7 Glowy Highlighter Tips That Will Change Your Face Completely
If there’s one beauty mantra we live by, it’s there’s no such thing as too much highlighter. For real, we don’t limit blinding strobes to just the cheekbones, we use it EVERYWHERE from our lips to our eyes, and even our body-ody-ody. And when applied strategically, a highlighter can completely transform your face all while amping up your glow game. Here are our pro highlighter tips and hacks that’ll have you shining bright this summer:
Tip 1: Layer Different Highlighter Tones and Textures
There are three common highlighter textures: cream, powder, and liquid, which all provide unique finishes. Cream and liquid highlighters are often softer and more natural-looking on skin while powders are typically more dramatic. For seriously poppin’ beams, use a cream or liquid formula first, then layer a highlighter powder on top, using a fan brush. This trick will take your strobes from 144p resolution to 4K ultra HD.
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When choosing a highlighter shade, choose one that’s roughly two shades lighter than your foundation. If you have fair skin, pink-hued highlighters are insanely pretty, and for olive and deeper skin tones, golden and bronzy types will give you divine goddess vibes. Our brand new babies, the Huda Beauty Glow Obsessions Mini Face Palettes offer snatched highlighter quads for every complexion in the shades:
- Light for fair to medium skin tones.
- Medium for medium to tanned skin tones.
- Rich for tanned to rich skin tones.
FYI, we literally launched these just yesterday and they’re BEYOND. The formula is buttery and silky AF with 40-50% ultra-fine pearls for maximum radiance, use our Glow Obsessions on your face, eyes, and lips for an all-over glow that’ll grab attention from every angle.
Tip 2: Mix Highlighter Into Your Foundation
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To take your foundation from a matte to dewy finish, just mix your foundation with a cream or liquid highlighter and it’ll leave your skin looking so radiant. On the back of your hand, add a few drops of liquid or cream highlighter then blend it in with your foundation. Once you’ve mixed it all up, apply your foundation as usual. We love to use the Becca Cosmetics Ignite Liquified Light Face & Body Highlighter, $38; for a complexion that’s sooooo glowy!
Tip 3: Use Highlighter to Make Your Eyes Pop
To instantly make your eyes pop, apply a bright highlighter powder onto the inner corners. You can also add a touch of highlighter to the very center of the lids! Finally, apply highlighter directly under the tail end of your brow for a lifted finish.
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Tip 4: Make your Own Highlighting Setting Powder
Why set your makeup with a regular powder when you can customize your own to give yourself a major glow-up? By taking a tiny amount of shimmer powder like the RMS Beauty Living Luminizer Glow Face & Body Powder, $40, and combining it with a loose setting powder, you’ll create the ultimate glow-giving setting powder. Simply mix the powders together in the lid, then using a large fluffy brush, dust the formula across your face to set your foundation as you usually would. Be careful with this shimmer, as a little goes a long way!
Tip 5: Combine Your Highlighter and Setting Spray
One of our all-time fave hacks is combining the beauty powers of highlighter and setting spray. The end result? Your skin has a stunning glow that stays in place all day long. Start by soaking your sponge in setting spray like our Huda Beauty Glow Coco Hydrating Mist, $35, then dip it in a cream or liquid highlighter. Next, dab the blender onto the high points of your face, focusing on your cheekbones. Next, apply what’s left on your makeup sponge to your Cupid’s bow, brow bone, and the bridge of your nose, then gently press it into your skin all over to lock in your look.
Tip 6: Use Highlighter on Your Cupid’s Bow
By adding a little shimmer to your Cupid’s bow (the top center of your lips) you’ll create a subtle lift that’ll make your lips appear fuller. We love to use a champagne-toned highlighter, which we apply with our fingers or a small brush. You can also dust some highlighter to the center of your lower lip for a juicier pout.
Tip 7: Use Highlighter All Over Your Body
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When we said we don’t limit ourselves, we weren’t exaggerating! For day-to-day wear, we usually dust a powder highlighter onto our shoulders and décolletage to achieve a sun-kissed glow. However, for full glam, we like to create a highlighter body cream by mixing a small amount of liquid highlighter into our regular body lotion. We’re so obsessed with this hack that we created the ultimate, all-over body highlighter, our Huda Beauty N.Y.M.P.H, $49. It creates an insane glow that blurs imperfections and adds a stunning, sun-kissed tint to the skin.
For more makeup tips, check out 19 foundation hacks you need to know here.
Disclaimer: Every product we review has been independently selected and tested without bias by our editorial team. We never take payment to review products, although some brands allow affiliate links, so we may earn a commission if you purchase a product by clicking on one of our links.
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