little white truths

I've already been through three of these now and this is my fourth, so you obviously know that I love them. 

Indeed, they're my HGs when it comes to liquid illuminators and while I may occasionally try another formula, I suspect I will always come back to these: they work the best and they're the best value of all the illuminators I've tried. You'd be hard-pressed to beat them.

I love this one in Champagne Pop just as much as I loved Moonstone, Opal and Topaz, and I intend to buy Prosecco Pop once I've finished this because I'm hoping that the yellow-gold of that colour may also serve to slightly change the undertone of my foundations so they suit my yellow-based skin better. We'll see.

Becca claims/product details:

• The iconic highlighter that started it all
• A sheer, crème-liquid that perfects skin with ultra-fine light-reflecting pearls for a soft, natural glow
• Achieve a subtle luminosity
• Melts into your skin for a polished, natural-looking radiance
• Water-light and sheer, it has a prismatic effect that allows it to adjust in any light, so your refined glow is never lost
• To use: apply as a base over the entire face; mix with your foundation for a radiant complexion; use over makeup to highlight cheekbones, browbones and temples 
• RRP $62 AUD for 50ml, but do shop around (you can easily find one online for around $50)

You'll see the dreaded pump photographed below. I say dreaded because a lot of people have commented that the pump dispenses far too much product - unless you're using it all over your face, in which case the amount is spot on. 

While it's true that the pump dispenses too much product for application as a spot highlighter, this is an easy fix and it doesn't bother me at all: I just squirt some into a little container and work from that until I've finished it. No harm done.

In any event, I feel like they've adapted the pump slightly these days so that you can do a half-pump if you want to, and while that's still too much product for spot-highlighting, it's good that you can dispense less if you want to.

Natural light: 

Direct sunlight:

Verdict

This is a great product and I've given the formula an HG tag because it's definitely the best liquid illuminator I've used to date. Plus it's reasonable value because you get so much product and the bottle should last for ages. If you were only going to use this as a spot highlighter, I'm convinced you'd never get through it!

The formula is a thin, light cream with no detectable scent. It's one of those products that just vanishes into the skin without feeling heavy/oily or drying, so I'd say it would suit all skin types and you shouldn't be aware of it once it's on.

Champagne Pop is a gorgeous warm gold colour that's best for light/medium to medium skintones if you're planning on using it alone or as a spot highlighter - but it's also a fantastic product for mixing in with your foundation (or using underneath it) if you want to add a believable glow. You'll see that Opal looks more brown/beige when they're swatched side-by-side.

While Opal is probably the best colour-match for my skin if I'm going for a natural look, Champagne Pop is such a pretty shade and I really enjoy it. Indeed, I have it in the pressed version too and it's a gorgeous, happy colour.

What sets these illuminators apart for me is both their versatility and also the effect they give on the skin. Liquid illuminators are more versatile in general, but these Becca ones don't contain noticeable glitter chunks and instead just give a natural, credible sheen to the skin. 

While you can certainly build them up so they announce themselves as highlighters, if you want a 'look at me' highlight you're better off going for the pressed or poured versions - but with so many big bang highlighters flooding the market, there's absolutely a place for products like this that are work-appropriate and suitable for day use.

Another huge plus with these liquid versions is that they don't look overly metallic on the skin, nor do they emphasise texture (a problem I've had with the pressed versions), so I feel these are the stand-outs in Becca's highlighting offerings and they're also the best value of the three versions on a per-gram basis.

All in all, these are the most versatile, best-value liquid highlighters I've used and they also give me the best effect with very little effort. If you had to pick just one highlighter, I would recommend one of these - although of course do test them first to check that they give you the look you're after.

Awesome.