Glitter and glam up your complexion with the magic of facial highlighter. “How Do I Use Highlighter on My Face” is a comprehensive guide that will walk you through the steps to achieve the radiant and healthy glow you’ve always wanted. Get ready to catch admiring glances as you skillfully illuminate your facial features with this magical beauty tool. Packed with pro tips and tricks, you’ll discover how to apply highlighter to those key areas of your face to accentuate your natural beauty, achieve that dewy look and literally shine from within. This article is going to be your one-stop-shop to perfect that flawless and youthful glow. So, let’s swirl our brushes and embark on this journey together!
Understanding The Purpose Of A Highlighter
Highlighters are a game-changer in the world of makeup. They enhance your skin’s natural glow and give your face a beautiful radiant look. When applied correctly, they contour defined edges and sleek highlights, adding depth and dimension to your face, making your best features pop.
The Importance of Highlighting
Highlighting is crucial in achieving a well-rounded makeup look because it provides a contrast against shaded areas, giving your face a three-dimensional appearance. Without highlighting, the face can look flat, especially under photography or stage lights. The contrast that comes from highlighting gives a more sculpted, defined look to your face.
Benefits of Using a Highlighter
Using a highlighter not only makes you look glowing and radiant, but it also helps define your facial features. It draws attention to the areas of your face where the light naturally hits, such as your cheekbones, nose, and brow bones. When placed in these areas, your highlighter can make your skin look youthful and healthy, boosting your overall look.
Choosing The Right Highlighter
Just like you have a perfect shade for your foundation, you also have an ideally toned highlighter that fits you. The key to choosing the right highlighter is understanding your skin undertones and knowing which highlighter formulation works best for your needs.
Understanding Skin Undertones
Your skin undertone plays a significant role in determining what highlighter shade will look best on you. For example, if you have warm undertones (yellow or golden), you should opt for a highlighter with a warm golden hue. If your undertones are cool (pink or blue), a highlighter with a silvery sheen will suit you better.
Types of Highlighters: Liquid, Powder, and Cream
Highlighters come in various formulations: liquid, cream, and powder. Liquid highlighters are versatile and can be used with or without foundation. They offer a dewy finish that can be subtly blended for a natural look or built up for a bold, high-gloss finish.
Cream highlighters are great for achieving a natural, soft glow, which makes them perfect for normal to dry skin types. Powder highlighters are often highly pigmented and provide a more noticeable, shimmery glow. They’re ideal for combination to oily skin types.
Choosing a Highlighter Based On Occasion
In choosing a highlighter for different occasions, think about the end look you want to achieve. For casual, daytime events, a subtle, natural-looking highlighter is preferable. Meanwhile, for evening events or occasions where lots of photographs will be taken, a bolder highlighter that offers more contrast might be more appropriate.
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Prepping Your Face For Highlighting
Before applying your highlighter, make sure your skin is properly prepped to ensure the best results.
Skin Care Routine For Better Makeup Application
Consistent skincare is key to better makeup application. Make sure your skin is clean, exfoliated, and well-moisturized before applying any makeup. Seemingly trivial steps like cleansing, toning, and moisturizing can make a significant difference in how your makeup sets on your skin.
Using Primer
Primer is a makeup base that helps your makeup last longer and appear smoother. When applied before makeup, it fills in and blurs out pores and fine lines, providing an even surface for makeup application. By using a primer, you’re setting a suitable base for your highlighter, making it stand out better.
Highlighting According To Your Face Shape
Knowing how to highlight according to your face shape can emphasize the beauty of your natural bone structure.
Highlighting For Oval Face
If you have an oval face shape, you can use a highlighter on your brow bone, middle of your forehead, down the center of your nose, and chin to enhance your features.
Highlighting For Round Face
If your face is round, applying the highlighter along the middle of your nose, above the eyebrows, and on the tops of your cheeks can help elongate it.
Highlighting For Square Face
For a square face, avoid the corners and concentrate on highlighting the center of your face, such as your cheekbones and the middle of your forehead and chin.
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The Correct Way To Apply Highlighter
Knowing where and how to apply your highlighter is just as important as choosing the right one for you.
Highlighter Application Tools
You have several options when it comes to highlighter application tools – you can use a brush, a sponge, or even your fingers depending on what you’re most comfortable with and the result you want to achieve.
Blending Techniques
Proper blending is key to achieving a natural-looking glow. A fan brush or a sponge can help diffuse the highlighter across your skin, creating a radiant shimmer rather than a stark, shiny patch.
Order of Makeup Application
For achieving the best results, apply your highlighter after your base makeup (foundation and concealer) and before your blush and bronzer. This is because highlighter is used to enhance the highest points of your face, where the light naturally hits.
Mistakes To Avoid When Highlighting
While highlighters can transform your look positively, some common mistakes can leave you with an unflattering finish.
Common Highlighting Errors
Using too much highlighter is a common error. Less is always more when it comes to highlighter. Another common mistake is using the wrong shade for your skin tone. As mentioned earlier, it’s crucial to choose a shade that blends well with your skin and complements your undertone.
How to Fix Highlighting Mistakes
If you’ve accidentally applied too much highlighter, lightly apply a dab of foundation on top to mute it. As for color corrections, using bronzer or blush can help balance out a highlighter that’s too light or dark.
Highlighting Tips For A Natural Look
If you’re aiming for a subtle, natural glow, here’s what you need to do.
Choosing a Highlighter For A Natural Finish
Choose a highlighter that closely matches your skin tone or is just one shade lighter. A highlighter that is too light or too dark can look harsh and unnatural.
Technique For a Subtle Glow
To achieve a subtle glow, apply the highlighter sparingly on the areas where the light naturally hits your face: the tops of your cheekbones, the bridge of your nose, and your cupid’s bow.
Highlighting Tips For A Glam Look
If you’re going for a glam, standout look, your approach would be slightly different.
Choosing a Highlighter For The Glam Look
Choosing a glittery or shimmery highlighter will help you achieve a bold glam look. You can also opt for highlighters that are a shade or two lighter than your skin tone for a more noticeable glow.
Technique For a Shiny, Standout Finish
The highlighter should be applied in more conspicuous areas, like the inner corners of your eyes, the center of your forehead, and even your collarbones, depending on your outfit.
How To Highlight Specific Facial Features
Certain facial features can benefit more from highlighting, including the nose, cheekbones, and the brow bone.
Highlighting The Nose
By applying some highlighter on the bridge of your nose, you can help make it appear straighter and more pronounced. A touch of highlighter at the tip can make the nose look upturned.
Highlighting Cheekbones
Highlighting the tops of your cheekbones can help create the illusion of higher, more defined features. Just apply a bit of highlighter on your cheekbones and blend it upwards to lift your face.
Highlighting The Brow Bone
Applying highlighter on your brow bone directly beneath your eyebrow arch plays up your eyes and gives them a lifted, more awake look.
Taking Care Of Your Highlighting Products And Tools
Caring for your makeup products and tools is essential in extending their lifespan and maintaining their quality.
How to Clean Makeup Tools
Your highlighter brush or sponge should be cleaned at least once a week to prevent makeup build-up and bacterial growth. You can clean them with a mild, gentle soap and warm water, then let them air dry.
How to Store Highlighter Makeup
Store your highlighter makeup in a cool, dry place. It’s important to avoid exposing your makeup to heat and humidity to prevent it from deteriorating. With the right care and usage, a highlighter can be your go-to tool for creating a versatile range of makeup looks.
