Hi everyone! Summer is finally here (as I’ve noticed with my slight shoulder sunburn), and I’m all about a glowing makeup look. I don’t go as full-on as some people do with highlighter, but it’s one of my favorite makeup products. This post is a rundown on highlighting for summer. Read on if you’re a lover of glow or a highlighter noob!

The first step in summer highlighting is deciding which products to use. There are tons of great highlighter reviews out there, but I like the two shown above the most for my pale skin. The Wet N Wild highlighter has a great pink sheen and is very subtle. Comparably, the Benefit Watt’s Up is a bolder (and golder) highlighter. I like the Watt’s Up for sunny summer days. It does run a bit too gold for my nose and forehead though, so I stick with the cheeks mostly.

We’ll start with my glow-less face below. I did my foundation and concealer like normal.

There are several key points of the face for highlighter. If you use glowy and shimmery products like I do, you want to hit the points of your face that stick out. This includes the tops of the cheeks, the middle of the forehead, the chin, and the top of the nose. I put highlighter on all these places in this how-to.

You can also put a little highlighter on your cupid’s bow for an extra oomph. I started by putting Watt’s Up on my cheeks only. Like I said before, the color comes off strangely on my nose. I just apply the product directly from the package and blend it out with my finger (the sponge is fairly useless in my opinion).

For the nose, forehead, and chin I used the Wet N Wild highlighter. I use a soft brush, like this ELF concealer brush, to dust the product on the correct places (see the photos below).

I also like to use a setting spray for hotter days to keep the natural oils at bay. If you have an oily complexion like me, make sure to keep the highlighter off the areas where oil will show through (usually the T-zone). Otherwise, you’ll end up looking oily and shiny rather than “glowing”.

I hope this how-to explained the basics of highlighting to you! It’s a super fun summer trend that everyone is loving lately! Tell me your favorite highlighters in the comments below!

-Kate