How to use highlighter

Highlighters have become a must-have product in any makeup kit.

There are ladies who simply use a gentle sweep of product to create a subtle glow, then there are those who really get in there and end up looking like a reflective mirror ball.

There's no denying it; we certainly love highlighters - but there are times when we can get it completely wrong. Yes ladies, there's IS a right and a wrong way to use highlighters.

I consulted international professional makeup artist Raine Tauber, the Global Senior Artist at London, Paris and Milan Fashion Week - the perfect person to tell us exactly how to use highlighter.

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How to use it:

Basically a highlighter is supposed to bring certain areas of the face forward to emphasize them. The most commonly highlighted areas are the cheekbone and under the brows, however lately people have been highlighting other areas such as the bow of the lip, the nose and above the brows.

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Remember that highlighter contrasts the rest of the face that is not highlighted, so if your whole face is shiny those cheekbones are not going to pop as much. I recommend using a brush to apply powder highlight and your fingers or a brush for creams/liquids.

When deciding where to place the highlight try and imagine where light would naturally fall on the face - professional makeup artists call these the high planes of the face.

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At the same time, think about the places that get oily and that you wouldn’t want shiny eg: the chin and forehead and avoid using highlighter there.

There’s a difference between sculpting the face by using skin tone shades that are lighter or darker to create dimensions and highlighting - which is usually not just lighter than the skin but also has the textural element that reflects light.