I remember when I was younger, I never really understood the hype around highlighter. I used to think, why would you want a big glowy streak on your face, it just looks like makeup? However I have to say I have become a massive convert in recent years. I either wear pretty much no face makeup, or the whole lot. I now feel naked without bronzer and highlighter.
I think a big reason for this is that I actually discovered decent highlighter products, rather than white, glittery powders I used to use and consequently get all over my face/clothes/desk. I had wanted the Iconic London illuminator drops for ages before I took the plunge last summer after my final pay from work, as they are extortionately expensive for such a small bottle, (although they quite often do offers or sales) but I can honestly say I have no regrets. I have the original version, however since I bought it they have released more shades. For someone with quite a pale complexion, I find this version perfectly bronze-y enough and the actually bronze one would be too dark. It looks absolutely gorgeous on it’s own, and I like to dust some Anastasia Beverly Hills highlighter on the top for a night out or for any photo opportunities. Everyone knows the secret to popping highlight is liquid then powder on top. Yes, I know it’s a small bottle, but honestly it will last ages. You hardly have to squeeze the dropper, I just rub the applicator on my face a bit. It’s super blendable and buildable, and I just love it.
In terms of application, I like to put some on my cheekbones (kinda it’s purpose), but also a little bit above each eyebrow, on the point of my nose, on the part of my nose in-between my eyes, cupids bow, and any part of my décolletage that is on show. Basically I drown myself in it. Since this product has burst onto the scene and featured in the thousands of instagram videos I have watched over the year, there have been many high street/drugstore copies. I decided to try the Makeup Revolution one because there has also been a lot of hype around this brand in the last few weeks. If you like makeup but haven’t seen the new MUR concealer that is supposedly a dupe for the Tarte Shape Tape, hun where have you been? I had a cheeky browse at their stand the other day, and noticed so many near exact copies to higher end products. Their chocolate palettes look the exact same to the Too Faced ones, but inside they each look like separate dupes to ABH, Huda Beauty etc loads of higher end palettes. In light of this, and all the positive reactions to the concealer as a dupe, I thought i’d give their highlighter drops a go. If they’re the same as the Iconic ones, then i’m saving myself £24 next time!
The Makeup Revolution ones are nice, gotta give them that. They’re very gold, easy to blend, and buildable like the Iconic London ones, however they aren’t a dupe. They glide on very beautifully however when I blended it out on my hand it became very glittery and shimmery, whereas the Iconic drops aren’t really glittery at all. According to the Superdrug website, they ‘enhance and give a luminous finish to your skin’, and they do do that to be fair. I think i’d take Superdrugs advice and add it to moisturiser or just use it on my body as more of a shimmer as I like glitter on my eyes, not my face. I suppose that spending £6 for body shimmer still prolongs the life of my beloved Iconic drops, I can’t imagine mixing these with your foundation would give the same effect as the Iconic London one does, because as I mentioned, I want a glowy face, not a glittery one.
They look really similar side by side when taken with flash. The left one is Iconic, it is a thicker consistency than the other one. The main difference is when i’ve blended them out, the MUR one is definitely more shimmery than the Iconic drops. That being said, they still gave my face a nice lit-from-within look and they are definitely visible. I also tried to get the MUR drops that were as similar a colour as the original Iconic drops,I got the shade Liquid Euphoric Gold, yet the MUR ones are very yellow-y gold. Think Fenty highlighter in Trophy Wife vibes, whereas the Iconic drops are very copper-y and bronze. However, the MUR ones do have 7 shades which is more than Iconic London does, i’ve seen pictures of the shade Liquid Bronze Gold and Liquid Lustre Gold which might be more of an accurate colour but they didn’t have these in my Superdrug sadly as it probably would have been a better comparison.
Overall, in my opinion highlighters are worth spending a bit more money on. You can get really decent concealer/blusher etc from Boots and Superdrug, but the highlighters I have tried over the years haven’t lived up to the ones I use now. I’ll use the MUR one, but I probably won’t repurchase this same shade as I can’t see any liquid highlight ever beating Iconic London. I might try the rose gold ones though! If you are on a budget though (like I should be), they are still a nice alternative as it’s a good product in it’s own right, but I wouldn’t call it an exact dupe as it’s just not as eye-catching. Both are vegan and cruelty free which is a bonus though! You also get more product in the MUR one than the Iconic London one, but I think you are also paying for the glass Iconic packaging as the MUR one feels a bit cheap, I found that the stopper is a bit stiff when getting it out of the bottle.
MUR with flash:
Iconic with flash:
Hope this helped! x