Highlighters are a great way to get luminous skin, but we get that they're tricky to use. That's why we hit up the pros for their tips on how to work them.
Under your eyes: "Highlighter helps banish dark circles, since it diffuses any darkness underneath your eyes and creates a soft-focus effect," says makeup artist Laura Geller. She recommends applying a solid formula underneath your eye using your index finger from the inner corner to your outer corner; do this after you apply your foundation and before you put on your concealer so your skin appears even-toned and has that lit from within glow. Try Laura Geller Dream Creams Concealer & Highlighter Palette, $29.75, amazon.com, which comes with a highlighter and multiple concealer shades all in one.
On your cheeks: "Use a shimmery liquid formula to create a check mark shape to highlight your cheekbones," says Gilbert soliz, sephora pro lead makeup artist. Start near the inner corner of your eye, draw it downward at a slight angle until you're in line with your nostril, and then up along your cheekbone, blending it out toward your temple. This technique also instantly pushes the attention toward your eyes, since you're framing them with highlighter. Try this trick after you've swiped on foundation and before you apply your blush. We like Benefit Cosmetics High Beam, $26, benefitcosmetics.com.
Around your brows: "Brush on a powder highlighter above your eyebrow to give your eyes an instant lift, and below it to accentuate the eye," says Joanna Schlip, a celebrity makeup artist in Los Angeles. She says placing highlighter on the upper and lower areas of your brows helps define the shape, giving it an ultra-precise arch. Dust on a powder formulation lightly over already-applied foundation, using Physicians Formula Powder Palette Mineral Glow Pearl in Translucent, $11.32, amazon.com.
Carly Cardellino was the beauty director at Cosmopolitan. If you follow her Instagram, then you know she'll try just about any beauty trend or treatment once (the pics of her purple hair are on IG to prove it). But her favorite part about being in beauty is finding the most effective products, and then sharing that intel with others—because who wants to spend money on stuff that doesn't work? No one, that's who. Her most recent discovery: De La Cruz Sulfur Ointment, which will change your blemish-clearing game! Hopefully through the beauty stories she writes—and the experiences she shares—you can see exactly why she's in this business.
