The Best-Selling RMS Beauty Living Luminizer Gave Me the Most Radiant Skin Ever

4.9

RMS Beauty Living Luminizer

RMS Beauty Living Luminizer

Byrdie / Ashley Rebecca

What We Like
  • Clean, good-for-your-skin formula

  • Can be worn on bare skin or on top of makeup

  • Lasts all day

  • Recyclable packaging

What We Don't Like
  • Somewhat expensive

Hands down, RMS Beauty's Living Luminizer is worth the hype. It may be on the pricey side, but it lends a gorgeous, dewy glow to bare skin or on top of makeup.

4.9

RMS Beauty Living Luminizer

RMS Beauty Living Luminizer

Byrdie / Ashley Rebecca

We put RMS Beauty’s Living Luminizer to the test after receiving a complimentary sample from the brand. Keep reading for our full product review.

Editor’s Note: We reviewed this article on September 22, 2023. As per our editorial policy, we are constantly updating our content, to make sure it reflects the best of the best when it comes to beauty, wellness, and fashion. We want to assure our readers that we still stand by our recommendations, which we do.

For me, the tiniest bit of shimmer is the perfect finishing touch to any makeup look— which is why I was especially excited to try RMS Beauty’s best-selling Living Luminizer, a cream highlighter that's said to deliver a lit-from-within glow sans any grease or glitter. But did it actually live up to its promises? Read on for everything I noticed when I tried this product for six straight days. (Slight spoiler: I couldn’t believe how dewy my skin looked.)

RMS Beauty Living Luminizer

Best for: All skin types

Uses: Highlighting face and eyes

Key ingredients: Organic coconut oil, vitamin E, castor seed oil, rosemary leaf extract, sunflower seed oil

Potential allergens: Coconut oil, rosemary leaf extract

Cruelty-free?: Yes

Price: $38

About The Brand: RMS Beauty is a clean and sustainable beauty brand founded by makeup artist Rose Marie Swift. Its categories include skincare and makeup for the face, eyes, and lips.

About My Skin: Combination and often oily

I have combination skin—most of the time it’s oily, but I also experience dryness and sensitivity. While I’m not in the habit of wearing makeup every single day, when I do wear it, I’m reaching for a light foundation, concealer, blush, mascara, brow pomade, and highlighter. (Some of the highlighters I wear often are Armani Beauty, Alima Pure, Grande Cosmetics, Lime Crime, and Tower 28 Beauty.)

I tested RMS Beauty's Living Luminizer for six days straight to see how it stacked up to some of the other highlighters I’ve been using.

Ingredients: Good for the skin

This cream highlighter isn't just about looks—it contains many good-for-the-skin ingredients, like coconut and castor seed oils (both of which hydrate and soothe the skin), as well as vitamin E, an antioxidant that seals in moisture by reinforcing your skin's protective barrier. It's also worth noting that this product is cruelty-free, clean by Byrdie's standards, and comes in recyclable packaging.

This product is also formulated to work with all skin types—a major plus for me because sometimes highlighters and oily skin don't mix very well. I tested this product in the brand's original (and bestselling) Living Luminizer shade, but it also offers five others: Magic, Champagne Rose, Peach, Amethyst Rose, and Gold.

RMS Beauty Living Luminizer

Byrdie / Ashley Rebecca

How To Apply: Use fingers, brush, or sponge

There are a few ways you can apply this product. RMS Beauty recommends wearing it on the face and around the eye area—I tried both!—and it can be applied with your fingers, a makeup brush, or a makeup sponge. Since it contains oil, it melts quickly and is super easy to blend.

I tested out applying this product to my face all three ways: using my fingers, a Beauty Blender sponge, and a small blush brush. I found that each method was effective and the product wore the same on my skin no matter how I applied it. (I also tried this product on my eyes, both alone and on top of eyeshadow. The only time there was any creasing was when I wore it on top of my eyeshadow as an eye gloss.)

The texture of this product is light and it warms up quickly when it comes in contact with any kind of body heat (like your fingers). For me, I noticed that it goes on much better if you really warm up the top layer versus just swiping it.

The Results: An all-day glow

For six days straight, I applied this product in the morning and went about my normal routine, whether it was going to work, running errands, or even working out.

The finish is very dewy—it gives a natural-looking glow to the skin immediately.

I was also impressed that its consistency stayed the same throughout all of my daily activities and the dewiness never went away.

RMS Beauty Living Luminizer

Byrdie / Ashley Rebecca

The Value: A little goes a long way

This highlighter is priced at around $40, which is higher than those in a more budget-friendly category. However, even though the size of this product is small, it’s very important to note that you don’t need to apply a lot of it at once—it's highly concentrated compared to other formulas. A little goes a very long way, so while you might think there’s not much in the container, it actually lasts quite a long time. Besides, what you’re getting is a highlighter that you can wear every day on the eyes and cheeks and gives a beautiful finish to the skin—which, for me, makes it worth the investment.

RMS Beauty Living Luminizer

Byrdie / Ashley Rebecca

Similar Products: You have options

Glossier Haloscope ($22): If you’re looking to compare this highlighter to other products, Glossier Haloscope, which I also tested, offers a similar dewy consistency but comes as a twist-up stick versus a pot. In my experience, Haloscope's texture is slightly firmer and needs to be warmed up before applying to the skin, as the stick is slightly stiffer. Also, although Haloscope is less expensive than RMS Beauty's version, you'll need to apply more of it to get comparable results.

Final Verdict

If dewy skin is your goal, RMS Beauty's Living Luminizer highlighter is the perfect investment. It pairs well with other products, formulas, and textures and has a long-lasting finish. Whether you're wearing it solo or on top of makeup, it's ideal for anyone wanting to add more glow to their skin. 

Specs

  • Product Name Living Luminizer
  • Product Brand RMS Beauty
  • UPC 816248020355
  • Price $38.00
  • Weight 0.17 oz.
  • Ingredients Ricinus Communis (Castor) Seed Oil, Cocos Nucifera (Coconut) Oil, Cera Alba (Beeswax), Mica, Titanium Dioxide (Ci 77891), Tocopherol (Non-GMO), Rosmarinus Officinalis (Rosemary) Leaf Extract

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