Product Review -- Hourglass Vanish Flash Highlighting Stick

I am a highlighter fiend, which means I've never met a highlighting product that I didn't want to try.

I'll admit that I'm not quite as good at using cream or liquid highlighter products as I am with powder, so I don't have quite as many cream highlighters in my collection.

Which was why I so keen on trying the Hourglass Vanish Flash Highlighting Stick -- I am a big fan of the Hourglass Vanish Seamless Finish Foundation, which has a lovely texture, so I was hoping that the Vanish Highlighting Stick would be similar.

It comes in similar packaging -- a triangle-shaped, twist-up stick container. Instead of the dark bronze-colored packaging of most of Hourglass's packaging, though, the highlighters come in attractive silver-colored packaging.

Hourglass Vanish Flash Highlighting Stick

The highlighter itself has a very thin, non-greasy formula, though, it still blends easily into the skin. I apply it directly from the stick onto my skin and then blend it out with my fingers. If you're worried about contaminating the highlighter, though, you could always rub your fingers across the stick and then apply it your face.

Hourglass Vanish Flash Highlighting Stick in Pink Flash

You can also use a brush or sponge to blend out the highlighter once it's on your skin, but I personally find that a sponge absorbs a little too much of the product for my liking.

That's an issue with this product because it already has a pretty natural look on the skin -- it definitely catches the light, but there's no high shine or glitter so if you blend too much of it away, you may not get enough of a highlighting effect.

The highlighter is available in five shades, but I chose Pink Flash, which I thought would be the best match for my very fair skin. While it's clearly pink, it's light enough that it doesn't just look like a pink stripe on your cheekbone. As I mentioned previously, the highlighter has such a lovely, natural finish that the shade really does work well with my skin tone.

It would probably stand out a bit more on darker skin tones for a bolder look, though.

Hourglass Vanish Flash Highlighting Stick in Pink Flash

Hourglass Vanish Flash Highlighting Stick in Pink Flash (blended out)

And I obviously don't know how the other shades look on any skin tone, so perhaps they offer a more dramatic highlighting effect.

All in all, I really like this product and am glad I purchased it.

But it is $42, which is a pretty steep price for a natural looking highlighter. I think if you feel like splurging and enjoy natural highlighters, this is one worth checking out -- but it's definitely not a must-have for everyone.

You can purchase the highlighter on the Hourglass website and at Sephora.

Have you tried the Hourglass Vanish Flash Highlighting Stick? Are you a fan?