Light Working: Your Go-To Highlighter Tips to Make Your Face Come to Life

During the warmer (aka humid, balmy, unbearably sticky and sunny) summer months many of us work hard to fight the shine when it comes to our skin. We blot, we powder and we wash our faces just to try and avoid the dreaded greasy look that can come from constant sweating. But maybe we’ve got it all wrong. Maybe a little glow is actually a really good thing, and if you do it right, embracing a little shimmer in all the most flattering places can bring your complexion to life.

6The Best Highlighters To Try Today

Like any cosmetic product, picking the one that is right for you is key. We all have our unique features, skin tones, and skin types. Similarly, we all have different goals where our makeup is concerned, so staying in tune with what your skin needs and how you want to look is an important step in nailing the highlighter look. As a starting point, makeup artist Jenny Patinkin suggests that you think about the color palette that usually works best with your skin. She calls it the gold versus silver jewelry test. “If you find that gold earrings flatter your complexion, look for highlighters that have a warm bronze, gold or copper tonality. If silver or platinum jewelry is best for you, find a highlighter that has flecks of silver or pale pink in it. A warm-pink is neutral and works on most people,” she explains. 

Next, consider your skin type. If you have extremely oily skin, then a powder-based highlighter is probably best for you, as it won’t accentuate your natural shine, but rather complement your skin. What you want is to enhance your complexion’s glow, not make you look sweatier than you are. Martin recommends skipping a metallic highlighter if your skin is naturally shiny, and use a setting spray to help your look hold up in the humidity during warmer summer days. 

As far as the best highlighter products to try, there are certainly a lot to choose from. They come in a range of forms, from sticks to powders, creams, compacts and moisturizers, each one with its own unique benefits (convenience, customization, fool-proof, multi-purpose etc.) It’s hard to pick a favorite, but if we absolutely had to, this is a pretty good place to start.