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Essence Pure Nude Highlighter.

Essence Pure Nude Highlighter
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Blush & Bronzer
About this product

An affordable powder highlighter from Essence designed to give skin a natural, luminous glow at a drugstore price.

Full ingredients

Talc, Mica, Isocetyl Stearoyl Stearate, Octyldodecyl Stearate, Tocopheryl Acetate, Tocopherol, Petrolatum, Ethylhexylglycerin, Phenoxyethanol, Ci 77491, Ci 77492, Ci 77499 (Iron Oxides), Ci 77891 (Titanium Dioxide)

More from Essence 4 products · Guru Score 88% →

Guru Score

85%

Yay

3 experts · Moderate agreement

What the gurus are saying

juicyjas calls it the best highlighter and her all-time favorite drugstore pick. Andrea Matillano has loved it for over a decade and says it can't be topped.
Synthesized from 3 expert reviews · most recent take August 2025

What they liked

  • Blends seamlessly into skin
  • Subtle, natural-looking glow
  • Drugstore price, high-end results

What they flagged

    Nothing. None of the experts who reviewed it raised a problem.

    Type

    Blush & BronzerPowder

    Key actives

    Vitamin E

    Formula notes

    Fragrance-freeNo drying alcohol

    Where to buy

    Opens a store search. We may earn from these links.

    Scan it in the shopFree iPhone app. Scores in the aisle.

    What the gurus are saying.

    Every take we've logged from this product's reviews across YouTube. Click any row to watch the moment they said it.

    All takes Yay takes Nay takes Mixed takes Hide sponsored
    Abbey Yung
    Abbey Yung
    886k subs
    ✓Yay
    "In the shade Be My Highlight, [...] this is one of the best powder highlighters I have ever, ever tried. It has the most beautiful soft, subtle diffused glow, that candlelight glow instead of something that's really intense and bold and beaming. It's just stunning. [...] If I had to pick one highlighter to use for the rest of my life, it might be this, it's seriously that good."
    Top Pick: highlighter
    All 4 takes from Abbey Yung
    My Top 3 Drugstore Makeup Products... In EVERY Category!
    "In the shade Be My Highlight, [...] this is one of the best powder highlighters I have ever, ever tried. It has the most beautiful soft, subtle diffused glow, that candlelight glow instead of something that's really intense and bold and beaming. It's just stunning. [...] If I had to pick one highlighter to use for the rest of my life, it might be this, it's seriously that good."
    My Favorite Makeup Products In EVERY Category... Part 2!
    "Powder highlight, if I want something that isn't quite as glossy and is softer and more diffused, then I will always reach for the Essence Pure Nude Highlighter. I think that this is absolutely beautiful, especially for fair skin tones. It just has that candlelit glow versus that beaming highlight look, and this has that quality that I was talking about of just melting into my skin really nicely."
    The #1 Best Drugstore Beauty Product In Every Single Category!
    "My favorite highlighter [...] is the essence Pure Nude Highlighter. It's gorgeous, soft, diffused, not an in-your-face intense beaming highlight, but it's buildable if you want [...] more than sheer and subtle. [...] I know this isn't new news, but it's just unbeatable, it still is. I have yet to find another drugstore highlighter that is as beautiful as this one."
    My Favorite Makeup Products In EVERY Category! Current Makeup Favorites 2023
    "Essence pure nude is just a little bit too light for me when I have self tan on."
    Allie Glines
    Allie Glines
    829k subs
    ✓Yay
    "I do have one rec and that is the Essence Pure Nude Highlighter. This is so beautiful. [...] It really just blends into the skin and it just looks so natural."
    All 4 takes from Allie Glines
    Johnny Ross MADE ME BUY IT 😳 Let's try everything..
    "This is the one that we both gushed over in the video we filmed together and I know you guys love this so much too the essence Pure Nude Highlighter I'm just gonna kind of apply that to the high points of the face"
    Drugstore Makeup That Outperforms High-End with MARLENA STELL!!
    "It just melts, and when [...] I buff it in with a brush first and then press it in with a sponge, it's gorgeous. I go back to it time and time again. It's like a few dollars, probably around $4 or something like that, so inexpensive. [...] I find myself reaching for this over so many of my high-end highlighters which are way more expensive. [...] It's been one of my favorites for a long long time. It has a nice sheen to it like it's not glittery. It just looks like you're glowing from within."
    What's ACTUALLY in Lisa J's Makeup Bag?!
    "This is the Essence Pure Nude, and I own both of those in fact. I love that."
    The Ultimate 2024 Drugstore Makeup Starter Kit!
    "I do have one rec and that is the Essence Pure Nude Highlighter. This is so beautiful. [...] It really just blends into the skin and it just looks so natural."
    HotandFlashy
    HotandFlashy
    1.23M subs
    ✓Yay
    "The Essence Pure Nude Highlighter is hands down my drugstore favorite highlighter of all time. Great one to try if you're looking for a very subtle highlight. [...] It just makes your cheeks pop a little bit without looking icy or like an obvious highlight."
    All 3 takes from HotandFlashy
    PTR Instant FirmX Primer ~ Holy Grail or Hot Mess?
    "I use the Essence Pure Nude Highlighter."
    BEST Makeup of 2022 | Drugstore + Department Store | Over 50!
    "The Essence Pure Nude Highlighter is hands down my drugstore favorite highlighter of all time. Great one to try if you're looking for a very subtle highlight. [...] It just makes your cheeks pop a little bit without looking icy or like an obvious highlight."
    Face Lifting Makeup! Tutorial on Mature Skin
    "I'm going to use the Essence Pure Nude Highlighter."

    What the evidence says.

    Independent of what the gurus think, this is what the published research supports about the main active ingredients here.

    Sunscreen filters

    Sun protection is the best evidenced way to slow visible ageing, and the filters are what does the work. Mineral and chemical filters both protect when a product is applied thickly enough and often enough, which is where most people fall short rather than on the choice of filter.

    Source: DermNet

    Vitamin E

    Vitamin E is an antioxidant, and it is often in a formula to keep the other ingredients stable rather than as the active itself. It pairs well with vitamin C, though on its own the evidence for visible change is limited.

    Source: NIH, National Library of Medicine

    Frequently asked.

    What is Essence Pure Nude Highlighter?

    An affordable powder highlighter from Essence designed to give skin a natural, luminous glow at a drugstore price.

    Is Essence Pure Nude Highlighter worth it?

    Yes. All 3 gurus who reviewed it give it their stamp of approval, for a Guru Score of 85%.

    What is Essence Pure Nude Highlighter's Guru Score?

    Essence Pure Nude Highlighter holds a Guru Score of 85%. That is our read on how warmly the experts talk about it, based on the verdicts of 3 expert reviewers we have collected. At least one expert has named it a Top Pick in its category.

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