Where to Apply Highlighter: Key Spots to Define Your Features and Add Glow
Highlighter is a small touch in your makeup routine with a big impact. But how? When you apply it to the right areas, you'll notice your features look more defined and your skin takes on a fresh, natural glow. In fact, it's not just you: the people around you will notice too. Let's take a closer look at the difference highlighters make on your face.
What Changes on Your Face With the Magic of Light? The Secret of Highlighter
Highlighter is a magical product in the makeup world. It creates a subtle illusion across your features. Of course, you'll only see the effect in the mirror when you apply it correctly. So what does it change on your face?
- It makes your cheekbones look lifted.
- It makes your lips look fuller.
- It makes your eyes look brighter and more open. In short, the radiance on your face lights up everything around you!
How Does a Touch of Highlighter on the Cheekbones Lift Your Face?
The cheekbones are one of the most important areas for making your makeup look flawless. To define your features and give your face a clear expression, your cheekbones need to be emphasized. And the best highlighter is the one you place on the right spot.
To create a lifting effect on your face, you need to find exactly where to apply highlighter. There are two ways to find the right spot. First, locate the highest point of your cheekbones and apply the product there. Second, imagine drawing a 45-degree line from the sides of your nose toward your temples, and apply it to the area along that line where your cheekbones sit. Either way, you'll find the right spot.
Where Should You Apply Highlighter to Make Your Eyes Look More Open and Expressive?
Expressive eyes are bright, open eyes. By applying highlighter to certain areas around your eyes, you can make your eye makeup flawless. But which areas?
- You can apply a tiny touch of highlighter just under your brow bone.
- You can apply a highlighter pencil to your inner eye corners to make your eyes look bigger.
- You can dab it on the center of your eyelid.
What's the Highlighter Secret to a More Refined-Looking Nose?
A slimmer-looking nose is in your hands! If you have highlighter and contour, let's get to the application. Here's a step-by-step guide:
-
Using a thin makeup brush that fits the bridge of your nose, sweep highlighter up the bridge to where your nose meets your forehead.
-
For this T-zone application, you can use a matte highlighter on the forehead area and a more shimmery highlighter along the bridge of your nose.
-
It's important not to bring the highlighter down past the tip of your nose. You can use a dark contour shade under the tip of your nose.
-
After applying highlighter to your skin, gently blend it with a makeup sponge or makeup brush.
Which Highlighter Spots Instantly Revive Tired Eyes?
- Highlighting your cheekbones lifts your face.
- Once you have covered dark circles and discoloration under your eyes with concealer, you can bring your eyes back to life.
- Applying highlighter under your brow bone makes your eyes look more open.
- A touch of highlighter pencil on your inner eye corners makes your eyes look bigger.
All of these tips help your face glow with a natural radiance.
What's the Highlighter Key to Fuller, More Attractive Lips?
You can make your lips look fuller and more attractive in seconds. Here are the steps to follow:
-
Exfoliate your lips. This removes dead skin from your lips. Hello, soft lips!
-
If you're using lip liner, it should match your lipstick. You can draw the liner just slightly above your natural lip line.
-
Now for the most important part! Where do you apply highlighter? Dab it lightly on your cupid's bow. This touch makes your lips look lifted and fuller.
Is There a Highlighter Formula for a More Defined Jawline?
A more defined jawline makes your face look slimmer and more sculpted. This look also makes your face appear more balanced. So how do you use highlighter in this area?
After prepping your skin and applying a makeup base and foundation, draw contour from under each ear down to the corners of your jaw. Keep in mind: if you have a double chin, this helps disguise it. Then apply highlighter to the tip of your chin. This brings the tip of your chin forward and gives your face a V-shaped look.
Bonus Highlighter Spots: What Are the Pros' Secret Weapons?
Makeup professionals keep more than one type of highlighter in their makeup bag: powder highlighter and liquid highlighter. They apply highlighters with different textures to different areas of the face. Liquid works well under the brow bone, on the inner eye corners, the bridge of the nose, and the cupid's bow; powder highlighter is ideal for the tip of the chin, the tip of the nose, and the tops of the cheekbones.
Common Highlighter Mistakes and Tips From Professional Makeup Artists
-
Applying highlighter to the wrong areas or all over your face makes your skin look sweaty. Applying it to the right areas gives your face a clear, defined expression.
-
If you don't choose a highlighter that suits your skin tone, it can look artificial on your skin.
-
Using the wrong makeup brush, or one with low-quality bristles, emphasizes your pores instead of distributing the product evenly.
-
Use just the right amount of product instead of too much; otherwise, the imperfections you want to hide will stand out. Also, be careful not to apply highlighter over problem areas.
Create Your Own Play of Light With Highlighter and Let Your Beauty Shine
Drugstore or high-end, whatever the highlighter, what matters is your glow! No one knows your face better than you, so you can create your own play of light however you like. While highlighter brands do matter on your journey to flawless makeup, what really counts is the formula, whether it suits your skin, and how you use it.
Where on the Face Should You Apply Highlighter? How to Catch the Light With Strategic Placement.
Quick answer: By targeting the high points where your face naturally catches the light, like the cheekbones, the bridge of the nose, and under the brows, you can give your skin a fresh energy with Alix Avien highlighter.
If you look in the mirror and feel your skin sometimes looks dull or far from the radiance you imagine, you should know it's really all about inviting the light to the right spots. As a makeup expert, my advice is to focus on the highest points of your face instead of applying the product at random. The tops of your cheekbones and the bridge and tip of your nose top the list. Small touches under your brow bone, on your inner eye corners, and on the tip of your chin also make your features look far more defined and dimensional. With this technique, you can easily achieve that healthy, fresh look with an Alix Avien touch, without wearing heavy makeup.
Liquid or Powder Highlighter? Choosing the Right Alix Avien Formula for Your Skin Type.
Quick answer: Choose liquid formulas for a wet, lit-from-within glow, and Alix Avien powder options for a more dramatic, intense effect applied with a brush.
Your skin type completely changes how your highlighter looks. If you have dry or combination skin, liquid highlighters are a real lifesaver, because they blend into the skin for that natural, dewy, lit-from-within glow. When I want a fresher everyday look, I usually like to apply liquid formulas by tapping them on with my fingertips. On the other hand, if you're heading to an evening event or want to emphasize your cheekbones much more strongly, powder highlighters are a better fit. Powder products are designed to set your makeup and create a more controlled, striking glow with the help of a brush.
How Can You Avoid the Most Common Highlighter Mistakes?
Quick answer: Applying highlighter to areas with large pores makes skin look oily, so target only the high points and choose Alix Avien shades that match your skin tone.
One thing I see often is the urge to glow getting a little out of hand and spreading across the whole face. When you apply the product to areas with large pores or a tendency toward breakouts, it unfortunately makes your skin look oily and makes the imperfections you want to hide more noticeable. Another critical point is shade choice. A shade that doesn't match your skin tone, such as an overly golden highlighter on very fair skin, creates an artificial look. You can avoid this mistake by choosing the reflect closest to your skin tone from the Alix Avien collection.
Where Should You Apply Highlighter to Make Your Lips Look Fuller?
If you want lifted, fuller-looking lips in seconds, just dab highlighter lightly on the center of your upper lip curve, known as the cupid's bow. This small but effective technique plays with light so your lip line looks higher and more defined than it really is. This touch adds wonderful dimension to your lips, especially when you're wearing a matte Alix Avien lipstick.
Which Highlighter Spots Should You Target to Instantly Revive Tired Eyes?
A small dot on your inner eye corners instantly makes your eyes look more open and bigger. If you want to erase the signs of a sleepless night, a soft touch under your brow bone can disguise that droopy, tired look around your eyes. These little tricks instantly give your gaze a more energetic, luminous feel.
