There’s something about a touch of highlighter that takes skin to the next level during the summer months.
If you’re not familiar with highlighter sticks, they’re essentially a highlighter compacted into an easy-to-use tube that you can swipe on your cheekbones, browbones, or anywhere natural light hits your face to amp up the radiance of your complexion.
You can go subtle with the sticks or give yourself a megawatt glow depending on your preference and the brand. Or, skip foundation all together for a no-makeup makeup radiance or use it on top of foundation for a more finished look.
Any way you use it, don’t miss amping up your complexion with a glow this summer with one of our fave highlighter sticks below.
Beauty lovers swear by them - and one try will show you why.
Best highlighter sticks - and what shoppers are saying
1/10
Maybelline
Maybelline New York Master Strobing Light Stick
Tried and tested
"I bought this based on reviews to see if it was as similar to higher-end brands as they say," says HELLO! Senior Lifestyle Editor Karen Silas. And the answer is, yes! It's very similar to another of my favorites, the Easy Highlighter Wand from the Charlotte Tilbury Quick & Easy Kit in Sunkissed".
Maybelline’s Strobing Stick is proof that you can find good highlighters at the drugstore too. Amazon shoppers swear by it for a natural, sunkissed look and for its versatility. Some use it over their foundation, under their foundation or on bare skin, and even on their lids and lips for a subtle glow.
2/10
Victoria Beckham Beauty
Victoria Beckham Beauty Reflect Highlighter Stick
Tried and tested
"The VB highlighter stick is, as expected from the queen of quiet luxury, absolutely brilliant," says our highlighter-obsessed Commerce Partnerships Editor, Carla Challis. "No sparkle, all gloss - if, like me, you're not a fan of glittery highlighters this is the one for you. I slick it onto my cheekbones, under the eyebrow bone and chuck it in my bag for on the go application. You use such a little amount that it lasts for ages, too."
Victoria Beckham's glitter-free sheer highlighter is suitable for all skin tones and is designed to give you a 'glass-like' finish. It's formulated with antioxidant-rich strawberry butter (a blend of strawberry seed oil and shea butter), so it's great for your skin too.
3/10
Westman Atelier Lit Up Highlighter Stick
Westman Atelier Lit Up Highlighter Stick
This luxe highlighter stick, which Gwyneth Paltrow’s Goop team loves, is vegan, gluten-free, and translucent-free, and gives skin a radiant finish. It’s infused with moisture-boosting ingredients like Vitus vita fruit extract, which gives skin a dewy, glass-like sheen.
4/10
Benefit Cosmetics
Benefit Cosmetics Watt's Up! Champagne Cream Highlighter Stick
Shoppers are saying:
"I use this highlight. EVERY. SINGLE. DAY. weather i’m doing natural or full glam it is perfect. it Does not lift up the make up underneath. It blends perfectly into the skin and looks like a natural glow from within. I love that you can build this product very easily. i love that it doesn’t have glitter. it lasts all day, through 8 hours of school and 2 of tennis, it is still on and many girls at my tennis have begun using it so their makeup stays on through the sweat."
Overall rating:
4.3 out of 5
This champagne cream-to-powder highlighter is a bestseller on Sephora, with shoppers saying it gives complexions a “natural radiant glow.” The highlighter has a luminous sheen and it also comes with a built-in blender to provide an even, luminous gleam.
5/10
Ciaté London
Ciaté London Dewy Stix Highlighter Stick
Shoppers are saying:
"Love this highlighter. I'm terrible with highlighters but because this is in a stick it glides on so well and you can control the glow. Just a shimmer for daytime and maybe a megawatt shine for nighttime. I went for the gold as I felt it warmed my cool skin tone."
Overall rating:
4.5 of 5 stars
For highlighter sticks with a ton of shimmer and gleam, look no further than Ciaté London’s Dewy Stix. This luminous highlighting balm creates a gorgeous dewy effect with minimal shimmer and a natural glow. The gel-like formula comes in three shades: Glow - for a low-key iridescent glow, Gleam - for a golden hue, and Lustre, a rose gold hue that gives a ‘lit-from-within' look.
6/10
Uoma
Uoma Beauty Double Take Sculpt & Strobe Stick
Shoppers are saying:
"The main thing is that it just blends into the skin so smoothly without disappearing. Feels very nice on the skin. Not greasy at all. And, it’s effective. Brings out your bone structure enhancing natural features."
Overall rating:
3.7 out of 5
This double-ended highlighter stick from Black-owned brand Uoma is a contour and highlighter stick in one. It highlights, defines, and shades, with its strobe end, which provides a glow with its creamy illuminating formula, and its sculpt end, which has a pigmented formula that provides lightweight coverage and a matte finish.
It’s long-wearing and buildable too. It comes in five shades: Honey Honey, White Pearl, Brown Sugar, Brown Venus, and Black Pearl.
7/10
Glossier
Glossier Haloscope Highlighter Stick
Shoppers are saying:
"Obsessed! I love that this highlighter gives me an around dewy look as opposed to some highlighters that are more glittery."
Overall rating:
4.1 out of 5
Beauty lovers are obsessed with this highlighter - and for good reason. Glossier is known for its cult following, and this highlighter packs a punch. Its outer layer is formulated with crystal extracts for an all-day glow minus the glitter, and the beauty product is infused with moisturizers for a hydrated and dewy glow. It comes in three shades suitable for all skin types and complexions.
8/10
Ilia
Ilia Illuminator Highlighter Stick
Shoppers are saying:
"Very natural, easy to blend. When applied modestly, it gives a really natural glow without the sparkle. Easy to apply and lasts a long time. expensive but I haven't found anything even close to as natural looking."Overall rating:
3.9 of 5
Clean beauty is always a good idea - and so is this vegan highlighter by Ilia. It’s a multipurpose cream highlighter infused with avocado oil (protects skin), orange peel wax (locks in moisture), and shea butter (hydrates skin), and gives skin a subtle, dewy glow. It’s cruelty-free, gluten-free, and sulfate-free.
9/10
Fenty Beauty
Fenty Beauty Match Stix Shimmer Skinstick
Shoppers are saying:
"Shimmer Perfection!! First off I’m a Fenty beauty fanatic.. I only wear Fenty from foundation to mascara, the brush tools and everything in between. I just turned 40 so I thought I was too old for the 'shimmer stick' lol, but let me tell you I was wrong! It’s the absolute perfect amount of shine and goes on so smooth."Rihanna’s popular beauty brand has a highlighter stick that is definitely worth a try. Shoppers swooned over the product saying it gives a “summer glow with a hint of sparkle.”
It’s a magnetized makeup stick that is long-wear, lightweight, and shimmery, and it not only highlights and enhances complexions. You can use it as a blush too - and it comes in 15 shades.
10/10
Surratt Torche Lumiere Highlighter Stick
Surratt Torche Lumiere Highlighter Stick
This velvety, golden highlighter gives the skin a multi-faceted glow and has a creamy formula that makes skin glisten when it's hit by natural light. It’s lightweight and inspired by the jewels in the vitrines of the Place Vendome.