GET THAT GLOW

International make-up artist offers pointers on how to work with highlighters for a look that pops, writes Gerry Cupido

HIGHLIGHTERS have become a must-have for any make-up kit.

While some women prefer a gentle sweep of the product to create a subtle glow others use too much and end up looking like a mirror ball. Either way, there’s no denying it – we love highlighters. But there are times when we get it wrong.

I asked international make-up artist Raine Tauber – who is the global senior artist at London, Paris and Milan Fashion Week – to break it down for us:

HOW TO USE HIGHLIGHTER

A highlighter is supposed to pull areas of the face forward to emphasise them.

The most commonly highlighted areas are on the cheekbone and under the brows, but lately people have been highlighting many other places too such as the bow of the lip, the nose, above the brows and pretty much anywhere else one could apply highlighter.

The power of a highlight comes from the contrast with the rest of the face; if your whole face is shiny, those cheekbones are not going to pop as much.

I recommend using a brush to apply powder highlight and your fingers or a brush for creams/ liquids.

When deciding where to place the highlight, try to imagine where light would naturally pick up on the skin, make-up artists call these the high planes of the face.

At the same time, think about the places that usually get oily and you wouldn’t want shiny – for example, the chin and forehead.

There’s a difference between sculpting the face using skin tone shades that are lighter or darker to create dimension, and highlighting which is usually not just lighter than the skin but also has the textural element that reflects light.

TIPS FOR DARKER SKIN

Be careful not to go too light with the shade as this can look ashy and grey on the skin.

Don’t be afraid to play around with colour highlighter, a lot of darker-skinned girls say to me they love the pastel-pink highlighter I use most often, but they don’t think it will work for them.

I love a pink and even lilac highlighter on a darker skin, you’ll never know unless you try.

Make sure the edges blend out seamlessly; the higher the contrast to the skin, the more visible a highlight but the harder to make it look perfect.

Blending the edges out with a clean brush is a great way to do that.