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You'll light right up!
By Aly Walansky — Written on Oct 23, 2018
When applying your makeup, if you are looking for a bit more definition in your cheekbones, a great trick is to apply highlighter. Generally, the way to do this is in a diagonal line from just under the center of your eye and going toward your hairline. But don't forget to blend!
Another fun trick is to take your favorite liquid highlighter, mix it with your moisturizer, and get an all-over glow on your face. As for the best highlighter makeup to choose? There's a lot out there, but here are some of our favorites.
1. BECCA Cosmetics New Ornament Kit with mini Shimmering Skin Perfector in Champagne Pop
Pop the champagne and celebrate the holiday season with a limited-edition Pressed Highlighter in best-selling Champagne Pop. Packaged in a brand-new limited edition ornament for the perfect holiday gift!
(Becca Cosmetics, $19)
2. W7 Glowcomotion Shimmer Highlighter Eyeshadow
Glowcomotion can be used as a highlighter, shimmer or an eyeshadow. This handy pigmented compact comes with an internal mirror containing a super shimmering, highlighting powder with a subtle golden glow.
(Amazon)
3. Gabriel Cosmetics Cream Highlighter in Thistle
This vegan, all-natural and gluten-free cream highlighter illuminates the complexion with sheer color for an instant natural, lit-from-within glow. The silky texture blends easily into the skin and can be applied to the cheekbones, bridge of nose, arch of the brow, and cupid’s bow.
(Gabriel Cosmetics, $19.30)
4. JOAH Be My Everything Highlighter Palette
Three shimmery highlighters in one palette is amazing! Weightless, finely milled powder blends seamlessly into skin for a healthy highlight in just the right places. Use one highlighter at a time or blend them together to accentuate your cheekbones, define your browbone and glow, glow glow!
(CVS, $13.99)
5. W7 Beam Me Up! Dynamite Illuminator
Beam Me Up! is a range of concentrated, liquid highlighters that create highly pigmented glow on your skin. These can be mixed with your liquid makeup or applied on top to complete your look. Dynamite is a natural golden glow with a champagne pop.
(Amazon)
6. Strobe & Go! Pink Light Strobing Stick
Strobe and Go is a strobing stick perfect for your makeup bag! Apply along cheekbones and wherever that light hits for an instant pop of highlight. In two shades to suit a variety of skin tones, Strobe and Go sits lightly on skin and lasts all day... and night. Pink Light is a highlight stick with a shimmer effect.
(W7 Cosmetics, $10.50)
Over $20
7. bareMinerals BAREPRO Glow Highlighter
The only liquid highlighter that lasts up to 16 hours while instantly minimizing fine lines and wrinkles is here to make a statement. The long-lasting wear and luminous quality creates a blinding glow that leaves skin looking instantly firmer and more youthful.
(Ulta, $28)
8. INIKA Organic Certified Organic Cream Illuminisor
The perfect highlighter for all skintones creates a shimmery highlight look that is super dewy and appears as if it’s lit from within. With a cream formula that blends easily across the high planes of the cheeks, this illuminisor is buildable for a natural glow through to an ethereal highlight.
(Amazon)
9. Osmosis + Colour Lustrous Contour Duo
This gluten-free compact features a shimmering highlighter to accentuate your best features for a stunning finish. Plus, it even comes with a cool-toned bronzer, which will add dynamic dimension and help you define and flaunt yourself.
(Beauty Store Depot, $35)
10. IT Cosmetics Hello Light Anti-Aging Powder Illuminizer
The formula is infused with micronized pigments of light plus skin-loving ingredients including peptides, hyaluronic acid, hydrolyzed collagen, silk and vitamins A, C, & E, and IS free of all of the bad ingredients that make skin appear older, like talc.
(Ulta, $24)
11. Urban Decay Naked Illuminated Shimmering Powder
This silky powder contains a microfine shimmer baked on a terra cotta disc for 24 hours and then hand-finished, just like their popular Baked Bronzer. Baking the formula gives Naked Illuminated Shimmering Powder a high level of just-perfect shimmer.
(Urban Decay, $34)
12. Laura Gellar Baked Gelato Swirl Illuminator
This innovative hybrid texture applies like a sheer powder but feels like a cream, creating a translucent wash of luminous color that can be swept all over the face for a lit-from-within glow. A fresh 3-D design captures the look of your favorite Italian dessert, and lasts until the very last application.
(Amazon)
13. Anastasia Beverly Hills Dream Glow Kit
This powder highlighting kit featuring six ultra-reflective shades with multi-dimensional sparkle. These highlighters add intense luminosity and can be layered on the face and body for a radiant glow.
(Amazon)
14. Charlotte Tilbury Hollywood Beauty Highlighter Wand
This light rose gold liquid highlighter has reated pearls to boost brightening & highlighting to give a luminous complexion with a soft-focused finish, with light reflecting particles for a natural glow.
(Sephora, $38)
15. Fenty Beauty By Rihanna Diamond Bomb All-Over Diamond Veil
This diamond-dusted highlighter is gorgeous and there's nothing quite like it out there (much like Rihanna!). It applies like a 3D glittering veil, delivering pure, show-stopping sparkle all over the face and body.
(Sephora, $38)
16. Wander Beauty On-The-Glow Blush and Illuminator
We love beauty products that can get multiple jobs done at once. This blush and iIlluminator is a multitasking beauty enhancer that adds gorgeous color and luminous sheen to every complexion.
(Wander Beauty, $42)
17. HOURGLASS Ambient Lighting Powder
This is a collection of six universally-flattering finishing powders that recreate the most flattering light. It creates perfect illumination for your face, and the powder captures, diffuses, and softens the look of the skin.
(Sephora, $46)
18. Kosas Color and Light Creme Palette
Optically blended colors are designed and chosen to cultivate naturally radiant, lit-from-within luster on a range of skin tones for a universally flattering effect. Weightless, buildable formulas inspire intuitive application, with effortless blendable layering and soft, smooth finishes. Enhanced with nourishing face oils including marula, rosehip seed, grape seed, green tea, and myrrh.
(Aillea, $34)
19. Kjaer Weis Highlighter in Radiance
The cream formula and perfectly smooth, silky texture adds a summery “just kissed by the sun” finish to every skin tone. The warm pearl color also lends itself to use as a cream eye shadow, either by itself or on top of a darker eye shadow for a subtle, iridescent finish.
(Amazon)
20. RMS Luminizer X Quad
An innovative twist on cult-classic living luminizer, these four high-impact luminizers can be worn alone, blended for a custom glow, or mixed into any product for super luminosity.
(Amazon)
21. Maya Chia 'The Highlight of the Day' Illuminating Face Serum
The pearlized mineral sheen is suspended in an ultra lightweight, easily absorbed infusion of the world’s most nutrient-rich botanicals. It is makeup that is a treat for the health of your skin and what we hope will be a highlight to your day.
(Aillea, $42)
22. Lily Lolo Illuminator
This Illuminator is an ultra-soft light reflective powder that can be applied on the top of your cheekbones, shoulders and décolletage. It creates high impact highlights to create the perfect look. It contains organic anti-aging Argan oil and Pomegranate Oil.
(Aillea, $26)
23. SkinOwl Body+ Trio
Inspired by three of the earth's most precious gemstones, SkinOwl launcheD a trio of body + face illuminators intended to highlight, soften, and perfect the skin, while adding nourishment with uniquely penetrating and effective pure plant oils.
(SkinOwl, $78)
24. Stila Heaven’s Dew All Over Glimmer
Achieve a glossy, light-catching effect, without the tackiness. This product’s unique translucent, light-as-air base allows light to illuminate the pearlescent shimmers, and micro-fine glitters in their gossamer-light hybrid cream/powder base create a hyper-lustrous, glistening effect with a barely-there feel.
(Stila Cosmetics, $25)
25. Too Faced Love Light Prismatic Highlighter
This is a beautiful highlighter that creates a soft glow on skin, but not so much glow that it looks shiny (we hate that!). Plus, it's a rose-gold hue, which is great for many medium to darker skin tones.
(Too Faced, $30)
Aly Walansky is a NY-based lifestyles writer. Her work appears in dozens of digital and print publications regularly. Visit her on Twitter or email her at alywalansky@gmail.com.
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