Dear Belle,

My sister-in-law did my make last weekend and I loved it.  She used a highlighter powder on my cheeks and tried to teach me how, but I’m not getting it.  Do you use highlighter?  Have a technique you could recommend?  Product you like?  

Love the blog.  Christina

I love highlighter.  Once you start wearing it, you’ll never go back.  I have my Mom hooked on it too.  We use Hourglass Ambient Lighting (we call it our ‘magic blurring powder’).

I don’t apply my highlighter “correctly.”  I actually use it to blend out the edges of my blush.  I just buff it one with this Urban Decay brush.  It really smooths out the look.

Powder. This Byrdie.com tutorial is the easiest way to apply highlighter and should be more than sufficient for most wearers.  Along with the Hourglass powder, I can recommend this inexpensive e.l.f. Baked Highlighter and this Mary Lou Luminizer from TheBalm.

Liquid. Some readers will be happier with a liquid highlighter.  I use that when I really need to make my skin pop (photos, no sleep, etc.).  This Chantecaille liquid highlighter is the gold standard.  For something under-$10, this NYX Liquid Illuminator is perfect.  As for how to apply it, TBD has the tutorial.

Pencil. Looking for just a simple, easy highlighter look?  Adding just a bit of highlighter to the eye area can really make your eyes pop.  You can achieve the look with a highlighter pencil like this one from Anastasia or this $5 Milani highlighter.