How do you make your skin look luminous? One crucial piece of the puzzle is highlighter. “A touch of highlighter gives you such natural radiance, you hardly need any other makeup,” Mally Roncal, a makeup artist to the stars, has enthused to Woman’s Day.

She added: “Once women try it, they never want to go without it.” So, how can you use it to a standard worthy of a makeup artist? There are many dos and don’ts to the process, but here is a beginner-friendly introduction to the main steps.

Select a suitable highlighter shade for your skin 

Most highlighters are gold in either shade or undertone — for the simple reason that warm highlighter shades can bring a pleasant glow to the majority of skin tones.

However, it can remain worthwhile for you to keep your particular skin tone in mind when choosing a highlighter shade. After all, peaches, corals, and tangerines look great on medium or medium-dark tones, while a relatively red highlighter can make darker skin discernibly pop.

Consider opting for a liquid highlighter 

If you currently have a few stick highlighters scattered around your makeup table, you might want to think about buying a liquid highlight product for your next makeup session.

That’s because a liquid highlighter will have a creaminess that doesn’t come as standard with a stick alternative.

Though it is possible for you to make the results from a stick highlighter creamier by using it with lip balm, why not buy just the one product in place of two?

 

applying liquid highlighter

Apply highlighter in a C shape

To figure out where your highlighter should go, smile and place your finger on your cheekbone. That’s your cheek’s apple — and you should start applying your highlighter roughly two millimetres above that.

From there, blend the makeup outwards in a C shape that goes to the orbital bone and the side of your eye — and ends at the bottom of your brow. Roncal advises: “To prevent yourself from going overboard, apply [the highlighter] in natural light.”

Strategically place highlighter elsewhere on the face 

You ought to, for example, gently tap some highlighter just above the middle of your top lip, as doing so will assist in making it look fuller.

However, there are some facial areas where highlighter shouldn’t go — such as on your temples, lest you inadvertently make your face appear wider.

Another no-no is highlighting your chin. “It’s just weird,” Daniel Martin, a makeup artist who has served Meghan Markle, told The Cut.

Highlight your nose, but be subtle with it 

Putting excessive highlighter on the nose can leave it too shiny. Nonetheless, adding just a little bit of highlighter to the nose can accent its bones and make it look slightly more angular.

How exactly can you achieve this subtle but impressive effect? One trick is to avoid dipping back into your highlighter. Instead, you should use highlighter left over from your efforts earlier in the session. Lightly drag this highlighter down your nose’s bridge before tentatively tapping the nose’s tip.