Annabelle Perfect Glow & Hololighter highlighters

A few weeks ago I showed you the makeup swap package Stashy went me from Canada and in one go that package give me so much new makeup to play with. There were a few items that instantly caught my eye. Case in point: three Annabelle highlighters. These gave quite some problems as some of these kept cracking in transit when Stashy ordered them. But they arrived safe and sound in The Netherlands so I couldn’t wait to get stuck in.

Annabelle Perfect Glow Highlighter Topaz
Annabelle Hololighter Highlighter Nova
Annabelle Hololighter Highlighter Pegasus

I will be reviewing all three highlighters in one blog post. Annabelle is a Canadian drugstore brand, so this will be hard to find anywhere else, but I like trying makeup from other countries. And when I like something, then I need to rave about it. Because one of these highlighters instantly made it into my daily makeup routine. The Perfect Glow retails for 9.95 CAD. The Hololighters were limited edition though and are no longer available.

Annabelle Perfect Glow Highlighter Topaz

This first highlighter is my favorite. At first this looked a bit underwhelming: a highlighter like many others. But this is a true diamond in the rough and I have been using this all throughout October as my daily highlighter. It is that good. The packaging is simple but perfectly adequate for a highlighter. This comes in three different shades and this is the lightest one.

So why do I like this so much? Because it is one of the best drugstore highlighters I have tried. The texture is smooth, this doesn’t accentuate texture on the face and the shade!!! I love this glow. While this may look white, it has a really great golden sheen to it. The base color blends perfectly into my skin and this gives a natural, yet still present glow that is perfect for everyday, but layered up this can truly pack a blinding punch.

Annabelle Holo Lighter Highlighter Pegasus

The package also included two Hololighters: holographic highlighters. Now many holographic highlighters are only that in name, so it is always interested to see how they pan out. Pegasus is a peachy pink highlighter: a shade I do not have yet. Out of the two shades I received, this is the most wearable and everyday, believe it or not.

Look at that?! Isn’t that pretty? As you can see this has definitely a shift to it. And I personally loves that. It has a peach and pink shift to it that looks really pretty on the skin. What’s more is that the texture of this highlighter is super soft. That is probably why these break so easily, so you do have to handle this with care.

Annabelle Holo Lighter Highlighter Nova

Nova is the more special highlighter here. It looks a touch grey in some lights, but in fact this has an icy blue undertone to it. It is definitely not an everyday color, but Stashy knows I like trying unusual makeup products, highlighters included. This really reminds me of the Anastasia Beverly Hills Moon Child palette, but I think this may be prettier and a bit more easier to pull off.

The sheen of this highlighter is a little less strong than on Pegasus, but that is one of the reasons why this highlighter is so good. Because if a blue highlight has too strong of a shift to it, it can look a bit weird on the skin. In short, I think this looks like a blue highlighter done right. The only thing this doesn’t have is a clear shift, so it is not as duochrome as Pegasus.

The Swatch

In terms of highlights, these swatch beautifully. Some highlighters barely show up unless the light hits them just right. These highlighters do not do that. But you can also clearly see in the swatches that there is more glow than actual back pigment to these highlighters. And that works: because these all add enough glow to last you a life time.

Perfect Glow Topaz

If you are looking for a natural highlighter, then Topaz is your jam. As you can see, this has such a pretty golden glow. And I am usually not a fan of golden highlighters, but this is the type of golden highlighter that I like. It is also perfect for everyday wear as it adds glow, but it isn’t too much. This can however be build up in intensity and you can increase the glow if you so wish.

Hololighter Pegasus

The surprise of the entire selection for me was Pegasus. With a duochrome highlighter you just never know how it pans out. Here you can see that despite the ‘crazy’ color, it still works really well on the skin. Because of the peachy pink shade, this blends seamlessly into the skin and it works really well on my skin tone.

Hololighter Nova

Nova is a bit more difficult to pull off. As you can see this looks a bit ashy on the skin because it is a touch too cool toned. As it doesn’t have a very strong glow, this kind of disappears on the skin, which is such a shame. There is a bit of glow, so depending on how the light hits your face, this does show up a little bit better, but when the light doesn’t hit this, it is as if there is nothing there.

The Conclusion

In the picture above, I am wearing all three of these highlighters. One of these highlighters was a bit of a let down, but two of these are very much worth it. The Perfect Glow highlighter in Topaz is a great everyday highlight that works well for every occasion. Pegasus was the surprise for me as it really is something unusual that I hadn’t tried before. My first foray into Canadian makeup products has been a very positive one. Here’s to more successful makeup trials.

What do you think of these highlighters?