Highlighter 101 #DitsyDecember

It's time 'Makeup 101' time again! And today, it's time to talk Highlighter! I think this has worked out pretty well really, because what better time to talk all things glowy and gorgeous than the festive season, right? If you're new to this series, it basically does exactly what it says on the in - I take each step of your makeup routine and give all of my top tips and tricks and generally walk you through it, step by step. So let's get into this latest edition, especially for #DitsyDecember... 

• Get your shade/undertone down... Personally, one of the main things you really want to nail when it comes to highlighter is choosing the right shade (with the correct undertone) for you and your skin-tone. I know at first this can seem a little difficult as honestly, most highlighters appear like they're a good shade for you when actually facing the light. So, perhaps the best way to know if a highlighter really is the one for you is to turn away from the light and see if it leaves a cast. If it doesn't - great! But if it does - it is likely too deep for your skin-tone. In terms of shades, there's so many colours you can choose from nowadays. From your classic golds, champagnes and silvers to something more colourful with pink, purple, blue or even green undertones. I guess it all depends on what you're after and again, what will complement your skin-tone the best. However, generally, I do think they all fall into two broad categories though - warm-toned and cool-toned. So, maybe if you tend to have a preference for one over the other, have a warmer or cooler skin-tone or are gearing your makeup look that day for one undertone over the other - having your highlighter fall under the same colour family might serve you well! I know myself personally that whilst I am of a paler skin-tone, I don't like my highlighters to be too frosty and silvery as that can too leave a cast - even if it is super light and bright. Instead, I generally much prefer warmer light golds, rose golds or champagnes - unless I want to go for something with a slight colour shift to it!
• Choose the formula and finish for you. Highlighter these days seem to be come in so many formulas. There's your usual powders, creams, liquids - but then each of those categories seem to have varying formulas within them too! You've got your usual powder highlighters, then some which are more cream-to-powder; with your creams you've got cream pots and cream sticks and then with your liquids you've got slightly both thicker consistencies and then also thinner, highlighter drops! And that's all only generally speaking - I'm sure there's even more if you look even closer. I guess again you just have to work out what formula is best for what finish you want and also what will likely work best for your makeup routine as a whole. Powders are great, 'easy' options that you can just take on a brush and go to town, whilst creams and liquids provide perhaps more versatility (in that you can use them before or during your makeup application and use them alone or as a base before using powder highlighters on top) but at the same time, require a little more time and patience to get them right.
• Pick your brush... A good brush is key to getting your glow on right and again, what one you want is all down to what kind of application/finish you're after! Want a more 'natural' sheen? A looser, more flimsy brush like a fan brush will likely be your go-to. But, perhaps you want a more intense, blinding glow? In which case - a more densely-packed brush is what you're after. And depending on how concentrated and specific you want your highlighter to be - choosing how small or large your brush is will be super important aswell. But generally, a super precise pencil brush will be a staple when it comes to highlighting around the eye area of course - so that's one I can give a more definitive answer on.
• Where to glow? Now - it's application time! So, where do you want to glow? Well again, it all comes down to how glowy you want to be and also, where you want the glow to be! You could just stick to the tops of the cheekbones, but if you want to really go all-in (like I always do to be honest) - you can take it up into more of a 'C' shape and take it up above your brow too. Basically, you want to take it anywhere the light would naturally hit - so you you can also take some on the bridge of your nose, Cupid's bow and even lightly on your chin too. And of course, don't forget to take some on a small brush as I said before and highlight the inner corners of your eyes and brow bone! Just make sure if you're gonna dust it more all-over like this, you do so more with a lighter hand - if not, you could just end up looking shiny and oily - and that's definitely not the look we're going for...
• If in doubt - use a spray! Last, but not least, if you really want a quick fix or just to add even more glow - a glowy setting/finishing spray is another format of highlighting that's become more and more popular these past few years. Not so much for actually locking your makeup in place, but more so just to add a nice, overall dewy finish to the skin. Perfect for if you want to amp the glow up even more as a final step or maybe if you want something even more undetectable than using a straight-up highlighter. Just make sure you give it a good shake before spritzing it over the complexion so ensure there's no chunky glitter about to ruin your entire makeup look...