As some of you may already know from the SEVERAL pictures I’ve posted on Instagram over the past weeks, last month I was #blessed enough to receive a full set of Burberry’s newest highlighters, the #BurberryEssentials kit, courtesy of Influenster, Sephora and Burberry Beauty.
With a liquid/gel, cream and powder highlighter all in the set, I pretty much had my hands full testing them out. After plenty of testing, I’m finally ready to introduce you to all three products and give you the low down.
Highlighter #1: Burberry Luminous Base Highlighter
I will be completely honest: at first, this “highlighter” did NOT impress me.
A viscous liquid, more along the lines of a gel or the consistency of a thin liquid foundation without the pigment, I just really didn’t know what to do with it. Highlighters go on your cheekbones and the high planes of your face, correct? “So I should probably do that,” I thought.
Oh, how wrong I was.
Then, I tried using it as a liquid bronzer. It was the right color—a nice bronzey glow—maybe I could just Beauty Blend it into my liquid foundation?
Nah. Not happening.
If I would’ve read the beautiful instructions they sent instead of diving in head first, I would’ve realized that this is a LUMINOUS BASE. It’s supposed to go on as a first step, not a last step.
When I finally applied it to bare skin (well, bare for me means SHINE on my skin only), I FINALLY glowed!
The Luminous Base is perfect for a #nomakeup look. If you want to have a LUMINOUS GLOW without makeup—just apply this with your fingers (preferably post-oil, like I did, for a better blend)—into your entire face.
Later, I raided my stash of beauty samples and found that I already had the luminous base in color 01. The color 01 suited my complexion much more, and actually DID work as a glowy, dewy highlighter as a final step on the cheekbones. I didn’t try using it as a true base with makeup, so I don’t know if the makeup covers up the luminous base or works with it to give you a natural glow.
Edit: I did try applying foundation over the luminous base after first writing this blog, and it totally covered up any glow I was supposed to acquire. Use the luminous base alone on fresh skin (with a facial oil is fine), or don’t use it at all. It’s totally for a #nomakeup look only. The lighter color works better as a dewy highlighter on bare skin, while the bronzer works best on bare skin as an all-over primer-type glow product.
In action:
Get the look:
All in all, I’m not sure if it’s about the product or the color, but this highlighter is multi-use.. if not still a tad bit confusing.
Pros:
- Liquid – easy for blending
- Great for a #nomakeup glow (seriously – good for a look without foundation)
- The lighter shade is a decent dewy highlighter
Cons:
- It’s hard to pair with other makeup
- It’s a very subtle glow, closer to a primer than makeup (Pro or Con? You choose.)
Highlighter #2: Burberry Fresh Glow Highlighter Luminous Pen
The second highlighter is a cream stick and.. well, it rocks. The consistency is great. It’s easy to apply. It’s just chubby enough of a highlighter stick that it applies to any area you want with precision and ease, without being so big that you give up control.
With a cream highlighter you get great blendage, but on the other hand.. you gotta blend to get there. Blending is to makeup as cardio is to fitness. Nobody loves it, but you should probably do it.
So as not to confuse, the look below is using the cream highlighter on my nose, and the powder highlighter (coming up next..) layered with cream highlighter on my cheekbones. This here is a multi-dimensional glow, ladies.
I’m not a huge blending fan (though it is growing on me), so I’ll admit I passed the cream stick up a few times before finally using it. The consistency is better than Benefit’s Watts Up or a comparable cream highlighter, and the glow is beautiful and subtle. If you want something as in-your-face as Watt’s Up, you may want to pass on this one. However, if you want something just north of subtle, that works well and is worth the money – this stick is it!
Pros:
- Easy to apply, creamy
- Great for nose contour
- Subtle glow
- In a word: sophisticated
Cons:
- Gotta blend it out OR ELSE
- Expensive for the small glow it affords
- More contour than highlight
Highlighter #3: Burberry Fresh Glow Highlighter (Compact Powder)
Ahh the powder highlighter. The Fresh Glow Highlighter was hands down the creamiest, smoothest, best highlighter powder I’ve ever used (sorry, Anastasia!). In the 6+ weeks I’ve had it, I’ve reached for it more than foundation. THAT’S saying something.
It glows like the ~sun~ when you apply it. It builds nicely – whether you use the provided brush or not – and even though I used the Rose Gold (color 04) highlighter, it looked as bright, glow-y and fresh as a white/silver/cream highlighter (which I’m mentioning because that surprised me). In pictures, you can see the bronze glow that it gives me, but otherwise it shines like a diamond IRL.
