Search iconsearch jane iredale products.
Close icon

Makeup Blog

The Best Highlighter for Every Look

  • 3 min read

BY CHELSEA SIMMONS

If you haven't heard, highlighters are here to stay. Adding a little highlighter to your cheeks or brow bones is not a new trend, but it is one that's been embraced by women no matter the generation they were born into. By applying brightness to specific parts of your face, you are able to emphasize those features, making them appear fuller and more youthful. The trick is figuring out which type of highlighter is right for the look you want to achieve.

best highlighter, purepressed base, in touch highlighter
If you want to learn more about the basics of highlighting and contouring, we have a blog post you can read. That article is the 101 class, and this one is Highlighting 102. Let's talk about our different highlighters.

Best Highlighter for a Dewy Glow

In Touch Cream Highlighter This stick formula is great for highlighting on-the-go. Just swipe it on, and blend it out using your fingers. This highlighter comes in two shades. Use Comfort, a coral shade, to create a sun-kissed radiance and Complete, a light pink shade, for a luminous glow. Smooth Affair for Eyes The Smooth Affair for Eyes primers are created to last. They help keep your eye makeup in place all day, but they can also be used by themselves as a highlighter. They're also easy to apply with your fingers or a Camouflage Brush. For a subtle golden shimmer, choose the Gold shade or pick Canvas for a hint of champagne.

Best Shimmery Highlighters

Dream Luminizer Trio If you want a highlighter for any mood, try the Limited Edition Dream Luminizer Trio. It contains three pearlescent powders to create a luxurious, illuminated finish. This trio is the perfect gift for your best friend, daughter, niece or yourself. So, get yours before they're gone! 24-Karat Gold Dust The name says it all, 24 Karat Gold Dust is perfect for the gilded goddess look. This shimmery powder created from Mica (a diamond pearlescent pigment), can be used on your cheeks, eyes, lips and even hair to give yourself an ethereal glow.

Best Multitasking Highlighters

PurePressed Base Our PurePressed Base foundation is the ultimate multitasker because it's your foundation, concealer, SPF and finishing powder in one. But, did you know you can also use it as a highlighter? Choose a color that's two shades lighter than your skin tone, and apply it anywhere you need a matte highlighter. This is our favorite product for a true highlighted/contoured look. Quad Bronzers You may see the word bronzer, and say "that can't be a highlighter," but guess what? Our quad bronzers are a multitasker's dream. You can combine all four colors to create a bronzy glow, but if you use the lighter colors on any of our four bronzers, you have a built-in shimmery highlighter. Our highlighting favorites are Moonglow and Peaches & Cream.

Best Under-Eye Highlighter

Active-Light Under Eye Concealer When you need to brighten the appearance of dark circles under your eyes, look no further than Active Light Under-Eye Concealer. This easy to apply concealer has a built-in brush for accuracy and on-the-go application. It's also formulated with nourishing antioxidants to help reduce the appearance of under-eye puffiness. You can also use Active Light to quickly and easily highlight the smaller areas on your face (e.g. your cupid's bow, the bridge of your nose and your brow bone).

Best Body Highlighter

Golden Shimmer Face and Body Lotion The wonderful thing about mineral makeup is you can use it on your face and other parts of your body. That means you can use the aforementioned highlighters on your cheekbones and your decolletage for a sultry night out, but we like to make things easy. So, if you want to add a hint of shimmer to your shoulders, clavicle, legs or any other body part (externally of course), Golden Shimmer is the product for you. It creates a subtle veil of shimmer designed to warm and smooth your complexion.

Show us Your Shimmer

We want to see how you highlight! Share pictures with us on Instagram by tagging @janeiredale and #BeautyWithBrilliance.
Chelsea Simmons

Chelsea Simmons

Chelsea began her beauty journey in 2010 as a fashion and beauty freelancer at Ladies’ Home Journal magazine. There she had the chance to test and review hundreds of products while quickly falling for the benefits the clean makeup she tried. After leaving the magazine industry, she worked as a publicist for international fragrance and beauty brands until 2016 when she landed at jane iredale. Here, she has discovered liquid eyeliner doesn’t have to burn her eyes, foundation doesn’t have to feel heavy, and that the jane iredale Global Educators truly have the best beauty hacks. Since then, she’s shared her 10+ years of experience with you on The Good Glow Blog.