It’s Illuminating : MAC’s Prep+Prime Highlighter

MAC’s Prep+Prime Highlighter (Pens) are finally here. They are MAC’s answer to YSL’s Touche Eclat and Dior’s Skinflash Radiance Booster Pen which are also used to highlight and brighten the under-eye area and wherever necessary around the face.

There’re 3 shades of Prep+Prime Highlighter, Radiant Rose, Bright Forecast and Light Boost. I fell for Radiant Rose the second I swatched it, it’s such a sheer, pearly pink that suits my skin tone. Bright Forecast would have been too dark for me and as for Light Boost, it’s too yellow for my liking but Radiant Rose had me at hello, which is quite rare these days with regard to most products.

To use the Highlighter, just swivel the base of the pen and you don’t need to swivel much for the product to come out on to the brush applicator. The brush is soft and gentle for applying the Highlighter around the eyes. If there is any excess, I’ll use it for my eyelids as an eyeshadow base, it’s a good base for pigments too.

Radiant Rose adds radiance and luminosity to my under-eye area (I also use it on my cheekbones) and although it’s difficult to see any difference in the “before” and “after” pics, I can see that the areas where the Highlighter have been applied are brighter but not shiny bright, it stays matte.

It is supposed to be used after concealer but I find that I can get away without concealer if I just use this product, on days when I don’t have particularly dark circles anyway. It has excellent brightening properties and I like the radiance boosting factor when I apply it under foundation.

At RM90 for 3.6ml, you can bet it’s a cheaper alternative to Touche Eclat and Skinflash which are both priced at RM133 but some may see a difference between these products. I can’t comment since I have not used either Touche Eclat nor Skinflash.

Those with darker skin tones can take a look at Bright Forecast while Light Boost can be used on those with lighter skin tones to highlight the nose area. Having swatched all 3 shades, I liked Radiant Rose the most because it provided the most radiance to my skin tone.