Highlighters & Shimmers

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Turn up the glow factor with lookfantastic's collection of highlighters and shimmers!

Curious what the difference is between a highlighter and a shimmer? Highlighters are meant to draw attention to your facial features, adding lightness to areas where light naturally lands on the face, such as the bridge of the nose, the cheeks, the forehead, and the chin. Highlighters may be creams, powders, or liquids and are usually shimmery or matte.

Shimmers, on the other hand, are always glittery and are used to enhance highlights. Shimmers are also called 'illuminators' as they add light effects to the forehead, cheeks, nose, chin, and even the Cupid's bow above the lip! Shimmers can be creams, liquids or powders, as well.

Bronzers are often seen as highlighters, but shimmery ones can be considered shimmers. So there is some overlap! Bronzers specifically add a sunkissed look when applied where the sun would naturally tan the face.

A highlighter that is darker in color may also be called a 'lowlight', which adds darkness where light would not normally fall on the face, creating a contour effect. For instance, applying lowlight to the hollows of the cheeks, the sides of the nose, and the jawline makes those features stand out even more. A good contour set contains a highlight and lowlight. Highlighters that come with contouring shades require some practice to learn to use, but make a dramatic difference. A contour set with highlights and lowlights makes certain features stand out, such as the nose, cheekbones, and chin, even more than just a highlighter alone.

For a more natural look, an all-over cream or liquid shimmer will give a hint of light reflection without a dramatic difference. Many people use shimmer with a highlighter or contour of the same type, i.e., cream with cream or liquid, powder with powder.

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