Where to Apply Highlighter for Every Face Shape, According to Experts

Start With the High Points of Your Face

When it comes to applying highlighter, you typically want to start with the high points of your face, no matter your face shape. What are these high points, you may be wondering? They consist of your chin, temples, cheekbones, brow bone, bridge of your nose, and Cupid’s bow of your upper lip. “These are areas that hit the light and will make you look dewy, enhancing your skin and giving a youthful effect,” says makeup artist Selena Marchand. Celebrity makeup artist Emily Gray notes that by adding highlighter to these areas of your complexion, you “add a dimension of light to your face and make your bone structure pop.” While the chin is one of the high points of the face, Gray notes that not everyone needs to put highlighter on it. “I don’t like to bring attention to my chin, so it’s also about personal preference and what you want to ‘highlight,’” she says. She also makes an excellent point that “there should always be some sort of highlight to balance out any contour” in your makeup look.

As for applying highlighter to these areas, it depends on the type of highlighter you use. Marchand is a fan of dabbing highlighter onto these areas with her fingers, sharing, “I use my fingers, anything with a shimmer is better with your fingers rather than a brush.” Liquid and cream highlighters are easier to apply with your fingers anyway, though you can also apply powder highlighter to your skin with your digits as well. If you’d prefer to use a tool, you can do that too. Gray suggests a smaller face brush or a sponge. The SHAINA B MIAMI Highlight Brush is a fan brush is great to start your highlighter application with because it keeps it light. But if you want to build up your highlighter, we suggest using your fingers or the LUNA MAGIC Superstar Highlighter Brush. You can also use the small makeup sponges in the F.A.R.A.H All Glammed Up Sponge Set to help set your cream or liquid highlighter.

In case you needed some recs on the best highlighters to use, Marchand loves the BENEFIT COSMETICS Cookie Powder Highlighter and the TYPOLOGY T31 - Glow Drops with 5% Vitamin C + Aloe Vera (a great product for the rest of your body, which we’ll get into below). Gray has a few faves, the first being the CATRICE COSMETICS Soft Glam Filter Fluid. “You can use this under your foundation for something more subtle or you can put it on top for a more poppy highlight, either way with its extensive shade range, the highlighter will blend perfectly into your complexion,” Gray says. She’s also a fan of the CATRICE COSMETICS More than Glow Highlighter as a classic powder formula. “My favorite highlighter shade for the summer is 003 Beyond Golden Glow, which is a stunning golden hue. It’s silky and shimmery,” she raves. Her final option is a bit of a splurge but will give you that glowy skin you crave—it’s the CHANEL BAUME ESSENTIEL Multi-Use Glow Stick in the shade Sculpting. The cream highlighter stick “makes it look like you’ve had eight cups of water and eight hours of sleep. It adds a hydrating dewy look to your complexion,” Gray tells IPSY. What more could you want from a highlighter?

One final tip from Marchand comes in the form of picking the best highlighter shade for your skin tone. “Use a highlighter that is similar to your skin tone, she says. “So nothing too dark or gold on fair skin, and nothing too light on dark skin. You want to make it look as natural as possible.”

Next, Apply Highlighter to the Inner Corners of Your Eyes

Your highlighter makeup routine doesn’t end with the high points of your face; you can also apply a small amount of highlighter to your eyes. Gray says that doing so will “add light and brightness to the eyes and ‘open them up.’” It’s most commonly applied to the inner corners of the eyes, which Marchand recommends using your fingers for because “anything with a shimmer is better with your fingers rather than a brush.” However, you don’t need to stop there. Marchand says to “put it on your eyelids. I especially like a pink highlighter for the lids.” You can use any pink highlighter of your choosing, though we’ve found the ESTATE COSMETICS Dew Me Baked Highlighter works great over eyeshadow thanks to its creamy, buildable formula.

Gray also likes to apply the makeup product to the lids, sharing, “I like to apply it to the lid itself to open that area up. This is especially great for people who have hooded or smaller eyes; it gives the illusion of the eyes being bigger and more open.” She recommends using a cream highlighter that you can set so it will stay in place all day, or using a “powder that you can blend in with any other shadow.” We’re partial to the LAURA MAKEUP LABS Moods Eyeshadow and Highlighter Palette because it features eight matte shades that are made extra pigmented when mixed with one of the two highlighter options.

To Finish, Use Highlighter on Your Collarbones to Give Them a Natural-Looking Glow

Your collarbones deserve a touch of highlighter as well. “Unless you don’t want to look like a goddess, adding highlighter to your collarbones is never a ‘no,’” says Marchand. She suggests using a dense brush (like the ALGENIST Bronzing Powder Brush) to add some sheen to your collarbones. Both Marchand and Gray say it’s important to use the same highlighter on your collarbones that you used on your complexion, with Gray sharing, “I would recommend something that dries down or a powder highlight for the collarbones area, as to not get the product all over the place.” To bring attention to this part of your body, we love the BEAU BABE BEAUTY Liquid Highlighter. You can use it on your face and swipe it on your collarbones to bring a golden hour glow all over your body. We use this trick most often during the summer or whenever we’re wearing something that shows off our collarbones. We want to stress that it’s not ideal to do this when your chest is covered, as it will likely get all over your clothes and no one will see the hard work you put in to pulling off the look.

When to Opt for a Subtle Shimmer Versus a Bold Highlighter Application

Determining how much highlighter to use and when comes down to the overall look you’re going for and personal preference. For example, Marchand is not a fan of blinding highlighter, sharing, “If you will be seen in person instead of a red carpet, keep it on the natural side.” Again, it’s important to take a few other things into account when deciding to go for more highlighter. “I’m big on what balances everything out: face, outfit, location,” says Gray. “I try to take that all in before I make a decision about anything makeup related. For example, if I’m doing a clean girl-inspired makeup look, I’d opt for a soft highlight, while if I’m doing a full beat going out night makeup look, I’d be more prone to applying a bold highlighter.”

Of course, sometimes you change your mind throughout the day, especially depending on where you’re going. The good news is that you can layer your highlighter over your base makeup to amp up the wattage. “Adding a liquid highlighter will be more intense and you can put it right over your makeup,” says Marchand. You can also grab a fluffy brush and dab a powder highlighter over your makeup as well. Better yet, keep a travel-size highlighter in your bag with you at all times to intensify your glow with your fingers wherever you may be.