two, won't look like a glittering runway on your face - think finely milled particles.
Highlighters, like all cosmetics, may contain toxic ingredients. You don't want this, which is why we have done the research and found all-natural, non-toxic highlighters that you can feel good using.
How to Choose a Highlighter Color
Use the jewelry test, do you look best in gold or silver jewelry?
- If gold jewelry flatters your skin tone, look for highlighters with a copper, gold, or warm bronze tone.
- If your skin looks best with silver or platinum jewelry, look for a highlighter with silver tones, or pale pink.
- Neutral or warm-pink tones complement most skin tones.
Some Tips:
- Pale to medium skin tones look best in champagne and apricot tones.
- Skin with a hint of sallowness should opt for more pink in their highlighter.
- Olive and dark skins should look for more bronzy, golden highlights.
Be wary of too much glitter or sparkle, it will look too obvious and fake.
Cream, Powder or Liquid?
- Cream textures are amazing on bare skin or over a liquid or cream foundation.
- Powder highlighters are great to use after another powder such as blush or bronzer, or after you’ve set your foundation with a light setting powder.
The Top 5 Natural Highlighters of 2019
RMS Beauty: Living Luminizer
An ultra translucent luminizer with a satin-pearl finish. This formula highlights the skin with a luminous glow, enhancing the skin's natural youthfulness without being sticky, greasy, or glittery.
RMS Beauty Living Luminizer is a best seller, because it suits all skin tones, offers a natural look, and has a creamy texture that won't break you out. The beautiful white, high impact sheen goes on in thin, build-able layers with absolutely no glitter or shimmer.
Pros
- Not too frosty or shimmery.
- Great packaging.
- Not greasy.
- Lasts for 3 - 4 months with everyday use.
- Looks natural on the skin.
- Non-toxic ingredients.
- Perfect subtle highlight.
- No nano-particles.
Cons
- Melts in the pot easily.
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Maya Chia: The Highlight of the Day Illuminating Serum
An ultra-lightweight, easily absorbed infusion with suspended minerals for a pearlized sheen. The sheen is noticeable but subtle, accentuating your natural radiance.
This highlighter serum provides some iridescent shimmer without being too glittery. One drop will highlight all areas of your face so the bottle will last a long time.
You will enjoy the mild citrus aroma and the nourishing ingredients, including the fantastic Chia seed oil.
[Read: Our Maya Chia Brand Review]
Maya Chia Highlight of the Day Serum comes in four shades:
- Afternoon Delight: Peachy-pink golden sheen.
- Happy Hour: A cool-toned pink radiance.
- Golden Hour: Warm, golden, champagne-like radiance.
- After Hours: Bronzed-golden glow.
Pros
- Doubles as a moisturizing serum.
- Blends well with other oils and sunscreens.
- Absorbs into the skin, leaving a subtle glow.
- Ulta-fine Mica for a diffused glow.
- Can be used alone or with other makeup.
- Lasts all day.
Cons
- Some people find the pigment clumps together.
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Rituel de Fille: Rare Light Luminizer
Rituel de Fille's Rare Light Luminizer is everything you want in a highlighter; amazing pigment, smooth application, and flawless blending. Each shade imparts an ethereal glow, with a highlight that subtly shifts to reveal a remarkable depth of color.
The pigments are so finely milled that there are no globs of glitter and the light bounces off of it perfectly.
Rituelle de Fille's Rare Light Luminizer comes in six shades:
- Anthelion: a subtle red-orange highlight
- Ghost Light: a cool-toned pale pink and a shift of violet-blue
- Phosphene: a soft, pale beige glow with a hint of peachy-blush shift
- Lunaris: moonlight at your fingertips, hauntingly beautiful blue-shifting opal
- Solaris: sunlight in a flash of warm, soft, radiant red fire within translucent opal
- Stellaris: cool-toned 24 karat gold with translucent opal shift that reveals mesmerizing depths of warm iridescence
Rituel de Fille also makes one of our favorite cream eyeshadows.
Pros
- Goes on smooth.
- Blends well.
- Universally flattering.
- Lasts all day.
- Perfect amount of subtle.
Cons
- none!
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Alima Pure: Mineral Highlighter
Alima Pure's powder highlighter gives a natural, beautiful glow without being too shimmery. A little goes a long way, making this an economical product. This highlighter is perfect for anyone looking for just mineral pigment, with no oils or fillers.
Alima Pure's Highlighter Powders come in three shades:
- Dolce: Copper gold for warm and olive complexions.
- Whisper: Sheer pink for cool and neutral complexions.
- Lumina: Beige-y peach, perfect for most skin tones.
Pros
- Lasts a long time.
- Goes on smooth and even.
- Perfect if you are looking for a simple mineral powder.
- No nano-particles.
Cons
- Some find the powder to not be finely milled enough.
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Vapour Organic Beauty: Halo Illuminator
Herbal ingredients including wildcrafted Frankincense, Tulsi and Lotus help soothe, calm, and protect the skin. This highlighter stick is breathable, lightweight, and blendable, all without clogging your pores!
The Vapour Halo Illuminator gives a subtle, healthy-looking glow, without being too glittery or sparkly. It can be worn with a face full of makeup, or all on its own. It is the perfect finish to any look - it goes on almost invisible, but catches the light beautifully and adds just the right amount of shimmer.
Pros
- Easy to apply.
- Lasts all day in any climate.
- Subtle, sheer highlight.
- Gorgeous color.
- Looks natural.
- Lightweight.
Cons
- None!
Shop
Conclusion
There you have it, 5 of the best natural highlighters of 2019! I hope you enjoyed this article, if you did, please share it with your friends!
What is your favorite way to use highlighter? If you have any questions, please leave them in the comments below! We always answer 🙂
Grace says
I was afraid to use highlighter because of the shimmering effect. So I had been using foundation that is one tone lighter as my ‘highlighter’.
After reading your review, now I know that I had it all wrong. Those products that you recommended look great- more subtle, not greasy, and the best part is that they are organic.
And thanks for your tips on how to choose the color of highlighter. I never knew highlighter comes in so many color.
Andrea says
Thanks for stopping in Grace! You can read our How to use a Highlighter for a Brighter Complexion for even more highlighter info!
Ennymatics says
A lot of highlighters you can find out there are either incompatible with your skin or too exoensive. That leaves you with the unenviable task of sifting through thousands of highlighters on the internet or in the store. With this article, I think enough justice has been done as to what Highlighter you should choose
Pasc Paul says
Hi Andrea, I read your article with pleasure, I will definitely recompense my girlfriend to find out more details and I think it will be helpful to you about what you have to offer. I love the beauty to be maintained.”When you love to live you will see beauty in all possible things”
Have a nice day Paul.
Jafor Iqbal says
Wow, This is a most helpful and effective for Natural Highlighters For a Subtle Glow. I am highly interested and agreed to Use. I also recommended this product who is looking for Natural Highlighters For a Subtle Glow. If you looking Natural Highlighters For a Subtle Glow you can buy this without confusion.
Alblue says
Whew my colleague (a girl) will soon resigned from my office, and me and her friends agree to buy her some cosmetics as farewell gifts, because she is so into beauty products. I don’t really understand about women skincare products, so your article here is quite helpful. She is a vegan, so I believe organic skincare will work best for her. Is there specific. I will discuss with my friends first about the highlighters in your article here. Thank you 🙂
Andrea says
Hello Alblue, a couple of the products we recommend are vegan: Maya Chia Highlight of the Day and Alima Pure’s Mineral Highlighter.
Anthony Hu says
Dear Andrea,
Thanks for the informative post. I bought highlighter for my wife when she had birthday. The quality is not good and it caused some rashes on my wife’s face.
This time I am going to make it right. I see that RMS: Living Luminizer should fit my wife, since it looks natural on the skin and non-toxic ingredients. My wife likes subtle highlight. The price of $38 is also within my budget.
My wife will like this product.
Regards
Anthony
Andrea says
Thanks for stopping in Anthony! Let us know how your wife like it 🙂
cpanharun says
Hi Andrea,
Thank you so much for your great article. I first saw this article with Natural Highlighters. I feel very happy about this. I will talk about this product to my family and all the friends. I think it would be like my family members. Already i take decision buy one package for my for my wife when she had birthday. It will come in no side effects due to this use. It would have been nice if it used to tell me a problem in the skin, but if you tell me something. I think RMS Beauty: Living Luminizershould fit my wife. And its value is also in my budget. I will share this article with others so that they can know about Natural Highlighters. I will try more so that I can sell this product. Thanks for your effective article.
Emmanuel Buysse says
Great post and good info.
My wife is allergic to some of those, so what I will do is show her this post, since I see it has good info about what is good and what not.
Im pretty sure she will be happy with this, an dperhaps she will actually buy one of these ones.
So thanks a lot for sharing it, you will make a lady happy!
Andrea says
Thanks for stopping in, Emmanuel!