Silk Naturals

Hello..Happy Autumn!,

I don't wear eye make-up on a regular basis (only tons of creamy under-eye concealer and perhaps eye liner for extra special occasions). But I would like to add an eye highlighter to my collection to brighten up my tired eyes and give that youthful glow. I'm looking for one "natural" looking highlighter that can be worn alone.

I have primarily pale (not super pale) olive skin with a bit of yellow. I don't know what MAC skin tone I am...sorry. If it helps, I am light-skinned Asian-Hispanic. I was thinking between Bone or Sonic . From reviews, I like the fact that Bone seems to be multi-tasking (highlighter, base, under-eye concealer). Sonic was said to match a reviewer's pale olive skin well and has a nice slight shimmer. Plus it's interesting as a one color eye-shadow. I've looked at photos of the original that Bone and Sonic are suppose to dupe. Bone's original (Bobbi Brown Stonewashed Nude collection, right?)..looks basic, but to my eyes Bone looks more yellow than original. Sonic's original (MAC Vanilla)..well it looks more white on some ladies.

If there other color suggestions, please feel free to share. Thank you so very much.

Bone is universally useful and certainly suits everyone because it's a neutral matte. There are always uses for it. The first colour which came to mind for yellowy olive skin was Papyrus. It might not be pale enough to be a highlighter - it depends on how fair you are - but it should make a flattering one-colour wash for a simple look. It's not as shimmery as Sonic, so it'd be easier to wear, especially if you're not a frequent eye colour wearer.

Bone is a very multi-use color as Cupcake says, I use it a lot, blends well with the yellow in my skin. But, it is completely matte, so I don't normally use it for a highlighter unless I want something with no shimmer (usually because there's a LOT of shimmer elsewhere ). I second Cupcake's suggestion, Papyrus would be great I think. Even if it's not lighter than your eye area, on light olive toned skin it would be a beautiful look and still seem neutral. Sonic is great, I don't think it'll look white on you unless you are more medium toned, but it may be more shimmery than you'd like.

I'd suggest getting both Bone and Papyrus. They are similar shades, but one having that pearly sheen means that you'll be able to wear it on the lid to bring light into your eye area, while using Bone at the tear duct and to highlight your brow bone. It will give things a bit of dimension without it being obvious you're wearing eye shadow.

have you thought about SN vanilla? since you don't wear alot of eye makeup, i think sonic may be too shimmery for you. i have light-medium peachy yellow skin and papyrus was definitely too dark for me to wear as a highlighter. it would probably work great as a lid color for you, but not as a highlighter like you originally mentioned.
i think bone would work as a highlighter too if you would rather have a matte finish.

I am a fair to light olive and Papyrus is my go to highlighter. It used to be Vanilla until Papyrus was born........ I do find Papyrus a bit darker, but Vanilla was pretty light on me. I also like the new one Bristol. It is a little pinker. Sandy is another good one....more in the pale peachy pink range. Sonic is also a good choice and is the most yellow (because of the golden peach color shift).

I would probably stay away from Bone for a highlighter unless you really want a matte finish. It is probably pretty close to the color of your skin and might look mostly like a shade variation in your skintone. It will be a tad lighter than your skin.

I have pretty pale olive skin (in the SN foundation I am about 1:11 or 1:12 olive:ivory), and my favorite highlighter at the moment is homecoming queen (which is a GWP, but everyone loves it, so I think it will probably come out into the regular line). It has a really pretty pearl finish.
I am not a big fan of sonic, as it is too shimmery for me, I and I prefer pearl rather than shimmer for highlighters. I haven't used bone, but if you are not big on eyeshadows then a matte highlighter would probably work for you better than a shimmer one.
Otherwise, one of the new suede colours might work, as I think they are supposed to be relatively subtle.

Yeah, good point, Lily. I like semi-pearl or matte highlighters like Bone for a subtle "my skin but better" look whereas others like bright white-light sheen under the eyebrow a la 1970s disco. Depends on your style and what you want to achieve. Not everyone's idea of a highlighter will be the same.

I'd also suggest Mahalo, it is not the lightest highlight bit it is a very complex, versatile, simply stunning color. Applied heavily it can be a lid color for pale skin and applied lighly - a highlighter.

Mahalo is a gorgeous colour, but for my skin it is too dark to be a highlighter (darker than my skin).
It's so hard to know what will work, checking out the FOTD or EOTD thread and finding people with similar colouring helps

Lily, did you try to apply it veeery lightly? I did the whole look with and I'm little-little darker than you. Or maybe the thing is I like having some color under brow (don't like a wash of smth whitish...) Suggesting Mahalo I was sure it is versatile and easy enough to get some use