This week the beauty team decided to go for a simple trend which is popular among most women, this is the highlighter but getting it right is key – nobody wants to look shiny! The verdict amongst the team was a big fat CAN, a highlighter works wonders when applied correctly defining bone structure leaving you with a gorgeous glow! Being true Beauty Professionals we all used a range of highlighters to create this look. Here’s how we got on…
Amanda: I was really happy when we decided on this weeks #CanCantDont, as I love a good highlighter and a natural glow has been seen all over the catwalks. For this look I used Jemma Kidd’s dewy glow all over radiance creme in Iced Gold which I applied on my cheekbones and brow bone, this leaves you with a dewy finish which picks up the light great! I also used a MAC pigment colour powder in the colour Vanilla, this is great to run along the nose giving you a subtle definition, I absolutely love this look and is something I use everyday. Highlighter looks really good on a night out too, this is definitely a CAN.
Verdict: CAN
Amrita: I’ve always struggled with highlighters because I’ve never really managed to find the right one. I went through a phase of wearing a white/silver highlighter on my brow bone and cheek bones when I was about 17 until I discovered Benefit High Beam which I then made my staple product years. However, more recently I’ve been reaching for my Makeup Academy Undress Your Skin Shimmer Highlighter and haven’t looked back since. Known as being an identical (or at least pretty similar) and extremely hard to find dupe for a MAC highlighter from an old collection, the MUA version has just the right amount of silver/pink/white to it and, surprisingly, no shimmer at all. It’s a very finely milled pressed powder which, when applied with my Real Techniques Duo Fibre Face Brush to the high points of my face, adds just the right amount of light to my face. It’s a winner!
Verdict: Can! If you see if it in your local Superdrug, grab it.
Jo: Highlighting is one of my fave things ever. Give me anything shimmery, sparkly, or sheeny and I’m in love, so I fully embraced this week’s challenge. In my everyday makeup I tend to concoct my own base instead of foundation, and this involves mixing Revlon Skinlights in a long discontinued dark bronze shade with Dr Renaud Apricot BB cream. This already gives me a pretty impressive sheen, but this week I built on this by sweeping layers of New CID i-glow in Coral Crush over my cheeks and up to my hairline. I’ve also got a new product in my highlighting arsenal – Benefit’s Watt’s Up was recently acquired from a goody bag at Hearst’s Editors Talk, so I popped a few swipes of this pale shimmering pinky gold over the top and buffed it across the brow bone. Still not content with the level of glow, I finished the look off with Soap and Glory’s Bright Here Bright Now, which I dabbed basically everywhere to complete the desired multi-wattage illuminated effect. Everyone should highlight, every single day. Now next week can we have a trend we don’t have to photograph in profile please?
VERDICT: CAN and SHOULD!
Flic: A beautiful, dewy complexion with perfectly highlighted cheekbones is something which I aspire to and am constantly trying to achieve. It seems that no matter what I try, my complexion lends itself to matte, possibly because I have quite dry skin on my cheeks. For today’s look I used my usual highlighter of choice which is Benefit SunBeam. I always find that this goes on nicely and looks really radiant and dewey for the first few minutes when you apply but tends to settle into more of a shimmer. However, this seems to be the case for all highlghters for me and I like the liquid formula and the golden colour hence why I have stuck with it over the years. To try and get a little bit of extra glow I tried MAC Mineralize Skinfinish in Soft & Gentle and really buffed this in for the best possible effect. As I say I love this look – I only wish I could get it to work a little better on my skin. I will keep trying!
Verdict: CAN – But would like to do it better
Christina: I think this is my favourite of all our #CanCantDonts so far. ‘Lit from within’ skin was all over the catwalks for this season and is uber-flattering. I used Benefit’s Watt’s Up which is a soft golden shimmer. I applied it along the cheekbones, down the nose, across the forehead and on my brow bones. The one danger with highlighters is that they can be too sparkly and therefore make you look about 12 years old. Go for a shimmer rather than sparkle for a grown-up glow. I love this look. It can be worn day and night, and takes minimal effort (which is great for people like me who do their make-up in 10 minutes maximum). Healthy looking skin in a matter of minutes? This is a great trend.
Verdict: A big fat CAN
Elaine: My first foray into face highlighters occurred when I was about 14 and my older sister brought home a strange looking pink bottle from Benefit called High Beam. I’d never seen anything like it before as highlighting wasn’t a huge part of the makeup process for your average joe back then. However after trying it I was hooked and there began a love affair with putting shiny stuff on my face to fake the presence of cheek bones. I chop and change between what I use day to day but at the moment am loving MAC Mineralize Skin Finish in Soft & Gentle and this is what I used for today’s Can Can’t Don’t. I just swished my brush into the pressed powder and buffed onto my cheek bones. A makeup artist friend of mine told me that the more you buff it in the shinier it gets. She also told me that to make your eyes pop blend a little onto the middle of your eye lids over whatever eyeshadow you’re wearing so it catches the light.
Verdict: CAN
Lizzy: I’ve always been more of a highlighter fan than blusher anyway, so I was thrilled when this was the challenge. I used Soap & Glory ‘Love At First Blush’, which is a wheel of different shades of highlighters, ranging from pearly white to a deep plum. For the challenge I just used the pearly white and applied this to my cheeks and eyebrows. I have a tan at the minute, and I always think highlighter works so well on tanned skin, so I was pleased with the end result. This is such a simple way to waken up tired, dull skin for a night out after work without the risk of looking embarrassed permanently.
Verdict: CAN