This post is all about the best highlighter application tips and tricks for a natural-looking glow.
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Unlocking the secret to a naturally radiant look is an art form that begins with understanding your skin tone and choosing the right highlighter formula. From liquid illuminators to powder pigments, the journey to a luminous complexion involves more than just a stroke of shimmer.
In this comprehensive guide, we’ll uncover 11 tips designed to elevate your glow game. Whether you’re diving into the world of makeup or seeking to perfect your technique, these tips cover everything from pinpointing the ideal shade for your skin tone to mastering the application of liquid and powder highlighters.
This roadmap ensures a seamless, natural glow that will leave you exuding an effortless charm in every light and at any event. Prepare to embrace your most radiant self with these tried-and-true methods that promise a captivating, dewy finish that’s perfect for every occasion.
What Are The Best Highlighter Application Tips?
1. Prep Your Skin
Prepping your skin is the foundational step before you apply highlighter makeup. Before you even think about that radiant glow, it’s crucial to start with a clean canvas. First, ensure your skin is well-moisturized, as dry skin can make the highlighter appear patchy or cakey.
Moisturizing not only provides a smooth base but also helps to maintain your skin’s natural radiance. Additionally, using a high-quality primer further enhances the canvas for your highlighter.
A good primer not only creates a barrier between your skin and the makeup but also helps the highlighter adhere better, ensuring it glides on effortlessly and stays in place throughout the day. This two-step prep not only sets the stage for a seamless and long-lasting glow but also promotes the overall health and vitality of your skin.
2. Choose The Right Formula
Selecting the right highlighter formula tailored to your skin type is the cornerstone of a luminous finish. When considering your skin type and tone, it’s essential to choose the appropriate formulation.
For drier skin tones, cream or liquid highlighters are the ideal choice as they offer a hydrating and dewy effect, seamlessly blending to enhance your natural radiance. On the other hand, for those with oily skin, powder highlighters are a game-changer, absorbing excess oil while delivering a stunning glow.
Powder highlighters are adept at providing a long-lasting shimmer without adding extra shine to already oil-prone areas. By matching the correct highlighter makeup to your skin’s needs, you’re not only ensuring a captivating luminosity but also embracing a tailored approach that harmonizes beautifully with your unique complexion.
3. Find The Right Shade
Choosing the perfect shade of highlighter plays a pivotal role in enhancing your makeup routine, offering that coveted ‘lit from within’ glow. Tailoring the shade to your skin tone is key for a seamless and natural radiance.
While champagne tones are universally flattering and complement most skin tones, they might not always be the optimal choice. For deeper skin tones, gold or bronze shades serve as the perfect match, imparting a rich, warm glow that beautifully accentuates their complexion.
Conversely, those with lighter tones can embrace pearl or icy shades, which lend a soft and ethereal luminescence. By aligning the highlighter shade with your skin’s unique undertones, you’re not only embracing your natural beauty but also creating a radiant, personalized glow that effortlessly illuminates your features.
4. Apply On High Points
Accentuating the high points of your face with strategically placed highlighter creates a beautifully natural and radiant glow. By targeting areas such as the cheekbones, brow bone, the bridge of your nose, cupid’s bow, and the inner corners of your eyes, you can effortlessly enhance your features.
Applying the highlighter to these key spots draws attention to the most prominent areas, catching the light for a subtle, luminous effect. The cheekbones, when softly illuminated, can create a sculpted appearance, while the brow bone and the bridge of your nose offer a delicate radiance that enhances the overall harmony of your facial contours.
A touch of highlighter on the cupid’s bow adds a soft, alluring shimmer, and applying it to the inner corners of the eyes brightens and accentuates the eyes, completing a natural and glowing look.
5. Use The Right Tools
Using the right tools is imperative for a flawless application of highlighters. When working with powder formulations, a fluffy brush becomes your best ally, allowing for a precise and seamless application while aiding in gentle blending. Its soft bristles effortlessly diffuse the product for a natural finish.
For cream or liquid highlighters, a variety of tools can be harnessed. Your fingers offer warmth for blending, a damp makeup sponge allows for a sheer and even distribution, and a brush with synthetic bristles lends a hand in controlled application, ensuring a well-blended and radiant outcome.
Choosing the appropriate tool tailored to your preferred highlighter texture enables you to master the art of application, unlocking the full potential of your chosen product for a luminous, complexion.
6. Less Is More
Adhering to the ‘less is more’ mantra holds the key to a subtle yet striking glow when applying both powder highlighter and liquid highlighter. Starting with a modest amount of product and gradually layering allows for greater control over the intensity of your luminosity.
This approach ensures a more natural and seamless finish, preventing an overdone or exaggerated look. Whether dealing with liquid or powder formulations, the principle remains the same—begin with a light touch, as it’s far simpler to incrementally add more product to achieve the desired radiance than to rectify an excess of highlighter.
Using this technique not only grants you a refined and sophisticated glow but also streamlines your application process, allowing your natural beauty to shine through.
7. Blend, Blend, Blend
Mastering the art of seamlessly blending your highlighter is the most important step for achieving a radiant and natural-looking glow. When you apply highlighter, the magic happens in the blend. Using a soft touch and a blend-first mentality, ensure the product melds flawlessly into your skin, avoiding stark lines or patchy areas.
By taking the time to blend meticulously, you can create a harmonious and subtle shimmer that seamlessly integrates with your skin, accentuating your features without any abrupt demarcations.
This process not only allows for a more refined and polished finish but also ensures your highlighter becomes an effortless extension of your natural radiance, enhancing your overall look with a luminous, airbrushed effect.
8. Avoid Overdoing It
Striking the balance between a captivating glow and an overdone, greasy appearance is important when it comes to applying a highlighter. While the aim is to achieve a beautiful radiance, veering towards an excess of product can lead to an unnatural or overly shiny finish.
Applying the highlighter with a light hand is the golden rule, ensuring a subtle yet captivating radiance that enhances your natural features without overwhelming them. Too much highlighter can accentuate texture and fine lines, detracting from the intended luminosity.
Embracing a less-is-more approach grants a delicate and refined shimmer, allowing the product to accentuate your best features while maintaining an understated elegance, resulting in a sophisticated look.
9. Consider Your Skin Texture
Considering your skin’s texture is key when aiming for a flawless and natural glow, especially in natural light. If your skin exhibits texture such as acne scars or enlarged pores, a strategic approach to highlighter application becomes essential.
Directly applying highlighter onto these textured areas can accentuate their appearance, drawing unwanted attention. Instead, focusing on smoother areas of the face for highlighter application can create a more flattering effect.
By avoiding textured areas and redirecting the focus to smoother regions, you can achieve a more even and luminous complexion that beautifully interacts with natural light, providing a radiant glow without drawing attention to skin imperfections.
10. Layer With Setting Spray
To achieve an intensified and radiant glow with a subtle sheen, incorporating a setting spray into your highlighter routine proves to be a game-changing technique. Before applying the highlighter, a light mist of setting spray delicately blankets the face, amplifying the pigment and providing a perfect canvas for the highlighter.
This method not only enhances the intensity of the highlight but also extends its longevity. The setting spray works harmoniously with the highlighter, promoting a luminous and dewy finish that persists throughout the day.
This layering technique not only augments the overall radiance but also ensures a seamless and natural-looking glow that captivates with a subtle sheen, accentuating your features with an enchanting luminosity.
11. Daytime vs. Nighttime Application
Adapting your highlighter application to different settings and occasions, taking into account both bone structure and the appropriate shades, can significantly elevate your overall look. For daytime settings, a more subdued and delicate glow that accentuates natural bone structure is ideal.
Choosing lighter or more neutral highlighter shades complements daylight, offering a softer radiance that harmonizes with the sun’s natural illumination. Applying a liquid highlighter with a light hand to the high points of the face provides a subtle enhancement.
In contrast, for evening events or special occasions, a bolder and more pronounced glow can be embraced. Opt for deeper or more intense shades, and feel free to be more generous with the product to achieve a more dramatic effect.
This approach delivers an alluring and striking luminosity that perfectly complements nighttime settings, ensuring you exude a captivating radiance under artificial or low light, adding an extra touch of glamour to your overall appearance.
FAQ’s
1. Do you put highlighter on before foundation?
No, traditionally, highlighter is applied after foundation. Placing it before foundation can dampen its effect, as foundation tends to cover the subtle glow created by the highlighter. The order typically involves applying foundation first, then adding highlighter to the desired areas for a luminous finish.
2. What is the best way to apply liquid highlighter?
The best way to apply liquid highlighter is by using clean fingertips or a damp makeup sponge to dot the product onto the high points of your face. Gently blend it in using tapping or dabbing motions for a seamless, natural-looking glow. Alternatively, you can use a brush with synthetic bristles for a more controlled and precise application.
3. Do you apply highlighter before or after setting spray?
Highlighter is typically applied before setting spray to ensure it adheres well to the skin. Setting spray is usually the final step in a makeup routine to lock everything in place, including the highlighter, creating a long-lasting finish. Applying setting spray after the highlighter helps set the entire makeup look without affecting the highlighter’s luminosity.
4. Can you put highlighter all over your face?
It’s not recommended to apply highlighter all over your face as it can create an overly shiny or greasy appearance. Highlighter is best used strategically on specific areas like cheekbones, brow bones, and the bridge of the nose to accentuate features and add a luminous glow without overwhelming the entire face. Applying it everywhere may not achieve a natural or flattering look.
