Liz:

Highlighter, second only to lipstick, is a makeup favorite and a daily essential for me. If I haven’t mentioned it before, my ideal, perfect makeup look is glowing skin, bright lips and mascara. I had an actual conversation the other day where someone said that in another life, I wasn’t an animal or anything, but I was probably glitter. All this to say that I am slightly obsessed with highlighter and expect quite a bit from it.

I received my Custom Enhancer Drops in the shade Celestial as a gift from Lea (thanks friend!). Celestial is light pink with a silvery shimmer, and the product itself has an almost milky consistency. The dropper packaging isn’t my favorite because I feel like the top of the jar gets messy with continued use pulling the dropper in and out of the bottle. Plus, even releasing just a drop provides way more product than I would ever want.

Case in point, I tested mixing the drops into my foundation on two separate occasions. The first time, I figured it might be a good way to get some use out of my L’Oréal Infallible Pro-Matte Foundation, which is too matte for me. I pumped the black stopper once and WAY too much product came pouring out…in this case, a blob just smaller than a dime. When I mixed this in to the foundation and applied to my face it was very obvious. Like, disco ball everywhere obvious. Lesson learned: a tiny bit of this product goes an incredibly long way.

When I mixed this product in with my go-to Lancôme Teint Idole foundation, I used much, much less and liked the finish better overall, but did not like how this dried out my skin. My cheeks and forehead were a flaky, patchy mess up close and it got worse and worse as the day went. This also happened the first time I used the drops, but I thought it might have been the matte foundation. Using a foundation that I never have that issue with (and wore the next day with no problem), my only conclusion is that adding the drops was the culprit. I had two bad makeup days when I mixed this product in to my foundation, and was not pleased at all.

*Liz wearing Celestial as a highlighter*

All is not lost, however. I used this as a regular highlighter, tapping a teeny little bit in a c-shape around my eye and cheekbone and also on the cupid’s bow, and voila! Ethereal glow! But not glow for the faint of heart. I see tiny shimmers on my face when I apply this, so it’s not one of those buttery, melt into the skin highlighters. It’s a blingy glow. Celestial works well on my fair skin and I think it looked incredibly pretty on the days I used it this way. I applied it after the rest of my makeup, including a translucent powder and powder blush, and didn’t have any problems breaking the creams/liquids first, then powders rule. If you like the idea of these drops and want to give them a go, test out a few different ways to wear them (don’t forget eyeshadow), and you just may find a custom glow that works for you.

Liz’s Verdict: Like. In small doses. And not mixed in to foundation.

Lea:

These can be finicky, however, when used sparingly, they’re a staple for me. I have the shade Moonlight which to me appears champagne, or according to the website “shimmering beige”. I mix a tiny drop into my holy grail Laura Mercier foundation and get compliments every single time. Sometimes I even swipe my finger across the side of the dropper in lieu of using an actual droplet. This bottle will last FOREVER because any more than this and you look like the Tin Man. If I want to add a tiny bit extra I will repeat the finger swipe process, press two fingers together (tapping off even more) then dab my cupid’s bow, bridge of the nose and cheekbones.

Utilizing any tool other than a finger to dab this on will lift up whatever product is underneath (i.e. your foundation). I tried dotting it on the skin using the eye dropper directly with the intention of blending it out with a Beauty Blender-the result was disappointing. Straight out of the container these are way too much and the amount of blending I had to do took up all of my foundation and left my cheekbones bare.

During the summer, or if I plan to be photographed, I will mix several drops of this with lotion and swipe it across my shoulders and collar bones. Just be warned it has the texture of a dry oil so it will rub off on clothes (or your infant) and never really sets.