Highlighting Makeup: How To Get That 'Lit From Within' Glow & Products To Use

 A highlighter is typically a makeup product with a pearly finish that's used on the highest points of the face to make them pop or other areas you want to bring emphasis to. Being blessed with finely milled pearlescent or shimmery particles, the highlighted areas reflect light and enhance your natural features by giving them a more lifted look. Consider highlighting the last finishing touch to your beat face routine to add that luminosity, which gets stripped of the face when you layer product on product for acing your base. 

When it comes to formulas, the beauty industry has blessed us with a flood of highlighting products to choose from, all with different textures, from chunky glittery powder highlighters to gel-like clear ones for that dewy look, and even liquid ones for those who find powder highlighters difficult to blend. If we go to the 'skin-type' discussion, folks with oily skin beauties should go for powder highlighters that stay put throughout the day, while folks with dry skin should go for liquid or cream formulas that keep the skin moist while providing a subtle glow. However it must be known that nothing is set in stone; you can use whatever works well for you.

As far as colours are concerned — champagne, gold, rose gold and subtle silver remain popular choices but it's always better to keep experimenting and finding the right one for you according to your liking. You can even opt for blush-lighters or shimmery blushes that have both the pigment of a blush and the pearly particles of a highlighter if you feel that layering two different products ends up giving you what they call a 'cake face'.

As mentioned before, you are supposed to apply highlighter on the high-points of your face that require some prominence. Think about where the light would hit your face first — your cheekbones, bridge of the nose, top of the forehead and chin. If you want to learn about the application in detail then keep on reading.

For a lifted look, highlighting your cheekbones is a must. Even though contouring plays an indispensable role in sculpting the cheekbones, it is the highlighter that seals the deal and reflects the light that hits the face just right. An essential rule while applying highlighter on your cheekbones is to understand that highlighter is placed above your contour and blush, literally above your cheek's bone structure because you want to avoid applying it anywhere below for a drooped down look. 

Pro-tip: Want to learn how to contour like a pro? Check out our ultimate guide here.

To elongate your face, highlighting the bridge of your nose a trick used by many pro MUAs. You can also apply the lightest amount of highlight to the tip of your nose to give it a button nose effect. Opt for a soft highlighter with minimum glitter particles for a more natural look.

Nope, we don't mean that you need to strobe your whole forehead here. The hack we use is to apply the slightest amount of highlighter just above the arch of your eyebrows for giving your forehead that hit of glow that looks stunning in pictures. We would suggest using a liquid or cream highlight for this area over powder ones for a more seamless finish that looks like that 'I don't sweat, I glow' situation.

Highlighting below the brow bone became a thing in the past few years when a few popular makeup artists like Ariel (Kylie Jenner's MUA) started using this trick for a lifted brow effect. Not only does this add dimension and a natural glow but also adds shape and defines your eye area, making them look bigger.

An easy-peasy hack to make you eyes appear more open and brighter, inner corner highlighting always helps draw more attention to your eyes. However, it is suggested to highlight the inner corners if the eyes are close set as highlighting gives the appearance of a wider set eyes in which case you should try applying the highlight on the inner third of your lower lash line without going into the corner.

Try using a highlighter in the shade that compliments your skin's undertones if you are going for that undetectable no-makeup makeup look.

Make sure the highlighter is completely blended using your finger tips, a rounded brush with soft bristles or a beauty sponge for a seamless glow that looks natural. Avoid any stark harsh lines.

Refrain from using highlighter over areas you have problematic skin like enlarged pores or breakouts as shimmers would settle into them and highlight them even more.

Try using soft matte or satin finish base products (foundation and concealer) instead of dewy products to avoid looking like a glow ball.

This one's a dual-ended product which has a pearlescent cream highlighter that features a silky formulation that glides on effortlessly to give a sheer, buildable hit of luminosity to the skin on one end. On the opposite end, you have a transparent gel-based balm containing moisturising argan oils and hyaluronic acid to lend a dewy veil to the skin. All in all, a revolutionary product for those who enjoy wearing natural-looking highlighters over shimmery ones.

Popularly known as the dupe for Charlotte Tilbury's Flawless Filter, this liquid glow booster can be used in several ways — an illuminating primer under your base, a strobe cream for highlighting over your makeup or as it is on bare skin for adding a little something. The e.l.f. Halo Glow has slight coverage to it so make sure you choose your shade only after swatching it in store. From what we have heard, this one performs even better than the CT one which looks slightly more shimmery on the skin.

Check out our complete list of the 15 best highlighters available in India here.