A couple of weeks ago, Douglas (kind of the Dutch Sephora) welcomed e.l.f. Cosmetics into their stores. I thought that makes a good opportunity to compare the two e.l.f. highlighters that I’ve got in my collection. Both are recommended by lot’s of beauty Youtubers but both are also quite different in formula. Welcome to Blogmas Day 16! 

Little side note: today’s the first day of snow in the Netherlands, yay!  

I will be comparing the e.l.f. Baked Highlighter in Moonlight Pearls (the small one) and the e.l.f. Shimmer Highlighting Powder in Starlight Glow.

The Shimmer Highlighting Powders retail for €9 at douglas.nl and for $6 at elfcosmetics.com.

e.l.f. describes it as:

This lightweight, versatile pressed shimmer highlighting powder helps amplify your natural radiance with a refined glow. Microfine particles blur lines to create a soft focus effect on the skin. Designed to highlight and reflect light for a luminous, photo-ready finish. 

The Baked Highlighters retail for €6 at douglas.nl and for $4 at elfcosmetics.com.

e.l.f. describes it as:

This highlighter creates a radiant glow with a sheer wash of shimmering color. Infused with Vitamin E and hydrating jojoba, rose hip, sunflower, apricot, and grape oils to nourish your skin. The highlighter can be applied wet for a vibrant effect or dry for sheer pigmentation. 

Both highlighters hardly showed up when swatches. The left swatch is the Shimmer Highlighting Powder and the right one is the Baked Highlighter.

The Shimmer Highlighting Powder is more chunky and powdery where the Baked Highlighter feels more smooth but you have to work harder to get the product out of the pan.

Luckily, both highlighters came to life when picked up and applied with a brush! In the left picture I’m wearing the Shimmer Highlighting Powder and in the right picture I’m wearing the Baked Highlighter.

The Baked Highlighter is a really intense and easy to apply highlighter. Two thin layers and there’s this intense, wet looking glow that blends into the skin seamlessly. I get why people are raving about this guy so much! And the best thing is that because of the baked formula, you can make it even more intense when applied wet.

The Shimmer Highlighting Powder goes on way more subtle. For the pictures I tried to match the intensity to the Baked Highlighter but that took me at least five layers of product. The product is a bit more chunky and that also feels like that when applying. However, with a little bit of effort, the product blends into the skin perfectly.

Basically both highlighters are great! The Shimmer Highlighting Powder is a little heavier in formula and goes on way more subtle. The Baked Highlighter is very lightweight and gives the most intense glow. Which one you’ll like most will depend on what kind of highlighter you are looking for.

I know I love the Baked Highlighter most! Unfortunately there are just four shades of it out there so far and this Moonlight Pearls shade is the only shade that suits my skin tone, but when e.l.f. launches more shade, I’ll definitely be picking them up!

Which e.l.f. highlighter do you fancy most?