MOST WANTED

Our Honest Rare Beauty Positive Light Silky Touch Highlighter Review

By Camille Polge, Rachel-Louise Horn and Kelsea Demetriou

The best highlighters can take your makeup from zero to hundred in seconds – whether you’re a makeup minimalist or maximalist. A smudge of highlighter across the tops of your cheekbones and just above your cupid’s bow is incredibly flattering for just about everyone. Selena Gomez’s makeup line, Rare Beauty has not one, but two highlighters. The Rare Beauty Positive Light Silky Touch Highlighter is a favourite among Space NK customers, so we decided to put it to the test.

We asked our digital marketing coordinator Camille, our marketing manager Rachel-Louise and our digital partnerships assistant Kelsea Demetriou to road test three different shades and share their honest review of Rare Beauty’s Silky Touch Highlighter.

We’ve also covered the most commonly asked questions, including the difference between Rare Beauty’s liquid and powder highlighter, the various shades of Rare Beauty Positive Light Silky Touch Highlighter and of course, which highlighter Selena Gomez uses. If you’re just here for the product review, you can also fast-forward to Camille’s Rare Beauty Highlighter review.

Rare Beauty Liquid vs Powder Highlighter

Fans of Selena’s brand might be wondering if the Rare Beauty Silky Touch Highlighter, £ 24,00 is necessary given the continued success of the Rare Beauty Positive Light Liquid Luminizer, £ 24,00, which covers all our illuminating needs.

The main difference between the Rare Beauty Positive Light Liquid Luminizer and Positive Light Silky Touch Highlighter – the former is liquid, and the latter is a powder formula. There’s no judgement from us if you want to use both as the Rare Beauty highlighters have serious staying power and don’t crease or settle on fine lines (phew).

For those who want to find the best Rare Beauty highlighter for them, we’d say that the Positive Light Silky Touch Highlighter may be a powder highlighter, but the formula sits beautifully on skin and comes close to a second-skin finish, however the Liquid Luminizer offers versatility as you can mix it with a blusher or foundation.

Best Rare Beauty Highlighter Shades

The Positive Light Silky Touch Highlighter is available in four flexible shades to suit different skin tones – you can see the swatches below. Enlighten is a cool champagne colour and the palest shade, while Exhilarate is a soft golden champagne hue. If you prefer your highlighter to lean more towards warm rose quartz, look to Mesmerize. Flaunt is a gorgeous, bold gold shade, ideal for dark skin tones.

Rare Beauty Highlighter Swatch | Space NK

Rare Beauty highlighter swatches: Mesmerize, Exhilarate, Flaunt, Enlighten

What highlighter does Selena Gomez use?

Avid watchers of Rare Beauty’s YouTube page and the brand’s TikTok account will know that Selena Gomez uses both the Rare Beauty Positive Light Liquid Luminizer and Positive Light Silky Touch Highlighter on the regular.

Selena uses the Rare Beauty highlighters to accentuate her cheek and brow bones. The pearlescent Enlighten shade is her go-to for both formulas and with the Rare Beauty Positive Light Liquid Luminizer, Selena applies three dots across each cheekbone for the most gorgeous glow.

Camille’s Rare Beauty Highlighter Review

• Skin type: Oily

• Skin tone: Warm

• The product: Rare Beauty Silky Touch Highlighter, £ 24,00 in Flaunt

Rare Beauty Highlighter before and after | Space NK

Highlighter isn’t a daily staple in my makeup bag, I usually reach for it if I’m going for dinner or for a night out. On those occasions, I opt for a powder formula as I find they have better staying power with my skin type. When I first tried the Rare Beauty highlighter, I instantly adored the texture; it was so soft and easy to apply on both my cheeks and eyes.

Rare Beauty Highlighter Flaunt Swatch | Space NK

I loved the soft shimmery finish as it worked well as an eyeshadow too as Flaunt is a bronzy-pink shade. If I was going to wear it as an everyday makeup look, I would skip bronzer and blusher as the Positive Light Silky Touch Highlighter in Flaunt would be enough on its own. I was impressed that my skin looked ‘lit’ rather than shiny and will definitely be using it again as it lasted all day.

Rachel-Louise’s Rare Beauty Highlighter Review

• Skin type: Combination

• Skin tone: Pale

• Product: Rare Beauty Silky Touch Highlighter, £ 24,00 in Enlighten

I am a massive Rare Beauty fan! I use the Soft Pinch Liquid Blush and Warm Wishes Bronzer pretty much every time I do my makeup. I was thrilled to try out the Positive Light Silky Touch Highlighter in Enlighten and it didn’t disappoint. The texture was soft, smooth and easy to apply. Like all Rare Beauty products, it is very pigmented and a little goes a long way. Enlighten definitely popped and made my skin glow.

Rare Beauty Highlighter Enlighten Swatch | Space NK

While I would use Enlighten if I wanted a full glam makeup look, but for a day-to-day highlighter I think a more golden toned highlighter would suit my skin tone as Enlighten can look quite white depending on the lighting. However, it does double up as a gorgeous eyeshadow, so I’ll be keeping it in my makeup stash.

Kelsea’s Rare Beauty Highlighter Review

• Skin type: Very dry

• Skin tone: Medium/olive

• Product: Rare Beauty Silky Touch Highlighter, £ 24,00 in Mesmerize

I use Rare Beauty Positive Light Tinted Moisturiser, £ 29,00 every day and I love the liquid blushes, especially in Bliss. However, I was a little bit apprehensive about reviewing the highlighter becuase I usually opt for a liquid formula as I find they offer a more natural finish.

The Rare Beauty powder highlighter was very buttery and much softer than I had expected. I used it on my cheeks as well as the inner corners of my eyes for a little shimmer. The finish isn’t glittery, it looks like high-shine skin which I loved.

Rare Beauty Highlighter Mesmerize Swatch | Space NK

Full disclosure, I used this on top of my usual liquid highlighter because I like a natural finish but high voltage highlight. On top of my usual liquid highlighter, this formula lasted all day and I will definitely use it again. It gives you that glass skin look without exacerbating dry skin.

The Verdict: Does Rare Beauty Positive Light Silky Touch Highlighter Last?

Both Camille and Rachel-Louise loved the Rare Beauty Silky Touch Highlighter, £ 24,00 because, just like every other Rare Beauty product, the formula had the dreamiest texture and was highly pigmented – a little goes a long way. This highlighter can give you a wash of colour or be layered for a stronger, bolder finish. What they loved most was that the formula lasted all day (and night) long. It is absolutely worth spending some time choosing your shade wisely and if possible, heading to your local Space NK store to be shade matched.

More On Rare Beauty

While it’s easy to get swept up in the blusher and highlighter hype, there are plenty of other Rare Beauty products we love, including the mascara. If you haven’t tried the Rare Beauty Perfect Strokes Universal Volumizing Mascara, £ 11,00, you need to add it to your shopping list ASAP. Two bristle lengths, a jet-black colour and a water-resistant formula are just some of the reasons why we love Selena Gomez’s mascara so much. Expect length, volume and curl in seconds.

We also highly recommend making a beeline for Rare Beauty Soft Pinch Tinted Lip Oil, £ 20,00. It has topped the Rare Beauty bestsellers list since it launched in 2023. The nourishing formula ensures your lips are kept soft and smooth, while the highly pigmented colours give you the most gorgeous finish.