Hello gorgeous!

Reader Lissy requested comparison swatches of Mac Porcelain Pink and The Balm Mary-Lou Manizer highlighters last week, but I decided well, why not swatch all my highlighters?

I photographed them in different lightings to compensate for the low resolution of my iphone. All highlighters are very pigmented with The Balm, swatched twice, being the most pigmented and Nars, swatched 6x, being the least. I swatched the Mac ones 3x each. They are all smooth and not powdery at all as some swatches may seem to look in the photos.

First Row – Mac Porcelain Pink and Mac Soft and Gentle
Second Row – The Balm Mary-Lou Manizer and Mac Definitely Defined
Last Row – Nars Albatross

First Row – The Balm Mary-Lou Manizer, Nars Albatross
Second Row – Mac Definitely Defined, Mac Soft and Gentle, Mac Porcelain Pink

From Left to Right – The Balm Mary-Lou Manizer, Nars Albatross, Mac Definitely Defined, Mac Soft and Gentle, Mac Porcelain Pink

The Balm Mary-Lou Manizer is the most pigmented of them all. It has a champagne color and is the most natural for my medium tan, Mac NC35 skintone. It’s a gorgeous color on top of blushes.

Nars Albatross is the most difficult to swatch as it gives off a sheer finish. It’s a light gold color which is the least flattering on my skintone. If I had favorites, which I don’t because I adore them all, I guess this would be last one on the highlighter category. On some lightings, this seems unnatural on me and would suit much paler skintones. Nevertheless, that doesn’t stop me from using this.;)

Mac Definitely Defined is limited edition from the In Extra Dimension collection. It has two colors, the one on top being a light peach gold and the one on the bottom being a peach pink. The top portion is a bit difficult to swatch. This would be a pretty, shimmery peach pink blush on very light skintones.

Mac Soft and Gentle is not available in local counters, but I managed to snag this in Duty Free. It’s one of the highly rated/reviewed highlighters which I think is because it’s a universally flattering color. It’s a light peach with a slight hint of bronze which will show only when heavily swatched. On light skintones, this may lean more peach while on darker skintones, it may seem more bronze. On my skintone, it’s a bit of both and it looks like a natural glow on me.

Mac Porcelain Pink was just recommended to me as the SA said it’s a dupe for Definitely Defined. It’s not. It’s a light peach with champagne tones. This is closer to The Balm Mary-Lou Manizer, but with peach tones. This is a bit light on my skintone and the peach is more pronounced on my skin.

Hope you enjoyed this post as much as I enjoyed swatching and writing about my highlighters.

I’ll leave you with more swatches.:)