
The One Highlighter You Need To Know About

Highlighter-obsessed ladies raise your hands! I have both of mine raised right now because my stash is ridiculous. Highlighter makes you look like you drink enough water and don't have any stress in your life, but let's be real, only using powder as highlighters can get a little boring. There are some things powder highlighters just can't do. With liquid highlighter, aka illuminating drops, you can get an awesome or subtle glow with very little effort. Plus, there's an added bonus for us oilier girls: you can get a radiant glow in your foundation without getting any oilier than usual.
I've got three ways to use liquid highlighter to take your complexion game to the next level. Thank me later.
On Its Own
I love to layer powder foundation on as much as the next highlighter junkie, but sometimes that just doesn't glow the way I want it to. Illuminating drops solve that problem for me. Just a couple strategically placed drops are all I need to get a full impact, megawatt glow. No fan brush necessary. To be honest, I like to use my fingers to blend it out. It gives a more natural-looking finish. (Not that natural is what I'm going for.)
Products Used:
From top left to bottom right
Becca Shimmering Skin Perfector – Rose Gold
Makeup Revolution Liquid Highlighter – Champagne
Makeup Revolution Liquid Highlighter – Luminous Gold
Layered Under Foundation
This is where the fun starts. Because the highlighter is a liquid, it won't slide right off if you apply a liquid product on top of it like a powder would. This means you can cover your face in liquid highlighter before you put on your foundation and you'll look like you have a radiant glow coming from within.
To show you what I mean, I added a very thin layer of Milk Makeup Blur Liquid Foundation over the liquid highlighter swatches so you can really see the difference between the shades. Pro tip: You can always add more layers of foundation to tone it down if the radiance seems to be a bit much.
Products Used:
From top to bottom
Becca Shimmering Skin Perfector – Rose Gold
Makeup Revolution Liquid Highlighter – Champagne
Makeup Revolution Liquid Highlighter – Luminous Gold
Mixed Into Foundation
This is probably my favorite way to use these drops. I have oily skin all year long so a foundation with a dewy, radiant finish is out of the question. I don't like for my foundation to look so matte that it's dull so a couple of drops of illuminator mixed into my usual foundation saves me! All I do is pump out my usual amount of foundation on to the back of my hand, add a few drops of illuminator and mix them together. I apply that mixture like I would my foundation and, bam! I have a radiant finish without any extra oiliness.
To show you what these look like mixed, I used equal parts foundation and illuminating drops. I would normally use more foundation than highlighter, but again, I wanted you to really be able to see what I'm talking about with the added radiance. I mixed each highlighter with Milk Makeup Blur Liquid Matte Foundation.
You can add as much or as little liquid highlighter to layer or mix as you'd like.
Products Used:
From top left to bottom right
Becca Shimmering Skin Perfector – Rose Gold
Makeup Revolution Liquid Highlighter – Champagne
Makeup Revolution Liquid Highlighter – Luminous Gold
Now that you know the tricks of the megawatt highlight trade and the tools that will help you elevant your radiant look - test the waters. If you really want to have fun with it, you can mix different liquid illuminators together to make a custom shade! That's the fun part about make-up - you can really do whatever you want. You better glow girl!
Featured image by Shutterstock
On her debut album,CTRL,SZA crooned about her desire to be a “Normal Girl.” Now, nearly eight years since its release, her Not Beauty line represents her commitment to existing outside of traditional beauty norms.
The singer whose real name is Solána Imani Rowe first teased the idea of a lip gloss line during Super Bowl LIX in February, noting that the release would be happening “very shortly.” Not Beauty debuted simultaneously with the Grand National Tour, which she co-headlines with Kendrick Lamar, in Minneapolis on April 19.
Each Not Beauty pop-up would offer fans the opportunity to purchase the glosses, learn more about the brand, and have the opportunity to meet the superstar in the flesh regardless of their ticket status.
During the Los Angeles tour stop, which spanned three dates on May 21, May 23, with the finale on May 24, xoNecole had the opportunity to test out the glosses included in this soft launch, as SZA revealed in a statement that "this is just the start of other lip products, including plans to launch stains, liners, and creams all inspired by SZA's “infamous layered lip combinations.”
Courtesy
So, what is included in the first Not Beauty launch?
The current Not Beauty products available are lip glosses that come in three shades: In the Flesh, Strawberry Jelly, and Quartz.
During my visit to the first LA Not Beauty pop-up activation, I not only had the chance to purchase all three glosses but also took a peek inside the blow-up log tent. Inside, fans got to experience SZA’s love for nature and her fascination with bugs, which are prominently featured in her performances for this tour. At one point, she even had human preying mantis prancing across the stage y'all.
There were blow-up photos of the beauty that is SZA for fans (myself included) to take photos, but in wooden-like tree trunks were a deeper dive into some of the ingredients featured in her products and their benefits.
For example, the glosses feature Hi-Shine Lip Jelly and Shea Butter as key ingredients and some of the listed benefits included are:
- Shea Butter - “A powerhouse ingredient, offering both functional and nourishing benefits.”
- Hi-Shine Lip Jelly (featured in the In the Flesh shade) - “Formula glides on with perfect adhesion to the lips without stickiness).
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What are in the products?
Featured in an orange package, with images of a bug and flower on the side, the back of the box reads: “It’s NOT BEAUTY, it just works. Developed by Solána “SZA” Rowe.
As someone who never leaves home without a good lip gloss, I loved how compact the wood panel packaging is. Perfect to slip into my purse, or in the case of the show at SoFi Stadium, into my pocket when I’m not carrying a bag.
Because I’m a sucker for a good black and brown lip liner and clear gloss combo, I decided to wear the Quartz flavor on night one of the Grand National Tour LA stop, and it did not disappoint. I’ll admit, it’s light weight feel made me nervous because it felt like there was nothing on my lips. However, when I checked my lips in my compact mirror several times throughout the night, I was shocked to find that my gloss was still intact. I only reapplied once out of the habit of looking cute and applying my gloss, but not necessity.
Here are some of the ingredients featured, but not limited to, in the Quartz flavor.
- Polyisoubutene
- Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea)Butter
- Ricinus Communis (Castor) Seed Oil
- Mentha Piperita (Peppermint) Oil
- Tocopherol
Courtesy
Lip prep
I’m a simple girl who loves to stay true to her roots. So ahead of the show, I stopped by a local Inglewood Beauty Supply store and grabbed a Black and Brown shade lip pencil for just under $2 a piece.
Shading the outline of my lips with the black pencil first, I used the brown to lightly fill the inside of my lips before applying my Quartz Not Beauty shade gloss.
How to apply
There’s truly no right or wrong way to apply lip gloss (in my opinion), with this being a brush applicator sort of product, I simply untwisted the top and swiped the gloss around my top and bottom lip generously.
Courtesy
Results
Again, my Not Beauty Quartz product stayed on my lips from the start of the show, which began with a fire DJ set from LA’s very own, Mustard, to the conclusion when Kendrick and SZA reunited on stage to send us home to their duet, “luther,” featured on the rapper's GNX album.
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Feature image courtesy
2025 BET Awards: Ciara Lists Her Dating Non-negotiables, Jordin Sparks Talks Love & More
Last night was "culture's biggest night" in Black entertainment and all the stars came out. Hosted by Kevin Hart, the BET awards celebrated 25 years and reflected on the network's success by giving viewers a taste of nostalgia.
The network's beloved 2000s show, 106 & Park took over the stage along with the show's former hosts, including Free, Terrence J, Julissa Bermudez and Mr. 106 & Park himself, Bow Wow, who performed his hits.
Other artists who performed during that segment was Ashanti, Mýa, Keyshia Cole, Amerie, and T.I. The night continued with three icon awards presented to Jamie Foxx, Mariah Carey, and Kirk Franklin.
Prior to the show, xoNecole took to the red carpet and interviewed some of our favorite people. See who we caught up with below.
Ciara
Ciara stopped by to share her dating non-negotiables and the mother of four wasn't holding anything back.
Jordin Sparks
Jordin Sparks walked the carpet with her husband, Dana Isaiah, and together they shared how they stay connected.
Teedra Moses
Teedra Moses dished on whether she thinks she's Phylicia Rashad's doppelgänger.
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Feature image Rob Latour/ Shutterstock