Today, I’m comparing two different jelly highlighters. These were both gifted to me and I thought I would do a review comparing the two. Jelly highlighters are interesting, but they’re not great for every day use since the shimmer is a bit chunky (for my liking). I would say this jelly is good for a festival/unicorn/halloween look. Keep reading to find out which one I prefer!
Almay Make Them Jelly Hi-Lite in 24K Dreams
This gorgeous jelly highlighter with an addictively bouncy texture gives your skin a dewy, holographic glow that’s utterly irresistible.
There are 2 shades available.
from left: 24K Dreams 004, Unicorn Light 003
Both of these highlighters are fun shades – yellow gold and pink. Although once you apply it, it’s not as pink as it looks in the tub. It’s like a sheer, jelly glitter. I’m not a huge fan of this one because when I press my finger into it, the jelly breaks up and crumbles (for lack of a better word). I’ve noticed that the gold one has a firmer texture whereas the pink one tends to crumble more.
NYX A Bit Jelly Gel Illuminator in Luminous
Dip right into our new A Bit Jelly Gel Illuminator. Available in three shades swimming in sparkles, this jelly-like formula feels and looks seriously amazing. Just scoop some up with your finger and pat the water-based gel onto the face or body. It slips on like a dream as you smooth it onto the skin, leaving behind a lightweight wash of radiance—that glistens even after it dries down! Gettin’ a bit jelly right now? Same, this dewy glow is lit.
There are 3 shades available
From top: Opalescent, Bronze, Luminous
I have the shade Luminous and it’s a champagne shade with blue glitter. This highlighter is a water-based product which washes away easily with water (which makes me think it might just melt down your face if you sweat). I would suggest spraying any setting spray before applying this highlighter. The texture of it is nice – when I dip my finger into it, it doesn’t separate or become chunky. It’s almost like a putty because it moves with my finger which is a good thing because then you don’t get any jelly chunks on your face when you apply it.
Luminous (top), 24K Dreams, Unicorn Light
WINNER: NYX A Bit Jelly Gel Illuminator
I think between these two jelly highlighters, I prefer the NYX A Bit Jelly Gel Illuminator. Both highlighters jiggle when you tap the containers. You can feel the jelly bounce back. I think jelly highlighters are fun, but I don’t think I would purchase any myself. I would consider trying jelly eyeshadows because I’ve seen a few on Instagram and they’re so pigmented. Obviously jelly highlighters wouldn’t be pigmented because you’d have a coloured streak on your face, but it feels like I’m just putting wet glitter on my face. I’m also not a fan of glittery highlighters and would prefer a liquid highlighter.
I haven’t tried a lot of products from Almay. I was sent 10 Almay products to review (5 different products with two different shades of each). While that was very generous and all of the products look really pretty, not all of the shades are ones I would personally choose and if I opened them, I would just end up wasting them. So, I’m going to review the products that I’ve decided to keep for myself and I will be putting the unopened products in a future giveaway.
Several of the products have that iridescent, unicorn vibe – especially the Jelly highlighters and glosses. These products are greatt for a fun makeup look, festival or Halloween…they would’ve been perfect to use for Coachella.
I received 020 Smoldering Embers and 030 Coppery Blaze.
When you swatch the shadows with your fingers, they’re not the most pigmented. When you apply them though, they are very nice. For the Smoldering Embers palette, the shimmery bone shade is perfect to highlight the brow bone and I really love the brown shade because it’s smoky, but also perfect for an everyday look (this shade swatched the best out of the three shadows). You can add a bit more smoke by adding the purple shade.
From top: Smoky Eye Trio Eyeshadow in Smoldering Embers (top to bottom), Shadow Squad Eyeshadow in 160 Thrill Seekers (swatches are clockwise from top left)
Shadow Squad Eyeshadow
Your favorite shades, in each of four finishes: matte, satin, metallic, glitter
Mix it up in monochrome
Soft texture for beautiful color payoff
I received 160 Thrill Seekers and 100 Unicorn.
The Unicorn shades are either not going to show up or look weird on my skin tone, so I will be giving that one away. The Thrill Seekers teal shades are more my style anyway. Again, swatching them, they’re not the most pigmented shades. If you want to add some more pigment, apply it on top of the Velvet Foil Shadow (the Lunar Disco shade is the perfect shade) or make sure to use a shadow primer that will brighten it up.
I prefer the bottom two shades from this palette. I usually prefer if my brightly coloured shadows are metallic or glittery because I’m not exactly going to use a matte green or teal as a transition shade. The matte shade was also a bit patchy.
Velvet Foil Cream Shadow
Wear each shade individually or combine for a dramatic customized eye look. Quick and easy application – apply with fingertips or an eyeshadow brush. No shadow fall-out during application.
Long wear formula – up to 24 Hour wear
High intensity color
Crease-proof, smudge-proof, fade-proof all day
Infused with Vitamin E and a botanical blend of ingredients
I received 070 Astro Girl and 060 Lunar Disco
I first swatched this on my hand (see below- it looks kind of black in that lighting, but it is more blue) and found it very difficult to wash off. It made me worry how hard it would be to remove from my eyes. I don’t have waterproof makeup remover, if you do, you’re probably fine, but it took me a bit more effort to remove it. Astro Girl is a white shade so that won’t really look good on my skin tone. I opened up Lunar Disco which is a blue shade. I tend to go for more neutral shadows, but this looks nice when you pair it with the Shadow Squad Eyeshadow in Thrill Seekers.
Make Them Jelly Hi-Lite 24K Dreams, Unicorn Light, Velvet Foil Cream Shadow in Lunar Disco
Make Them Jelly Hi-Lite
Jelly highlighter that illuminates and shimmers, giving you a celestial glow.
Iridescent glitter sheen complements all skin tones
Instantly illuminates and adds moisture to skin
Buildable highlight for customized level of radiance
As always, hypoallergenic & fragrance free
Pro Tips!
Brush onto cheekbones and the bridge of your nose for an iridescent gleam
Apply to collarbones and shoulders to make them pop
Mix with moisturizer or primer for an all-over glow
Add to foundation for customized radiance
I received 003 Unicorn Light and 004 24K Dreams
These jelly highlighters dry down a bit tacky. In the pro tips, it says to apply to bridge of nose, I think it’s a bit too chunky to do that, it’ll look like you had some fallout from an eyeshadow get onto your nose. Similar to the Inglot x Jennifer Lopez Livin’ the Highlight, this is a bit more chunky than I prefer my face highlighters to be. I prefer a wet look instead of shimmery chunks, so I think this would be best as a body highlighter for the collarbone and shoulders.
I’ve compared these to the NYX Jelly Illuminator, check out my post (swatches included).
Goddess Gloss
A spectrum of prismatic lip glosses with holographic effects. Designed to be worn solo, mixed or layered.
Gives lips a holographic, iridescent glow
Lips feel moisturized and smooth, never sticky
Made with pomegranate, grape and raspberry oils
Available in 8 sheer, easy to wear, high-shine shades
As always, hypoallergenic & fragrance free
Pro Tips!
Rock it solo for an iridescent glow on lips
Mix & match shades to create infinite ombré looks
Layer over lipstick for a transformative holographic effect
I received 930 Dreamy and 900 Gilded
These lip glosses really aren’t my style. I don’t really like iridescent lip sticks, but if that’s your style, I think these would look really good.
This Almay collection is very fun and iridescent. I personally prefer a neutral look with a glowy highlighter so my favourite out of all of the products was the Smoldering Embers Smoky Eye Trio…boring, I know. As you may know, I’ve been trying to streamline my makeup collection. While fun shades and products are cool to try out, I don’t think I would’ve bought anything from this collection because I want to have products in my collection that are timeless and neutral (with maybe a nice pop of colour here and there).
Have you tried Almay products? What were your thoughts?
