How to Find the Best Highlighter and Unlock Its Power

You know that feeling when the sun gently kisses your face, subtly highlighting your cheekbones or the arch of your brows, making your eyes stand out even more? Beautiful, isn’t it? It’s no wonder that highlighter is one of the favourite makeup products. It comes in a variety of textures and shades, giving you exactly what everyone loves – a gorgeous, glowy effect whenever you want it.

Here’s what to consider when picking a highlighter and how to apply various textures for the best effect.

Why Highlighter Never Goes Out of Style

By now, it’s probably clear that we’re huge fans of highlighter. And if you ask us why, the answer is simple: no matter the makeup trend, occasion, or mood, it’s always welcome. And really – how could you not love it?!

Highlighter mimics the natural glow the sun casts on your skin. Its tiny, light-reflecting particles help you accentuate the high points of your face:

• the tops of your cheekbones;
• tip and bridge of your nose;
• cupid’s bow;
• brow bone;
• inner corners of your eyes.

It’s up to you to decide how you want to complete the look. Whether you’re the “more glow, the better” type or prefer a subtler finish, the options are endless.

A Delightful Dilemma of Choosing

Gold, silver, champagne, metallic, pink, purple, pearly… is there an end? How do you choose? Let’s be real – there are no strict rules when it comes to picking a highlighter. But, there are key factors that can make certain shades and textures top your wishlist.

Liquid and cream highlighters are perfect if you love the no-makeup makeup or dewy look – a fresh, radiant complexion with a natural glow. For a stronger, longer-lasting shine and that true glam effect, powder and pressed highlighters are ideal. Additional plus is that you can easily build them up to achieve your desired intensity.

Skin Type

As with many makeup products, your skin type plays an important role with highlighters too, as it affects how the product looks on your face and how long it lasts. If you have dry skin, cream and liquid highlighters are more suitable due to their hydrating, softer texture. Powder and pressed highlighters work well to mattify and control shine on oily skin, while combination skin can enjoy the best of both worlds. For example, our tip is to apply powder highlighter to the tip and bridge of the nose, where the skin is oilier. Use cream or liquid highlighter on the cheekbones.

Skin Undertone

Besides the tip that a highlighter should be one or two shades lighter than your skin tone, your undertone also plays an important role.

Tips and Tricks: If you’re unsure about your undertone, take a look at the veins on your wrist. Blue or purple veins indicate a cool undertone. Green veins suggest a warm undertone, and if you can’t tell whether they’re blue or green, you likely have a neutral undertone.

Now that you know your undertone, let’s see which highlighter shades suit each one:

• cool undertone – silver, champagne, pearly, pinky and soft metallic purple shades;
• warm undertone – earthy tones like gold and bronze, as well as warm champagne shades;
• neutral undertone – a mix of the above, and if you ask us, definitely warmer or cooler champagne and light gold shades.

Our Top Highlighter Picks

Okay, now that you know what to look for to find a highlighter that’s perfect for you, all that’s left is to add it to your cart, right? For those of you without a specific highlighter in mind, don’t worry. We’re here to make the choice easy.

So, if you have dry skin, our top recommendation is definitely Makeup Revolution Bright Light highlighters. With a liquid formula and a variety of shades, there’s no question – they’re amazing. They’re also great for precise application, and you can build up their glow as much as you like. For cool undertones, we suggest Strobe Champagne in a pinky-silver shade. Warm undertones are best complemented by the Radiance Bronze shade, while Divine Dark Pink is ideal for neutral undertones, giving a subtle rosy shimmer.

As we mentioned, pressed and powder highlighters, with their lighter texture and mattifying effect, are better suited for oily skin. In that case, the NYX Buttermelt collection is all you need. They blend flawlessly, are easy to build up and have long-lasting wear. But how do you choose a shade from these divine highlighters? Fortunately, we’ve figured it out. Our pick for warm undertones is Butta Bling in gold. For cool undertones, Butta Mint is the undisputed winner, while for neutral undertones, No1 Butta strikes the perfect balance of natural and irresistible glow.

For combination skin, highlighter palettes that mix cool and warm shades are a perfect match. One such palette is Makeup Revolution Ultra Pro Glow. Ranging from soft silver to striking bronze, all eight shades give you the flexibility to shine in any light.

Photo: Alexandar Cosmetics

Best Tools for Applying Highlighter

Unlike illuminator, highlighter is applied to specific areas of the face. Whether you use a makeup brush or your fingers depends on the texture of the highlighter you choose, but of course, your personal preference is the main factor. Here’s how we do it:

Fan brush is perfect for the cheekbones and nose. It’s because the shape allows for even application and smooth blending. For pressed and powder highlighters, a brush with natural bristles works best, as it picks up and holds the product more effectively. Our top recommendation is definitely Blush fan brush 30A. The softness of its natural bristles makes application even easier and more precise.

Tapered brush is excellent when you want to highlight not just your cheekbones but also areas like the tip of your nose. We recommend Blush highlighter brush for greater precision. Thanks to its synthetic bristles, it’s ideal for pressed and powder highlighters, creating a soft, subtle blend and a natural glow. It also doesn’t absorb products like natural-bristle brushes, making it perfect for liquid and cream highlighters.

Small precision brush is the perfect choice for highlighting the inner corners of the eyes, the brow bone and the cupid’s bow. Whether you prefer powder or liquid highlighters, Blush Master Line brush will become your go-to tool. Thanks to its blend of natural and synthetic bristles, it allows you to blend and build up different highlighter textures with ease and precision.

For seamlessly blending liquid and cream highlighters into the skin and achieving a natural finish, your fingers are the best tool, thanks to their warmth. We especially love applying stick products with our fingers, like Makeup Revolution Mauve Glow highlighter and blush. These creamy highlighters are already practical and easy to use. And, when applied with fingers, they give you a beautifully blended, long-lasting glow in no time.

Do you love highlighter as much as we do? Which textures do you reach for most, and which parts of your face do you like to highlight? Let us know in the comments!