Essence The Highlighter

You may have already seen me wearing this highlighter in some of the makeup looks in my videos, but the new Essence highlighter definitely warrants a full review. Naturally it is an affordable products that packs a true punch and that is surprisingly good, especially considering the cost. So of course, when a product is this cheap and this good I have to tell you more about it.

Essence The Highlighter Heroic // Review, Swatch, Makeup Look

Let’s just discuss the name first: Essence has kept it nice and simple. Because this highlighter is simply called: The Highlighter. It comes in 2 different shades: 010 Heroic and 020 Hypnotic. What’s more it retails for a mere €2.59. How is that for affordable? I think this may very well be the cheapest highlighter I have ever tried. It was launched as part of the new fall/ winter 2019 Essence collection and is therefore a brand new product to Essence’s line.

The Packaging

With Essence you’ll know they will keep the packaging simple, because Essence never does very elaborate compacts. This is quite possibly the simplest of the simplest: just a plain, clear plastic compact that has no mirror or space for a brush. It is thin, easy to travel with and is absolutely fuss free. The plastic feels a bit flimsy perhaps, but I think this is sturdy enough to hold up in a makeup bag.

The Highlighter

With highlighters it can be so difficult to really show well in pictures or on camera, so here is my best attempt. Can you see that gorgeous sheen? 010 Heroic is the lighter one of the two and has a cooler undertone. The other shade available is a bit darker and also more golden toned. The texture of this highlighter is surprisingly creamy. This feels like a cream to powder texture, very much like some of my favorite high end highlighters like the Anastasia Amrezy and Dior Nude Skin highlighters.

The Swatch

Don’t believe me? This swatch tells you hopefully enough. This highlighter is well-pigmented and has enough shine to it to show up from a mile away. It blends easily and with a good highlighter brush this truly packs a punch. It can be build up to full intensity but with a more fluffy brush you can also make this more wearable. The sparkles you see here are from another product that I swatched before this by the way: this highlighter is of the full on metallic sheen kind, not the sparkly glittery kind.

The Application

For these pictures I had some difficulty showing you the full effect. Therefore I would like to refer you to my recent videos in which you can see this highlighter in all its glory. In these pictures you only see a slight sheen, but I promise it is a lot more intense in real life. While this highlighter has a good deal of base pigment to it, what is left once you blend this onto your cheeks is mainly just sheen and nothing more than that. That makes this hard to capture in a picture. What you can see here is how this highlighter definitely brightens whatever area you place it in.

My Final Thoughts

Essence’s The Highlighter in Heroic is a surprisingly great makeup product that not only doesn’t cost much, but is also very comparable to some of my more expensive high end highlighters. And at this price point that is a great steal. The undertone of this shade may be a bit icy for most people but I think it can still be universally flattering for anyone with a lighter skin tone. If you are looking for a great, affordable highlighter, than I can highly recommend this one by Essence.

What do you think of Essence’s The Highlighter?