Where and How to Apply Highlighter on Your Face

What Is Highlighter Makeup?

Highlighter is a type of makeup product that reflects light to help illuminate your features. It can come in liquid, cream, or powder formulas and be subtly shimmery or nearly metallic. Regardless of the formula, though, the purpose of face highlighter remains the same: to give your skin a glowy, radiant-looking finish.

That being said, knowing how to use highlighter properly is key. Applying too much – or putting it in places the light doesn’t naturally hit – can result in an unnatural look. With glowy makeup like highlighter, a strategic, less-is-more approach is often best.

Where to Apply Highlighter to Your Face

When applying highlighter, you typically want to stick to the high points of your face (in other words, the areas of your face where the sun would naturally catch the light). We’ll dive into the details and explain where to put highlighter for a natural-looking luminosity, below.

1. Cheekbones

We’re starting with the most common place to highlight your face: the cheekbones. Highlighting the tops of your cheekbones can help emphasise your bone structure and give your face a lifted appearance. We suggest blending your cheek highlighter toward your temples for a soft, diffused effect – any stark or obvious lines will detract from the naturally glowy illusion.

2. Cupid’s Bow

Your Cupid's bow is the little indent at the center of your top lip (so named because of the shape’s resemblance to a bow). Highlighting this area helps to lift the lips and give them a fuller appearance and more defined shape. Just be careful not to highlight your entire top lip – we’re after a subtle glow here, not a shimmer ‘stache.

Editor’s tip: Overline your lips and highlight your cupid’s bow to instantly fake a plumper pout.

3. Brow bone

You may not give your brow bone much thought, but highlighting the small strip of skin beneath your brows can help make your eyes appear more open, create the illusion of a more lifted brow, and make your eyes pop.

4. Inner corners of your eyes

The inner corners of your eyes tend to be more prone to darkness than other areas of the face. Add some highlighter to brighten this area and give your eyes a more wide-awake appearance.

5. Under-eye area

Yup, this is a weird one, but it can truly work wonders. Like the inner corner of the eyes, the under-eye area can be dark, and highlighting is a useful technique for neutralising the appearance of dark circles. That being said, it’s best to avoid shimmer highlighters here – instead, opt for a luminous formula in a shade that closely matches your natural skin tone.

6. Center of your eyelids

Another great way to brighten your eyes (and overall look) is by adding a subtle highlight to the centre  of your eyelids. While this might not be fitting if you’re going for a nude smokey eye, it’s a great way to look more awake while adding some glow on no-makeup makeup days.

7. Bridge of your nose

Adding the smallest touch of highlighter to the bridge of your nose can help round out your glowy look and create a believable fresh-from-the-beach effect. Again, take care to use a light hand here – less is definitely more where nose highlight is concerned.

How to Apply Highlighter

Knowing where to put highlighter is only part of the equation – equally important is learning how (and when) to use it in your routine. We’re breaking down the must-follow steps below.

Step 1: Prep your skin

Proper skin prep is the key to getting the most out of your makeup application. Wash your face as usual, then smooth on a facial serum and moisturiser to help hydrate your skin. In the daytime, complete your routine with a broad-spectrum sunscreen to help shield your skin from the sun. 

If you need a recommendation, we’re partial to the L’Oréal Paris Bright Reveal Broad Spectrum SPF 50 Daily UV Lotion. It’s lightweight, non-greasy, and helps prime your skin for makeup – so you can skip your usual priming step and move right onto your makeup routine.

Step 2: Apply foundation and concealer

Next, even out your skin tone with a foundation. If a your-skin-but-better look is what you’re after, we suggest opting for a buildable foundation, like the L’Oréal Paris Infallible 32 Hour Fresh Wear Foundation, which is lightweight, breathable, and boasts a natural-looking finish. 

Then, go in with the L’Oréal Paris Infallible Full Wear Concealer Up To 24H Full Coverage to help conceal any spots that need a bit of additional coverage, such as your under-eye area.

Step 3: Add contour and blush

Learning how to apply blusher and highlighter as a combo, is the next important step in your glow-up routine. Before moving on to your highlighting step, sculpt and define your features with contour and blush. Choose your textures based on the finish you're aiming for – creamy for dewiness, powder for matte. 

Contour below the cheekbones and along the temples, then add a flush of colour with blush on the cheeks, blending towards the ears for a lifted appearance.

Step 4: How to apply highlighter with brush or stick

And now, the moment we've all been waiting for – highlighter time. If you're going with a highlighter stick like the L’Oréal Paris Lumi Les Highlighter Stick, you can swipe it directly onto the areas you’d like to illuminate – no tools needed. Liquid highlighters can be dotted onto the face and blended out with the tool of your choice (fingertips, brushes, and sponges all work).

For powder highlighters, you’ll need a brush. We suggest using a fan brush for your cheekbones and a smaller fluffy brush for the smaller areas like your inner corners and brow bones. Start with a light dusting and build up the product gradually to create a soft, diffused glow.

Step 5: Set

Last but definitely not least, you’ll want to make sure your glow goes the distance. A quick misting of the L’Oréal Paris Infallible 3-Second Setting Mist will help keep your makeup in place all day long, all while leaving behind a glowy, natural-looking finish.

Which Highlighter To Choose for a Gorgeous Glow

Cream, powder, and liquid highlighters all have their merits, and choosing which one is best for you ultimately comes down to what kind of look you’re after.

Cream highlighter

If you’re aiming to create a dewy, glass skin effect, cream highlighters are often your best bet. They’re buildable, blendable, and typically easy to apply, even without a brush or sponge. For a one-and-done application, try the L’Oréal Paris Lumi Les Highlighter Stick. These creamy highlighter sticks come in four shades – two glassy, two glowy – and boast a lightweight formula that melts into the skin for a gorgeous, multi-dimensional glow.

Powder highlighter

For those with oily skin, we suggest opting for a powder highlighter –these versatile formulas help add radiance without leaving your skin looking shiny or greasy. When using a powder highlighter, we suggest opting for a formula that offers buildable coverage so you can tailor your glow to your liking.

Liquid highlighter

Finally, there are liquid highlighters, which – as the name implies – have a fluid, liquid consistency. Like cream formulas, liquid highlighters tend to be relatively easy to apply and blend, even if you don’t have a brush or makeup sponge on hand (you can just use your fingers).

How to Use Glotion and When to Apply It in Your Routine

Glotion is a multi-purpose illuminating lotion designed to give your skin a healthy, radiant glow. Unlike traditional highlighters, which are typically more concentrated and applied to specific areas of the face, Glotion offers a subtle, all-over luminosity. It hydrates while enhancing your skin’s natural radiance, making it a perfect everyday glow booster.

How to use glotion? You can use it in several ways, depending on the look you want:

 ● As an illuminating primer: Apply Glotion to clean, moisturised skin before foundation to create a smooth, radiant base.
 ● Mixed with foundation: Blend a few drops with your foundation for a dewy, lit-from-within finish.
 ● As a final step: Dab onto the high points of your face – like cheekbones, brow bones, and the bridge of your nose –for a soft, natural highlight.

Glotion is ideal for anyone looking to add a soft glow without shimmer or glitter. It’s especially suited to those who want a more natural, glowy look.

Try the L’Oréal Paris Lumi Glotion in Fair Glow to effortlessly enhance your skin’s radiance and bring out your natural beauty, because glowing skin is always in.