The Best Highlighters - Top 5 2025
Looking for the best way to enhance your facial features and give your complexion a fresh look? A highlighter cream is the ideal cosmetic to add a subtle glow and enhance the make-up effect. There are various forms of highlighter on the market, such as cream, stick or powder highlighter. Each has its own unique properties and application method, allowing you to tailor the product to your individual needs and preferences. When choosing a highlighter, it is worth paying attention to the shade so that the effect is natural and does not look artificial. In addition, it is a good idea to choose products that, in addition to illuminating, support the condition of the skin. We have tested popular highlighter creams in various forms to help you find the best cosmetic. Here is our ranking of the top 5 highlighter creams to help you choose the perfect product for your complexion.
The ranking factors we took into account are:
- Illuminating effect
- Price
- Performance
- Durability
- Application
- No irritation
- Composition
What qualities to look for in good highlighters?
Good pigmentation: a highlighter should have sufficient pigmentation to give a radiant complexion with just a small amount of product. Adequate pigmentation allows the intensity to build, from a subtle glow to a clear highlight.
Skincare ingredients: Look for highlighters enriched with skincare ingredients such as vitamin E, hyaluronic acid or plant oils to hydrate and nourish the skin. Thanks to these, the cosmetic will not only accentuate the glow, but also take care of the skin's condition.
Ease of application: Good highlighters are easy to apply and blend, allowing for even distribution on the skin. The formula should be smooth and silky to avoid streaks and spots.
DURABILITY: It is worth paying attention to the longevity of the product so that the highlighter lasts on the skin all day without the need for touch-ups. Long-lasting formulas are especially important for those with oily skin or in hot climates.
Multifunctional: Good highlighters can be used on different parts of the face, such as the cheekbones, brow arch or corners of the eyes, and even on the body. Choosing a product with versatility allows for creative use in make-up.
Safe composition: Choose highlighters that are naturally formulated and free of parabens and other harmful substances. It's also a good idea to avoid products with a lot of fragrance or preservatives, which can irritate the skin.
Take a look at our highlighter ranking:
Aggie is a cosmetics brand that specialises in products for mature skin, but they work well for all ages. The Aggie brand's highlighter stick is a cosmetic that has won praise from our testers, especially thanks to its natural composition and versatile action. The product consists of up to 97% naturally derived substances, including purifying castor oil, moisturising shea butter and smoothing candelilla wax. The stick form makes the highlighter extremely easy to use, allowing precise application for healthy and radiant looking skin. Testers appreciated its ability to subtly highlight facial contours and the glow effect that perfectly complements make-up. In addition, the highlighter offers a protective and soothing effect, making it the perfect choice for those with sensitive skin. The Aggie highlighter is the perfect combination of illuminating effect and natural skincare and a clear ranking winner.
Mary-Lou Manizer from The Balm is a highly regarded and multi-functional highlighter that has been positively reviewed by our testers. The cosmetic diffuses light well, giving the skin a youthful and radiant look. Its coverage can be graduated, achieving both a subtle highlight and an intense, luminous sheet. The Balm Mary-Lou Manizer highlighter works well not only on the cheekbones, but also on the eyelids, shoulders, décolleté or the entire face. Its silky, powdery texture ensures a pleasant application. The cosmetic is enclosed in a practical packaging with a small mirror. It has a champagne shade that stays on the skin for hours. The downside is that it does not work well on very fair complexions and can give an overly golden effect. In addition, it crumbles heavily when dropped, so it is not a cosmetic to carry in your handbag. It is also somewhat lacking in any skincare ingredients.
Lovely Gold Highlighter is a stone face highlighter. The highlighter provides the complexion with a taupe effect in a warm gold shade, without over pigmenting the skin. This gives it an amazing, healthy and radiant glow. The highlighter helps to highlight cheekbones and selected areas of the face, giving the complexion a fresh and rested look. The cosmetic formula is long-lasting, staying perfectly in place for hours and blending well with the skin and other cosmetics. The lightweight formula is enriched with silk proteins, giving the cosmetic not only a long-lasting radiance, but also a minimal skincare effect.
Maybelline Master Strobing Stick is a stick highlighter that subtly highlights the natural points of the face that we often contour, such as the cheekbones, the centre of the forehead and the tip of the nose. However, our testers noted that the strobing effect is quite subtle. The highlighter has a pearlescent finish and a creamy texture, which makes it easy to apply. Unfortunately, the cosmetic is not very long-lasting and can fade over time. Testers also noted that it can accentuate skin imperfections such as wrinkles and enlarged pores. Master Strobing Stick is available in three shades. The product was ranked penultimate due to its lengthy and unnatural formulation.
Golden Rose Highlighter Stick is the second highlighter stick in our ranking. We chose the popular shade Bright Gold. Unfortunately, the product performs less well than the best highlighters on the market. The shade is attractive, but the longevity leaves a lot to be desired and the consistency makes application sometimes problematic, easily leading to streaks. However, if you manage to master the application, Golden Rose Highlighter Stick delivers pretty decent results. The main drawback, as pointed out by our testers, is the risk of irritation, which can cause minor blemishes on the skin. However, if your skin does not react negatively, it is worth trying it out.
