The Many Uses Of Highlighter...

Highlighter. A step that we once never did in our makeup and then suddenly, everyone's going cray cray for them. The perfect way to get your glow on - whether you're all about that subtle, natural-ish sheen or the kinda-blinding, 'can you see me from space' glow. I definitely fall into the latter category myself, but there's actually a fair few ways you can utilise your collection cause, if you're anything like me, it's likely to be pretty vast...

TO PRIME YOUR FACE - Got a gorgeous, glowy liquid illuminator? Instead of just using it as a stand-alone highlighter - perhaps give it a go allover your bare skin before applying your foundation to give an all-over glow and prime your skin at the same time? With some liquid highlighters having a similar, tacky feeling that most, good face primers do - you're sure to see it not only give you a glowy, lit-from-within effect, but also help keep your makeup on all day long too...

TO HIGHLIGHT (OBVS) - The obvious one, I know, but highlighters are of course awesome at - you guessed it - highlighting! Whether it's a subtle, natural sheen you want or something more blinding and glazed doughnut-esque - you're sure to find something that'll satisfy your glowy needs in the pretty vast selection that's out there nowadays. Go forth and glow, people! As for how, I'm sure you'll find more than enough ways in this very post right here...

TO MAKE YOU LOOK MORE AWAKE - Tired? Sleepy? Just feel like you're in need of a bit of a pick-me-up? Try popping your highlighter in the very inner corners of your eyes. It's pretty simple and straight-forward but makes the world of difference when you just want to look a little more awake and refreshed. I personally like really concentrating it in the very inner corner of the eye and then diffusing it out slightly onto the inner corners of the upper and lower lids to really awaken the eyes and get the best effect and I love the finished result.

TO LIFT YOUR BROWS - To lift the brows and - again - make you look more awake and just generally put-together, try popping a little highlighter underneath your brows and it'll do the trick nicely. Not only that, but it'll also add to the already pretty glowy, radiant look you've got going on - and who doesn't love that, eh?

AS AN EYESHADOW - You don't necessarily have to always use actual eyeshadows on the eyes - highlighters work great too! Whether you utilise a cream/liquid as a cream shadow, or a powder as a (you guessed it) powder variation - highlighters make for great, shimmery shadows on the ol' lids. It's also a pretty good shout for making use out of any highlighters you have in palettes that aren't really catered towards your skintone. Basically any colours and tones can be used on the eyes, so if you're a paler gal with some deeper highlights that just don't work on your skin, or a deeper gal with paler highlights in her stash - this may just help you actually get the wear out of them.

...OR EVEN TO PRIME YOUR EYES BEFOREHAND - Cream or liquid highlighters are great alone (as I said above) but they also make for a great base for whatever you want to place over the top. They'll do the job of priming your lid and helping things appear more pigmented and last longer; but their sheeny, shimmery formula also means that whatever you use over the top will appear a lot more glowy. Great for if a shimmer-heavy look is on the card, or even if you want to add more dimension to a fully-matte look.

TO SLIM YOUR NOSE - To not only add some extra glow, but also help to slim the nose - try popping a little highlighter on the very bridge of your nose. The light adds radiance, and also makes things appear more slender and so if actual nose contouring isn't so much your kinda thing, or you're maybe not too good at it and want an easier alternative - this may just be right up your street. Who needs a nose job, eh?

TO MAKE YOUR LIPS LOOK BIGGER - Whilst we're all about making our noses appear more slim and small, an area where I feel everyone is up for making appear larger and more plump is the lips. Unless you're already naturally blessed with an Angelina Jolie-style pout, of course. Personally, my lips aren't too small but I'm always up for making them look fuller and one way that I've found is perfect for achieving that look is applying the tiniest amount of your highlighter to the very centre of your lips. I know usually it's recommend to add some to the cupid's bow to get that plump effect, but I find doing this aswell (or even instead) to work even better. It's where the light would naturally hit and so simply helps to naturally enhance that effect and - as a result - make your lips look nice and juicy. Mwah!

TO MAKE YOUR OWN METALLIC-EFFECT LIPSTICK - Metallic lips are all the rage at the moment and if you're in the mood to try the trend out for yourself but you're a little scared to purchase a proper metallised lippie without knowing whether you'll actually like/suit it or you simply don't want to break the bank - try popping a little highlighter over the top of a 'normal' lipstick of your choice. It won't give the exact kind of finish, but it's pretty darn close and it's worth a go before you go all out and buy anything new. 

TO GLOW-UP YOUR BODY - Finally - if you want the radiance to carry on past your complexion and you want everything to match up nicely, try adding some extra glowy goodness to your body too. Pop some highlighter on your collarbones, tops of your shoulders or even down the centre of your lower legs and you're all set for that J Lo-inspired glow. Ooooh yeah...