Choose a highlighter in two steps: the texture first, then the shade. Powder suits normal to oily skin and a set, powdered base; liquid and cream suit dry skin and a dewy finish, and melt into foundation rather than sitting on top of it. For the shade, match the tone of the shimmer to your skin: pearl and soft pink look fresh on fair and cool skin, champagne and gold flatter medium and warm skin, and deeper skin wears gold, bronze and copper most naturally. Then place it only where light already falls. Below we set out each texture, the shades by skin tone, and how highlighter sits with foundation and blush, with the highlighters we have chosen for each.
What Does Highlighter Do?
A highlighter is made of fine, light-reflecting pigments. Placed on the high points of the face, it catches the light and brings those points forward, so the face looks more awake. It is the opposite of contour, which uses a matte, deeper shade to make areas recede.
Powder Highlighter
Powder is the easiest highlighter to control, and the one that wears best on skin that turns shiny through the day. Sweep it on with a soft, fan or small tapered brush, tapping off the excess first, and build in thin layers. Rimmel London High'Light Buttery-Soft Highlighting Powder is a pressed powder in a light beige shimmer, made to catch the light with a refined glow rather than obvious sparkle. Max Factor Facefinity Highlighter Powder is a shimmery pressed powder in a round compact, to sweep over the cheekbones, brow bones and the bridge of the nose. Sensai Supreme Illuminator is a silky, finely milled powder with sheer, buildable coverage, to wear over base make-up or alone. MAC Extra Dimension Highlighter is a pressed powder in a bronze-brown shade with a luminous finish, in a compact with a mirror.
- High'Light Buttery-Soft Highlighting Powder
- Facefinity Highlighter Powder
- Supreme Illuminator
- Extra Dimension Highlighter
Liquid Highlighter
A liquid highlighter gives the most skin-like result. Dot it on and blend with your fingertips, whose warmth helps it melt in, or with a damp sponge. Because it is so fluid, it can also be mixed into foundation for an all-over sheen. Glam of Sweden Liquid Champagne Highlighter has a sheer champagne tint and is made for both uses: a dot on the cheekbones, brow bone and cupid's bow, or a drop mixed with foundation. Dior Forever Glow Maximizer Highlighter is a lightweight liquid with a soft pink tone, to wear alone for a sheer glow or layered for more. Sensilis Skin Glow Pearl Liquid Luminizer is a pearly liquid in a pump, made with sensitive skin in mind, with hyaluronic acid, niacinamide and panthenol. Chanel Les Beiges Fluide Enlumineur Belle Mine Sheer Healthy Glow Highlighting Fluid is a sheer, water-based fluid that layers over complexion products for a healthy-looking glow.
- Liquid Champagne Highlighter
- Forever Glow Maximizer Highlighter
- Skin Glow Pearl Liquid Luminizer
- Les Beiges Fluide Enlumineur Belle Mine Sheer Healthy Glow Highlighting Fluid
Cream, Stick and Pen Highlighters
Sticks, pens and wands are about placement, and the simplest to carry for a touch-up. A cream stick glides straight onto the skin and is then softened with a fingertip; pens and wands hold a liquid behind a brush or sponge tip. Glam of Sweden Glow Stick Highlighter is a twist-up stick with a cream formula, to glide over the high points of the face and blend with fingertips or a brush. Artdeco Perfect Teint Illuminator Highlighter is a liquid illuminator in a pen: twist to release it, then brush it on and blend. Revolution Make Up Bright Light Beam Pink With Quartz Highlighter is a liquid in a slim stick with a sponge tip, with quartz and pearl powders for a fresh pink radiance. Essence Baby Got Glow Liquid Highlighter has a buildable champagne sheen and a soft sponge applicator.
- Glow Stick Highlighter
- Perfect Teint Illuminator Highlighter
- Bright Light Beam Pink With Quartz Highlighter
- Baby Got Glow Liquid Highlighter
Which Highlighter Shade Suits Your Skin Tone?
The right shade looks like light on your skin; the wrong one looks like a stripe of colour. Your depth and your undertone decide it. If you are unsure of your undertone, the checks in How to Choose a Foundation Shade and Undertone apply here too.
- Pearl: a white or icy sheen. Lovely on fair and cool skin; on deeper skin it can look grey.
- Champagne: a soft, pale gold. The most versatile shade, flattering on fair to medium skin of almost any undertone.
- Gold: a warmer, richer sheen for medium, olive and warm skin.
- Rose and pink: a fresh, flushed glow for fair and cool skin.
- Bronze and copper: for deep skin, where pale shimmer turns ashy. A bronze-brown such as MAC's Extra Dimension shows as light rather than as a pale streak.
If you would rather not choose, a palette lets you mix. Guerlain Météorites Illuminating Powder Pearls blends matte and pearlescent pearls for a balanced, natural luminosity, and can also set make-up; swirl a large, soft brush over the pearls and sweep where light falls. Bobbi Brown Nude Finish Illuminating Powder is a multi-shade pressed powder whose blend of tones gives a soft radiance rather than a harsh shimmer. Lylak Highlighter Palette pairs two pans in complementary tones, a mix of cool and warm. Magic Studio Highlight & Contour Palette holds two highlighters and two bronzers, matte and shimmer, so you can add light and definition from one compact.
- Météorites Illuminating Powder Pearls
- Nude Finish Illuminating Powder
- Highlighter Palette
- Highlight & Contour Palette
Where Should Highlighter Go?
Only where light would naturally fall. Stand facing a window and you will see the points:
- Cheekbones: place it along the top of the bone, above your blush, and sweep it softly up towards the temple.
- Brow bone: a fine line just under the arch of the brow lifts the eye.
- Nose: a thin stroke down the bridge, stopping before the tip.
- Cupid's bow: a dot, pressed in, makes the top lip look fuller.
- Inner corners of the eyes: a pinpoint of light to look more awake.
Keep it away from visible texture and from areas that turn shiny on their own. Highlighter brings forward whatever it touches.
Highlighter With Foundation and Blush
The order follows the textures, as with blush: like goes with like. Liquid and cream highlighters go on after foundation and concealer and before any powder, so they blend into the base instead of dragging it. Powder highlighter goes on last, after setting powder and blush. If you wear blush, apply it first, then place the highlighter just above it on the cheekbone, so the colour and the light meet and soften into each other rather than sitting side by side. A rose or pink highlighter links naturally to a pink blush; champagne and gold sit easily with peach and coral. We explain how to choose a blush by texture and undertone in How to Choose a Blush for Your Skin Tone.
For a sheer, all-over glow, mix a drop of liquid highlighter into your foundation. For the most luminous effect, layer a little powder in a similar shade over a liquid or cream.
In Short
If you are choosing your first highlighter, take a liquid or powder in champagne, the shade that suits the widest range of skin, and start on the tops of the cheekbones alone. Build in thin layers, check in daylight, and add the brow bone and cupid's bow once you have found the amount of light you like.
