Best Highlighter for Fair Skin

I have pretty fair skin and I know the struggle that comes with trying to find that perfect highlighter. Because highlighting powder should ideally be about two shades lighter than your natural skin tone, it can be really difficult to find one that matches when your skin tone is already really fair. Today, I’m going to be writing about the best highlighter for fair skin.

We’ll also cover some basics of choosing a highlighter, should you want to go browse the makeup aisles all on your own.

Which Color Highlighter Should I Choose?

First things first. What color highlighter should I choose? This is a bit of a complicated question, but I do have a quick and easy answer: whatever brings you joy. Seriously! Makeup isn’t that complex and one of my favorite things about it is that you can just wipe it off if you don’t love it.

With that said, if you want something to look natural and really compliment your complexion, you can just follow your skin’s undertones. I do have a basic chart on how to find your undertones that you can find by clicking here.

Then, once you know your skin tone you can find a highlighter that suits it. For warm skin tones, pick a highlight with a golden shimmer and yellow undertones. For cooler undertones, pick a highlighter with silver or pink shimmer and pink undertones.

I do have some recommendations down below on highlighters I like that will suit warm or cool undertones. Neutral undertones can get away with wearing either.

How to Choose a Highlighter with a Natural Glow

Sometimes you really want your highlighter to be blinding. In those times, pick a highlight with a metallic finish or with tons of glitter. A heavy-handed application will really make your cheekbones pop!

If you’re like me, however, you might want a more natural-looking glow most of the time. My keys to finding a highlight that will look fairly natural are:

• Less glittery
• No metallics
• Should be skin tone shade (So no pinks, golds, or holographics)

I did include some of each type in this post to suit all different needs.

Best for Pink Undertones:

Wet N Wild Megaglo Highlighting Powder in the shade Blossom Glow

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I love this highlighter so much! I love the pink undertones in it and makes it a perfect compliment for cool skin tones. One of my favorite things about this powder is that it can be really sheered out to make it a more natural, everyday look or it can be built up to give you that super highlighted look.

This one retails for about $5, so it’s super affordable too. Overall, this one is a steal in my opinion, and something worth checking out.

Best for Warm Undertones:

Wet N Wild Megaglo Highlighting Powder in the shade Golden Flower Crown

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I love this formula so much that I wanted to recommend one for warm skin tones too. This one performs every bit as well as the one in Blossom Glow, it just suits warm tones better.

This one is more of a light golden shade that will compliment warm tones perfectly. I love this one because it can be applied lightly for a subtle glow or more heavy-handed for a more bold look.

Best Stick Highlight:

NYX Strobe of Genius Holographic Stick

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If you’re looking for an in-your-face, strobe light effect to your highlighter, this is gonna give you that look for sure! It’s holographic, which means it’s really going to attract a lot of attention to that area. I think these are really beautiful and I like them for special occasions, but as a more “natural” gal, I tend to steer toward more natural glows.

However, since this one is less than $8, I think it’s worth the price tag for one that I’ll use for really glam looks. Overall, this one performs well and can really deliver on a super highlighted look.

Best Drugstore:

Physicians Formula Powder Palette Mineral Glow Pearls, Translucent Pearl

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One of the things I love about this highlighter is how it’s almost white. This means that it’s going to work for most fair-skinned ladies. The one interesting thing to note about this product is that it has a glitter overlay. So the first few times you apply, it’s going to give you a strobe light effect. After the glitter overlay is gone, it turns into a more natural shade.

To be honest, I normally just take my finger over the product until the overlay is gone and then I love the natural glow this one gives me.

Best High End:

Nars Highlighting Powder in Albatross

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Nars is another brand that just does powder well. From the world-famous bronzers and blushes to highlighters and this one is no different. This one is a very, very light gold that looks almost white in the pan. It does tend to go toward the warm side so keep that in mind.

This one has quite a bit of shimmer to it, but it’s really easy to blend out so it doesn’t get too blinding. I love how Nars came out with a highlighter that is this light in tone because it really can be used by most of us with fair skin tones.

Best Liquid Highlight:

Benefit Cosmetics High Beam

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This one has been around for a looong time and it’s no secret why. It performs so well! It’s very pink-toned and gives your complexion that subtle, dewy glow. Remember, because this one is a liquid highlighter, it should be applied with the liquid parts of your makeup and not after any powder.

I love the subtle glow this one gives the skin. Its really no wonder this one has been around so long… It just works that well!

Best Natural Glow:

Hourglass Ambient Strobe Lighting Powder

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I absolutely adore the Hourglass Ambient powders. The original Ambient Lighting Powders first stole my heart as a setting/finishing powder and I tried using one as a highlight, but it never quite fit the bill. In come these babies and my makeup game has been forever changed.

This highlighter is the absolute perfect natural glowy look you will ever find in a powder. It delivers a glow in such a natural way without too much shimmer and I just adore it. This one is definitely my favorite of the bunch.

Final Thoughts

I hope this post has helped you find the best highlight for fair skin or has made you feel more comfortable highlighter shopping in the future!

Until next time, happy shopping!

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