Review: Essence Pure Nude Highlighter - 10 Be My Highlight

I first saw KathleenLights mention this highlighters and I was intrigued. As far as I know, she's also a huge highlighter lover and when I saw this affordable beauty, I decided to see why it's so pretty. At first I was shocked how dark it looked in the packaging, but as Kathleen says, this swatches totally different.


It comes in a very simple plastic packaging. Top is transparent. It seems a bit flimsy. In it is 6.5 grams and it costs 3.79€. 



It actually looks really dark in the pan. The upper photo doesn't do it justice, it  looks more orange, like in the bottom photo. In fact I though that this was a bronzer, that's how dark it looks. Don't be fooled by the looks.


It's a peachy champagne shade with white cool reflection. If you heavily swatch it on the skin, it looks weird, very peachy and almost like a shiny bronzer for fair skin tones. But once you apply it on the skin with brush, it gives a lovely warm peachy base with cooler white or even silver sheen. I've been using it know that I still have some tan and it looks like a very natural highlight. On warm skin tones it has no visible peach undertone (considering that you apply it lightly), though I can't say how this would look like on cooler or neutral tones. That being said, it's still a bit darker highlighter. I wouldn't recommend it for very fair skin tones. It's probably more suited for light to medium and medium skin tones with warmer undertone. But since it has cool sheen, it might also look pretty on neutral skin tones. The shimmer in it is tiny, which makes it look really natural. There's no visible glitter chunks, just a lovely sheen.

Swatches are taken under a sunlight, because I am a bit tanned and I couldn't catch the right color. It actually looked like nothing on my skin.


I think it's a baked formula, which means it's very dry to the touch and swatches dusty with the brush. It's not very pigmented, but this means you can slowly build up the intensity. This highlighter can look really sheer or very heavy, depending on how much you apply. Keep in mind that the heavier you apply it the more peachy is going to look.


I also compared it with some other highlighters. Terra Naturi Shimmer Powder Body & Face in 01 Golden Highlight is much more orange based golden highlight. It also has a golden sheen instead of a cooler one. theBalm Mary-Lou Manizer is the lightest of them all. It's very white based light yellow golden champagne shade with again a lot of that white sheen. Catrice LE Treasure Trove Golden Powder in C01 Golden Grace is very similar to Essence. Catrice is more pink or even mauve based with the same cool sheen. Essence is a bit more peach based, just slightly warmer based, but has the same cool sheen to it. I would say Catrice is better for those with cooler skin tones and Essence is better for those with warmer skin tones. I also don't like Catrice that much, because it swatches very pink based on my warm skin tone and it just looks off.


I have some comparison photos of me without the highlighter on the left (I have foundation, powder and bronzer) and with it on the right.





I have it applied on tops of the cheeks, on top of brows, along the nose and tip of the nose and on top of Cupid's bow.



This is lovely affordable, natural looking, peach based with cool sheen highlighter. It's more suitable for light to medium and medium skin tones. It has tiny shimmer and can look very sheer or intense. The formula is dry and swatches a bit dusty. I personally like a fairly natural look of it and the fact that the shimmer is tiny and it just gives a lovely sheen. In general I like warmer highlighters, but this one has a warm base and a cool sheen, which is a mix of both. I like it for more natural highlight looks, combined with more neutral or cooler makeup and for now when I still have some tan. It will probably be too dark for me in the colder months. 

10 comments

  1. Ever since Kathleen mentioned this highlighter, i kept looking for it, but no luck :(
    Did you buy yours online?

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    1. No, I bought it in a store. We have Essence in Müller and DM stores.

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  2. Waaaw, spet en highlighter, ki mi je všeeč! Odlično izgleda, precej naravno peachy, kar mi je všeč. xx

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    1. Izgleda res precej naravno, čeprav še vedno da tisti lep sijaj. Vsekakor zanimiv odtenek. Meni je bolj všeč sijaj kot pa sama peachy podlaga osvetljevalca :).
      xx

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  3. Sem ga imela na wishlisti in ga bi kupila že par tednov nazaj, če bi bil na zalogi, ampak zdaj vidim, da sem morda imela srečo, ker tole izgleda pretemno zame sploh če gledam primerjavo z Mary. Tebi normalno super paše :)

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    1. Zame bo zagotovo pretemen za hladnejše dni. Od morja imam še vedno malo barve in ga zato še lahko komot nosim. Za zelo svetlo polt res ne bo, ker bo podlaga izstopala. Škoda. Mogoče pa Essence ugotovi, da mora narediti še kakšno bolj svetlo :). Hvala ;)

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  4. Uuu ti paše, lep je. Samo zame bo verjetno pretemen :/ GA še pa nisem nikjer v mullerjih srečala, očitno je ves čas razprodan ;)

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    1. Hvala :). Očitno je res kar popularen, če ga druge tudi ne najdejo. Mogoče pa samo ne polnijo zraven dovolj hitro. Zame je zdaj ravno ok, za zimo bo pa tudi verjetno pretemen. Jaz imam itak "poletne" in "zimske" highlighterje :D.

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  5. Very subtle yet gorgeous highlight :)
    xx

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    1. Indeed. And it has a really nice price tag for how it looks like on the skin :).
      xx

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