Like many beauty lovers, a good highlighter is one of the main priorities in my makeup bag.
I really prefer glossy/wet look highlighters, steering away from anything too chunky or glittery on the skin.
On my quest for the perfect glossy highlighter, I came across the beautiful Charlotte Tilbury Beauty Light Wand in the shade ‘Spotlight’.
formula
The formula is a liquid that feels thin and light on the skin. It also dries down quickly, so won’t leave you feeling sticky. I’m impressed with how super long-lasting this is, even on my oily skin which can sometimes breakdown other products throughout the day.
For me, the stand out quality of this highlighter is its reflective shine. It catches the light beautifully, giving a lovely glossy sheen to the skin. The Beauty Light Wand is definitely made to achieve a natural, glossy glow rather than a blinding glittery or frosty look. Another advantage of this glossy sheen is that it doesn’t accentuate texture as much as a frosty highlight. So this may be a good option for you if you have some texture on your cheeks.
The formula layers really nicely over foundation, tinted moisturiser or bare skin, so is perfect for minimal or glam makeup days.
shade range
The shade Spotlight is a champagne that suits my skin tone whether I’m my natural pale shade or have applied fake tan. I really like that the base shade isn’t too pigmented, as a strongly coloured highlight can sometimes have a grey cast on me when I’m looking straight ahead.
The base shade of Spotlight is a light bronze, so when I’m at my palest, this acts like a 2-in-1 bronzer-highlighter on me. When I look straight ahead, it appears light a light bronzer and when I turn my head and the highlight catches the light, it shines a beautiful wet-look champagne.
Charlotte Tilbury has multiple shades in the range to suit a variety of skintones: Pillow Talk Original, Pillow Talk Medium, Goldgasm, Peachgasm and Pinkgasm.
application
I tend to apply this on the back of my hand first, then use my fingers, a Real Techniques Contour Brush or a Beauty Blender to gently tap the product onto the tops of my cheekbones.
As this liquid dries down quickly, make sure to apply and blend out as you go. Don’t dot this all over your face first then come back to try to blend – you may get some harsh lines/dots where the product has already dried. Work in sections and you’ll be able to blend with no issues.
As this is more on the wet-look end of the spectrum, I don’t apply it everywhere. I have oily skin which becomes super shiny all on its own – especially through my T-zone. I find that it suits my skin type best to only highlight the tops of my cheekbones, avoiding my nose and cupid’s bow as highlighting these areas can make me look a lil’ sweaty.
packaging
The glowy goodness is packaged in a squeezy tube and dispensed through a cushion applicator.
When using this, make sure to use very light pressure when squeezing out the product – a little goes a long way and very quickly!
You’ll most likely be able to get a few applications out of the one squeeze, as the cushion tip holds on to quite a bit of product.
As the tube is a squeezy one, make sure to twist the cap to ‘off’ when you’re finished applying – you don’t want to accidentally decorate the inside of your makeup bag! Despite the packaging being a bit messy, I’ve repurchased the Charlotte Tilbury Beauty Light Wand a couple of times as the actual formula is so incredibly beautiful.
Available in UK from ^Cult Beauty, ^Harvey Nichols, ^Space NK, ^Sephora UK
Also available from ^Nordstrom, ^Sephora US, ^Sephora Canada
FYI: The ^Beauty Pie Triple Beauty Luminizing Wand is an exact dupe for the Charlotte Tilbury Beauty Light Wand ‘Spotlight’
