The product: Sleek MakeUP Highlighting Elixir in Poppin’ Bottles, She Got It Glow, and SUN.LIT

The Sleek Highlighting Elixir formula

The Sleek Highlighting Elixir Illuminating Drops formula is, to put it simply, very lovely. It’s difficult to find illuminating drops that are silicone-free, but Sleek makes it look easy. These drops are silky and intense, with a liquid-crème formula that feels like nothing once you blend it in.

I like these best as pure highlighters, dabbed onto the back of my hand and then applied sparingly to the face. Each elixir is super intense, not with pigment but with luminosity. One dab of the dropper (not one drop from it) is more than enough for your cheekbones, nose, and cupid’s bow. This is the kind of formula that is super cute in a dropper bottle, but that doesn’t actually necessitate a dropper at all. You need so little product that a spatula, doe-foot, or squeeze-tube would work just as well.

(But the dropper is cute!)

These are also completely non-sticky and non-tacky once blended in. They diffuse gorgeously and light you up so intensely — I feel like I have an Instagram complexion when I wear Poppin’ Bottles, and my glow lasts all day with very minimal transfer. (You won’t end up with glitter covering your entire face unless that’s what you were aiming for!) I’ve wanted to find a ‘cone-free liquid luminizer for ages, and these were well worth the wait.

Sleek Poppin’ Bottles, She Got It Glow, SUN.LIT swatches in indirect sunlight

Sleek Poppin’ Bottles, She Got It Glow, and SUN.LIT swatches & shades

Because these blend out (like any highlighter) to luminous translucence, I think most people will find that they can select a shade to suit their tastes. I, however, love Poppin’ Bottles — in more than one way.

Like my favourite bottle of bubbly, Poppin’ Bottles is big, bold, and effervescent. One bottle will last for ages, and it makes me feel glowy and ready to go out. It never makes me look greasy, but instead highlights my brow bones, cheekbones, and cupid’s bow, thinning out my nose more than contouring ever has. Like any great highlighter, it’s full of dense, finely-milled shimmer and has an almost wet-look finish.

She Got It Glow is similarly glorious, offering a softer pink glow to the high points of your face. It’s more glittery (pink and silver reflects) and less dense. SUN.LIT sits on the opposite end of the spectrum, with a bronze hue and the least shimmer of these three. It’s the most pigmented of the lot by far, and mixes with moisturizer or foundation to glow-up your entire body.

What are Sleek’s Liquid Highlighters a great dupe for?

So many things!

These are a budget-friendly alternative to the often-lauded Cover FX Custom Enhancer Drops. They’re a silicone-free alternative to Dermablend’s Glow Creator Drops and L’Oreal’s True Match Lumi Drops.

They’re also so, so, so much better than Benefit High Beam — which I’ll give points to for being a true OG, but let’s be real: that formula is a hot, siliconey mess. (And the packaging still sucks!)

The Sleek Highlighting Elixir verdict?

I wholly and unabashedly adore these. The Sleek Highlighting Elixirs are the perfect liquid highlighter, and come silicone-free and budget-friendly as an added bonus — but I’d love them even if they weren’t. Poppin’ Bottles is the single best highlighter I have ever tried, and it somehow looks both natural and super intense when worn.

Availability: $9 USD/$12ish CAD. Available at Ulta and other drugstores.

Sleek MakeUP Highlighting Elixir Illuminating Drops ingredients view

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The products featured in this post were sent to me by Sleek for editorial consideration only. I really love them, and I’d love if you used my affiliate links in this post if you decide to purchase these highlighters!