Rhode Highlight Milk: A Pearly Glow and Its Best Neighbors

Rhode Highlight Milk: A Pearly Glow and Its Best Neighbors

Rhode Highlight Milk is my starting point for a pearly glow that can move from face to body. I gathered liquid illuminators, creams, powders and body shimmer around it, with ideas for keeping the shine intentional.

Vogue ran its roundup of Hailey Bieber's best glazed donut skin moments on October 28, 2022, a few months after Rhode launched on June 15 with three skincare products and a less-is-more approach she described as a small routine or an addition to an existing one. Rhode Highlight Milk is where I start when I want that glow in one step: the brand describes it as a multipurpose luminizer for bare skin or makeup, in four shades. The distinction I care about is 01 and 02, sheer milky bases with soft shimmer, versus 03 and 04, which have added tint for a warmer, dimensional glow, and Rhode says its formula draws on Glazing Milk and includes a ceramide trio, mineral complex, vitamin E and glycerin. For cheekbone-only shine, I lean toward Rare Beauty Positive Light Liquid Luminizer Highlight and Hourglass Unreal Radiant Glow Liquid Highlighter, while Saie Glowy Super Gel and Charlotte Tilbury Beauty Highlighter Wand make sense for a wider sweep, and I save Dior Forever Glow Maximizer and Armani Beauty Luminous Silk Acqua for evening. I also like Danessa Myricks Beauty Vision Flush Glow and MAC Cosmetics Skinfinish Lightstruck when I want the cheek to carry the look, then stop at the upper cheek rather than layering glow across the whole face. My test is one small tap in daylight, a step back from the mirror, and only then a second dot if the first one disappears.

Big numbers collage for Rhode Highlight Milk: six products from Rhode, Rare Beauty, Charlotte Tilbury, Dior, Fenty Beauty and Summer Fridays, each set beside a large numeral
Rhode Highlight Milk

Liquid highlighters, luminizers, glow drops and boosters

Loved lately cards collage of liquid highlighters from Rhode, Rare Beauty, Hourglass, Saie, Charlotte Tilbury, and Dior.

A softer hand with cream highlight

When a liquid highlight starts feeling like too much, I reach for a stick or balm and confine it to a narrow crescent at the top of the cheek. Milk Makeup High Light Luminous Cream Highlighter Stick, Dior Backstage Glassy Glow Stick Multi-Use Stick Highlighter Balm, Haus Labs Bio-Radiant Glassy Balm Highlighter Stick and Westman Atelier Lit Up Glassy Gel Highlighter Stick all sit in my rotation, where one small tap is easier to control than a full brush sweep. Merit Day Glow Dewy Highlighting Balm and Tower 28 Beauty SuperDew Shimmer-Free Highlight Balm are my softer, less twinkly side of the drawer, and I would pair them with cream blush rather than another reflective product. For a more deliberate cheek, I turn to KJH.brand by Katie Jane Hughes Hyper Shine Lite All Over Highlighter, caliray Light Source Blurring & Hydrating Illuminator and LYS Beauty Aim High Cream Highlighter Stick, while Sarah Creal Today's Highlights 12H Peptide Balm Luminizer and Milk Makeup Cooling Water Jelly Shimmer Highlighter Stick for Face and Eyes give me another direction when I want a little more play. What I would skip: stacking a balm, shimmer stick and gel powder on the same cheek when the rest of the makeup is already glossy. I press one formula onto bare skin or over a cream base with a fingertip, then leave a clean patch around the nose and center forehead.

Cream, stick, balm and gel-powder highlighters

Powder and body glow, with Rhode in the mix

When the base is set and I want the glow to stay on the cheekbones, powder is my finishing move, with Rare Beauty Positive Light Silky Touch Highlighter and Benefit Cosmetics Cookie and Tickle Shimmer Finish Powder Highlighters as my softer options, while Dior Forever Glow Luminizer Highlighter and Fenty Beauty Killawatt Freestyle Highlighter take me toward a brighter point of light. I like Anastasia Beverly Hills Glow Seeker Champagne Gold Powder Highlighter with bare lids and a warm blush, YSL Hyper Luminize Powder Highlighter for a sharper evening cheek, and Makeup by Mario Soft Glow Highlighter or Kosas Shiny Objects Wet Glisten Highlighter Powder for Face and Eyes for daytime glint. Rhode's wider lineup lets me build a face around Glazing Milk, Pocket Blush, Pocket Bronze, Peptide Glazing Fluid, Glazing Mist, Peptide Lip Treatment and Peptide Lip Tint, then let Highlight Milk be the reflected note. For bare shoulders, I reach for Cyklar Vanilla Verve Illuminating Body Oil with Squalane or Range Beauty Bali Face & Body Glow Oil for a casual daytime look. L'Occitane Instant Golden Glow with Almond Shimmering Body Oil or Lux Unfiltered Golden Era Blurring Body Glow suit a lower neckline after dark, while Phlur Beach Skin Shimmering Body Oil, NARS Monoi Body Glow I, Tom Ford Soleil Blanc Shimmering Body Oil and Moroccanoil Shimmering Body Oil round out the body shelf. What I would skip: powder dusted over freshly applied body oil, because the glow can turn scattered, so I keep the powder on the face and smooth one body oil along the arms and collarbone.

Powder highlighters, the rest of the Rhode line and shimmering body oils

Rhode Body Glow: Where I Let It Land

I choose the finish the rest of my makeup can support, then stop before shine travels everywhere. Rhode's own directions allow Highlight Milk on the face and body, including the chest and legs, and also suggest mixing it with foundation or moisturizer. On a quiet day, I keep it to one point over cheek color, and for evening I like a restrained face highlight with a single body shimmer on the arms. The through-line is one reflected note, not competing layers, with enough bare skin left visible to keep the whole look feeling like me. If you want to keep browsing, I also put together rhode Lip Gloss and Milk Blush.