In recent development, our favorite House Of Makeup’s Starry Night Pearly Glow Liquid Highlighter was named the Best Highlighter in India 2026 at the first-ever Femina Beauty Awards, held in Mumbai.
We are proud of that. But more than the trophy, we want to tell you what it actually means for your skin.
About The Femina Beauty Award
The Femina Beauty Awards 2026 was a celebration of India's top beauty brands and products selected by you, the consumers. This award helped bring to light icons, cult-favourites, and heroes that are a part of people’s routine. They were also voted on by thousands of everyday Femina readers who tried, used, and rated them on their own faces, in their own climates, across their own skin tones.
This double filter expert jury, plus real consumer experience, is what makes this award worth talking about. When a makeup artist with Daniel Bauer's experience and a dermatologist with Dr. Madhuri Agarwal's expertise both sign off on a product, they seal the brand’s authenticity and make the statement for themselves.
Why Indian Skin Needed A Different Kind Of Highlighter
The highlighters dominating the international market are mostly formulated for cooler, fairer skin tones in temperate climates. They tend to lean silver, pink, or icy finishes that read as grey or ashy on warm Indian undertones. They are tested in dry European air, not in the humidity of Mumbai in July or the dry heat of Delhi in May.
House Of Makeup: Our Story
When we set out to formulate Starry Night Pearly Glow Liquid Highlighter, we started with one honest question: What does a great highlighter look like on brown Indian skin? The answer was not glitter. Glitter settles into pores, catches in texture, and makes skin look broken rather than glowing. The answer was not chunky shimmer either. Heavy-cut shimmer particles reflect light in harsh, uneven bursts.
The answer was crushed pearls.Starry Night Pearly Glow Liquid Highlighter is formulated with high-sheen pearl pigments that reflect light the way healthy skin does, softly, evenly, from within. The pearls are fine enough that they do not settle into pores or sit on top of texture. Instead, they move with your skin, amplify your natural luminosity, and give you the kind of glow that looks like it came from inside, not from a product.
Available in four shades, Moonlight, Meteorite, Nebula, and Starburst, each highlighter shade is mapped to a specific segment of the Indian skin tone range, from fair to medium-to-deep.
What Makes It Different From Every Other Highlighter
1. It Does Not Move
Starry Night Pearly Glow is formulated with film formers that lock the product to skin on contact. Once it sets, it is smudge-proof and transfer-proof. It does not slide off in humidity, does not melt in heat, and does not transfer onto clothing or phone screens.
2. Formulated With Skincare Ingredients
Most highlighters are pure makeup. Starry Night Pearly Glow is not just a makeup product. It is packed with Goji Berry extract, Sunflower seed oil, Cranberry seed oil, and Jojoba oil. These are not filler ingredients. Goji Berry extract is a known antioxidant. The oils in the formula nourish the skin barrier while giving your skin the ultimate glow.
3. It Works On Textured Skin
Powder highlighters emphasise texture. They catch on dry patches, settle into pores, and make uneven skin look more uneven.
This is why Starry Night Pearly Glow Liquid Highlighter is different. It uses fine pearl pigments rather than coarse glitter or metallic powder; it sits over skin texture rather than inside it. If your skin has enlarged pores, fine lines, or an uneven surface, this highlighter enhances your glow without drawing attention to anything you would rather not highlight.
4. It Was Designed Specifically For Brown Indian Skin Tones
The four shades in the Starry Night Pearly Glow range were not adapted from a global palette. They were built from scratch for Indian warm undertones, in a country where fair, wheat, medium, and deep brown skin all exist in the same room and all deserve a shade that looks right on them.
Meteorite and Nebula are the two most-loved shades for medium Indian skin. Starburst, with its warm gold undertone, is one of the very few highlighters in the Indian market that does not read as bronze or muddy on deeper brown skin.
How To Use Starry Night Pearly Glow Liquid Highlighter
The most common question we get: fingers or brush?
For liquid highlighter, fingers win. The warmth of your fingertips helps the product blend seamlessly into skin. Tap lightly rather than dragging; this preserves the pearl pigments and prevents uneven distribution.
Where To Apply Starry Night Pearly Glow Liquid Highlighter On Indian Facial Features
The highest point of the cheekbone, found by smiling lightly and applying just above that peak, is the most universally flattering placement. On Indian skin, a small amount here reads as healthy and sculpted. Going too low, onto the apple of the cheek, tends to look shiny rather than lifted.
The inner corner of each eye adds brightness and makes eyes look more open. On Indian skin, the contrast between a dark liner on the lash line and Starry Night Pearly Glow Liquid Highlighter at the inner corner is particularly striking.
A single tap along the cupid's bow makes lips look fuller without product on the lips themselves.
Skip the nose bridge if your nose is broad. A stripe of highlight down a wider nose bridge widens it further, which is the opposite of what most tutorials suggest you want.
Mixing with your skin tint: One drop of Starry Night Pearly Glow Liquid Highlighter mixed into our Face Anything Luminous Skin Tint before application gives you a lit-from-within base that lasts all day. This is one of the most popular ways our customers use it.
What The Award Means For Indian Beauty
House Of Makeup was started on the belief that Indian women deserve premium makeup formulated for their skin, at prices that do not require them to save up for a month.
The Femina Beauty Award is not just a trophy for us. It is confirmation that clean, affordable, India-first makeup can hold its own against global luxury brands when the playing field is product quality and performance.
We competed in the same category as some of the most recognised names in beauty. The jury looked at ingredients, texture, and real-world performance on real faces. And they gave the award to a product made in India, for India, with Indian skin tones at the centre of every formulation decision.
Shop The Best Highlighter Award-Winning Highlighter
The Pearly Glow Liquid Highlighter is available in all four shades on our website. If you are not sure which shade is right for your skin tone, here is a quick guide:
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Moonlight: Fair skin, cool or neutral undertone. Adds luminosity without washing you out.
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Meteorite: Fair-to-light Indian skin. The everyday shade. Sits between pearl and gold.
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Nebula: Medium skin with warm-neutral undertone. No pinkness, just a warm, natural glow.
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Starburst: Medium-to-deep skin. Warm gold that reads as a genuine glow on higher melanin.
Free shipping on all orders above Rs. 499. Every product ships from our warehouse within 1-2 business days.
Shop Pearly Glow Liquid Highlighter!
About House Of Makeup
At House Of Makeup, we’re making premium beauty accessible to all. We believe makeup should deliver exceptional performance, be absolutely harm-free, and be affordable. All three together. All our makeup products are specially formulated to suit a range of Indian skin tones and undertones.
What is the House Of Makeup Difference?
Here’s how we make a difference:
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Our makeup products are infused with skincare ingredients that help in taking care of your skin, and not just sit on the surface
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Formulated in compliance with EU Cosmetic Standards, which ban 1300+ toxic ingredients, hence ensuring we only use quality ingredients in our products
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House Of Makeup products are independently tested with accredited labs for hypoallergenic and non-comedogenic properties, making them suitable for all skin types
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100% vegan, Cruelty-free, Paraben-free, Sulphate-free, Mineral-oil-free, Lead-free, Coal-tar-free
Frequently Asked Questions
1. Is the Starry Night Pearly Glow Liquid Highlighter suitable for oily skin?
Yes. The film formers in the formula set on skin and do not slide in oil or humidity. If you have very oily skin, apply a light dusting of setting powder after the highlighter to lock it further.
2. Can I wear it without foundation or base?
Absolutely. Mix one drop into your moisturiser for an everyday glow, or apply it directly to your bare skin on your cheekbones. It is designed to work as a standalone product as well as part of a full makeup routine.
3. Is it safe for acne-prone skin?
Yes. Starry Night Pearly Glow Liquid Highlighter is non-comedogenic, independently tested by accredited labs, and formulated without any pore-clogging ingredients. The entire House Of Makeup range is tested to be safe for acne-prone and sensitive skin.
4. What skin tones does it work on?
All four shades are formulated specifically for Indian skin tones, from fair to medium-to-deep. Each shade is mapped to a specific segment of the Indian skin tone range so that every complexion gets a highlighter that reads as glow, not grey.
5. Where can I see the full Femina Beauty Awards 2026 winners list?
The complete winners' list is published here. House Of Makeup won the Best Highlighter category.