This is our guide to highlighters for anyone who wants cheekbones that glow like healthy skin, not glitter. The best one for you suits your face and your budget. We picked six favorites, from a $5 drugstore steal to a couple of splurges, with soft and bold options and shades for fair, medium and deep skin.
Our biggest tip is to choose the formula before the shade. Dry or mature skin usually looks best with a liquid or cream, since there’s no powder to catch on dry patches. Oily skin does better with powder, which lasts longer and won’t add extra shine. Below, the six are in the order they go on your face, from glow you mix into your base to powders that go on last.
Formula and shade, sorted
Liquids and glow lotions are the softest of the bunch. They spread thin, blend right into your foundation and look great on bare skin too. Creams and sticks melt in for that wet-look sheen, and they’re the kindest to fine lines. Powders sit on top of your skin, so they look brighter and last longest, but they can cling to dry patches, peach fuzz and pores.
For shade, fair skin looks prettiest in pearl, champagne or soft pink, while medium and olive skin shines in warm champagne, gold or peach. Deep skin glows in gold, bronze or copper. If you’re stuck between two, a warm champagne or gold suits the widest range of skin tones. Skip very white or icy shades if you’re medium or deep, because they turn ashy and flash white in photos.
Want more help deciding? Check out powder vs liquid highlighter and our cream highlighter guide.
Glow that goes under or into your foundation
If you’re new to highlighter, start with L’Oréal Paris True Match Lumi Glotion. It’s a tinted glow lotion with fine shimmer, glycerin and shea butter that gives a sheer glow like healthy skin, not makeup. Wear it on its own, under foundation or mixed right in, and try it on your collarbones and shoulders too. It’s perfect for dry or mature skin and those mornings you want to look well rested. Pick a shade close to your skin for all over, or go one lighter for your cheekbones. The five shades run from Fair and Light to Medium, Deep and Rich, which is great range for about $15.
Liquid glow with a cushion tip
Once your foundation is on, the Charlotte Tilbury Hollywood Beauty Light Wand in Spotlight is a liquid highlighter with a cushion tip that puts color right where you want it. Spotlight is a warm rose gold with a soft, candlelit glow that’s dewy, not sparkly, and it melts into your base in a few taps, which makes it hard to overdo. Dot it on your cheekbones, brow bone and above your upper lip, then blend with your fingers. It’s especially flattering on medium and olive skin, and about $31. If you love a two-in-one, the Glowgasm shades like Pinkgasm work as highlighter and blush.
A stick for busy mornings and touch-ups
The Milk Makeup High Light Highlighter Stick is the fastest one here. It’s a creamy stick with hyaluronic acid, ceramides and oils, the glow has zero glitter, and it lasts up to eight hours. Swipe it along your cheekbone and tap the edge with a finger to blend, and that’s it. Toss it in your bag for travel or a touch-up halfway through a night out. Fair skin looks great in Lit (champagne pearl) or Rad (pink pearl), Mars (golden peach) suits medium skin, and Glitzed (pinky bronze) suits deep skin. Turnt is a white gold pearl. It’s about $28.
A soft cream in a tiny pot
For the most subtle glow on our list, RMS Beauty Luminizer is a little pot of cream highlighter made with castor and coconut oils, beeswax and mica. It never looks greasy or glittery, and on dry or mature skin it looks like moisture, not makeup. Warm a little on your fingertip and press it onto your cheekbones, over foundation or bare skin. The pot is small at 0.17 ounces, but a tiny bit goes a long way. Shades include Living, Peach, Magic, Champagne Rosé and Crystal Slipper, and it’s about $36.
A $5 powder with a big glow
Powders go on last, once your base is set, and wet n wild MegaGlo Highlighting Powder is the easiest way to try one. This soft pressed powder has a bright, pearly finish for your cheekbones, brow bone and the dip above your upper lip. One light tap gives a clear glow, and a second layer takes it straight to party mode. It’s great for oily or combination skin. Precious Petals is a soft, natural pink, and Blossom Glow and Golden Flower Crown round out the shades. At about $5, it’s an easy yes.
One powder for the office and a big night
The Hourglass Ambient Strobe Lighting Powder is a smooth pressed powder that glows without any glitter. Sweep it on with a dry brush for a sheer glow over a set base, or press it on with a damp brush when you want more shine, so one compact covers a workday and New Year’s Eve. It’s made without parabens, fragrance or talc, and it’s a favorite for oily skin. Fair skin suits Incandescent (opal pearl) or Iridescent (soft pink), Euphoric (beige pearl) suits medium skin, and Brilliant (shimmery gold) suits deep skin. About $46.
Where to put it so you glow, not glitter
Put highlighter wherever light naturally hits your face, like the tops of your cheekbones sweeping up toward your temples, your brow bone and the little dip above your upper lip. For a two-second extra, try an inner-corner highlight. Keep it off breakouts and big pores, since highlighter shows off whatever it sits on.
Go slow and build it up, tapping the extra powder off your brush and blending the edges of creams right away. Before you head out, check your face in daylight and take a quick flash photo to make sure it reads as glow. If you’re not sure where it goes next to blush and bronzer, our guide to blush vs bronzer vs contour has you covered.
One quick note on eyes: the FDA advises against using makeup near your eyes unless it’s made for that. If your highlighter isn’t labeled for eyes, keep it on your cheekbones and brow bone, and off your lids and the inner corner by your tear duct. You’ll find more face ideas in the makeup archive.
