Budget Beauty: Five drugstore highlighters under P600
How did we get from being afraid of looking even the slightest bit greasy to attempting to replicate dewy skin with the clever use of makeup? I’ll tell you how: pure, shimmery magic! Highlighter has become a permanent fixture to the #FOTD in recent years, deflecting from tired eyes, subtly defining bone structure, and adding brightness to dull skin. We’ve gone the Splurge vs. Save route and even dished on the ones that we can’t live without. So it’s pretty much a no-brainer to revisit the budget picks that’ll help you shine more for a lot less!
Ellana Minerals Multi Purpose Pressed Pigment in Peach Passion (P199, Ellana)
You can pretty much do anything with Ellana’s Multi Purpose Pressed Pigments, including using them as eyeshadow and blush! The universally flattering shades and highly blendable texture make the application pretty much foolproof. And though Butter Rum may be the more obvious option for highlighting needs, Peach Passion actually looks lovely on morena skin tones. The finely milled matte peachy-beige powder gradually transforms into a shimmery rose gold as the whitish component of the powder gets fully blended onto skin. Like I said, magic!
Pink Sugar Sweet Cheeks HD Cheek Color in Sin City (P299, SM Beauty)
This is actually the second coming of Sin City as the Pink Sugar blushes were relaunched as singles with more compact packaging in the summer of last year. Compared to its predecessor, the new and improved formula features a more affordable price tag and a finer, smoother application. Despite its name, the pale white-gold shimmer of Sin City sure looks a lot more angelic than wicked.
Hello Gorgeous! Rainbow Dash (P350, Hello Gorgeous)
If you have enough pigment powder at home and time to spare, you can actually make your own rainbow highlighter! But if the step-by-step seems too time-consuming for you, then it’s best to leave it to the professionals. The individual shades of this multi-colored powder are pigmented enough that you can create colorful looks. As a highlighter, there are three ways to go. One is to use a wide brush to sweep cleanly over all the colors for an intact rainbow effect. Two, swirl the brush on the cool colors (blue and violet) for a silvery highlight. Three, swirl on the warm colors (red, orange and yellow) for a bronzed effect.
Canmake Highlighter in 05 Baby Beige (P490, Landmark Department Store)
Small but capable, Canmake’s highlighter has become a staple in the subtle shimmer category. Don’t let its plain appearance fool you: the fine beige-y white powder contains a mixture of gold and pink shimmer that gives off a dewy, healthy skin effect. The shimmer isn’t tightly packed, so it disperses nicely to produce the soft focus gleam of glass skin even before the term was coined. Trust me, this product has been around forever, and it’s still going strong. This was actually my gateway drug into highlighters!
Revlon Photoready Insta-Fix Highlighting Stick in Gold Light (P575, Watsons)
You can be the laziest makeup lover and still light up the room! No need for brushes as a few swipes of the Revlon Insta-Fix coupled with a few dabs of your fingers are enough to smooth and blend the fine, soft focus glow on. Another morena-friendly pick, the shade Gold Light is all about low-key bringing out a sun-kissed radiance that looks lit from within.
What’s your favorite shade of highlighter? Do you prefer a subtle gleam or a blinged out strobe? Let us know in the comments below!
