There’s no other way to say this: the oomph that The Balm’s Mary Lou-Manizer packs is unbelievable. You can read my full review here, but – spoiler alert – anyone who likes a strong highlight needs to own this now.
Up till I used it, I genuinely believed that the only way to get a crazy strong highlight was to layer powder and cream highlighters. Even without a base however, this built up to almost a chromed coating on my skin.
For me, the real test of a highlighter’s concentration is how much it shows on my cupid’s bow. Unlike most other powder highlighters that just aren’t concentrated enough, Mary Lou-Manizer showed up like liquid gold in just one swipe.
Admittedly, some of this magic has to do with the brush I used. I chose a flat, fairly stiff foundation brush that packed on pigment rather than just dusting it on lightly with the fluffy highlighter brush I normally use.
Seems like my current favourite highlighter – NARS Copacabana – finally has some real competition. These highlighter chronicles suddenly got interesting!
PS: Unfortunately, the photos don’t do this product any justice. Singapore’s icky flat light is really sapping a lot of the glow and washing me out in these shots, but I promise it was almost comically blingy in real life. If you’re in Singapore too, this is currently on sale for 20% off at Sa Sa boutiques.
