4 Liquid Luminizers I’m Wearing Underneath My Foundations

Ever since my skin has shifted away from being oily (thank you Miles!), I’ve been excited to experiment more with luminizing and highlighting products. At first I was using cream or liquid formulas only on my cheekbones to highlight like I do with this favorite of mine from Marc Jacobs, but recently I began testing them as a base underneath my foundation. And over the past few months I have been either mixing them in with my foundation for an added glow or using them as a base before I put to feature them all in one post.

1. Burberry Nude Radiance No. 1 – This was the first one I experimented with as a base underneath my foundation. It didn’t show up or look that great as a highlight on my cheekbones so I tried it one morning on a whim before I applied my makeup and thought it looked amazing! It does help to slightly even out my skintone and gives a very subtle luminous effect but never makes me additionally oily or shiny throughout the day. I prefer to use this alone rather than mix it into my foundation.

2. By Terry Cellulaorse Brightening CC Lumi-Serum in Shade 1 – I have had this on my radar for a LONG time and many of my readers have sent me messages over the years saying how much they swear by this product. Out of all 4 products, this feels the best on my skin and applies more like skincare than makeup. It instantly helps to even out my skin, slightly reduce any redness while imparting a fresh glow to the skin. As you can see from the below swatches (it is on the far right), it has the least amount of shimmer which makes it great for wearing alone under foundation or mixing in with my makeup and would probably work the best for various skin types. I find this gives my skin the most “perfected” look – making things look smooth, even and slightly blurred. For those wanting to try a luminizer underneath their foundation but want something subtle for daytime or work, this would be a great option. In addition to this pale opal, it comes in 3 other shades.

3. Becca Shimmering Skin Perfector Liquid in Shade  Pearl – I know it may shock many of you to know that I have never tried this cult classic product from Becca. In the world of luminizers and skin perfectors, this one from Becca seems to be the gold standard. This was the boldest one out of all 4 and the one that I could use as a cheek highlight as well. I have heard this product described as giving a “lit from within” look to the face and that is the perfect description. However, you can use too much and quickly become overly glowy. My preferred method of using is before my foundation or as a cheek highlight, because when I tried mixing it with my foundation it was a tad too bold for me. Perhaps if you have very dry skin, this method would be perfect or I could use a touch less but I prefer to apply it the ways I mentioned earlier. I went with the shade Pearl though Moonstone was also highly raved about and recommended. 

4. Fresh Freshface Instant Glow Luminizer in Starlight – I initially showed this luminizer in a YouTube tutorial and talked about how underwhelmed I was by it’s performance. Then I decided to give it another shot under my makeup and I was completely won over! The color is very silver out of all 4 but surprisingly it doesn’t appear that way when applied. The texture is amazing and feels more like a skincare product with the freshest scent of cucumber that makes it so pleasurable to apply! I definitely love using my fingers to apply before my foundation and even if I use too much, it never looks too glowy on my face. 

I apply all four with my fingers most of time, but occasionally will use a synthetic foundation brush which also works well. None of these make my foundation break down or separate throughout the day and don’t look oily/overly shiny on my face after 6-8 hours. I definitely think all 4 would work on normal to dry or dry skin types, but the Becca and Fresh ones are the only two that may be a challenge on oily skin though it may depend on the person and how oily they are on a daily basis. That’s just my assumption though I always recommend trying a sample to decide for yourself if you can.

If you have any other additional luminizer recommendations, please let me know!

Shop some of my favorite highlighters for the cheeks here: