High End vs Drugstore Highlighters

Left to right - The Balm Mary-Lou Manizer, Becca Champagne Pop, MAC Soft and Gentle, Anastasia Riviera and Benefit High Beam 

Swatches left to right - The Balm Mary-Lou Manizer, Becca Champagne Pop, MAC Soft and Gentle, Anastasia Riviera and Benefit High Beam 

The top two highlighters are from the Make Up Revolution Ultra Contour Palette and the Ultra Cream Contour Palette. 

The bottom three left to right are: Make Up Revolution Golden Lights, Make Up Revolution Peach Lights and MUA Shimmer Highlighter. 

Swatches left to right: highlighter from the Make Up Revolution Ultra Contour Palette, cream highlighter from the Make Up Revolution Ultra Cream Contour Palette, Make Up Revolution Golden Lights, Make Up Revolution Peach Lights and MUA Shimmer Highlighter.

I decided to pick 5 high end highlighters that I own and 5 from the drugstore. As you can see, none of the lower end products are dupes for the higher end ones. However, the point of this post is to show that when swatched, it is not obvious which ones are £5 and which are £35. 

Apart from High Beam, all of the high end highlighters are very golden and warm toned. The cheaper highlighters are all cooler toned and lighter. To be honest, I'm not sure why I spent so much money on highlighters that actually don't suit my skin tone. I use the Make Up Revolution highlight from their contour palette nearly every day, which only cost £8. 

I am realising that I probably only got the more expensive products because they are so popular on Instagram and in the beauty world. But in reality, I use the cheaper highlighters a lot more and they all cost under £10. Don't get me wrong I do love Mary-Lou Manizer and High Beam, but the other three products I actually rarely use. 

So my point of this post is to show that just because the majority may love an expensive product, but it might not actually be right for you.