Okay, babes, I’m not gonna lie—highlighter might just be my favorite makeup product ever. Like seriously, who doesn’t want a gorgeous, dewy glow that makes you look like a glowing goddess, ready to crush the day? Now, I know we all LOVE that extra shimmer, but sometimes life gets busy and we need to speed things up. Enter these INSANE time-saving highlighting tricks that I’ve been obsessed with lately. Because let’s be real: nobody’s got hours to spare when there’s TikToks to scroll through, friends to FaceTime, AND coffee to sip. Am I right?
So, grab your brushes (or just your fingers, lol) and let’s dive into how to get that perfect glow in SECONDS. Whether you’re getting ready for school, brunch, or a party, these hacks will have you beam like your fave Snapchat filter, but IRL.
Hitting the High Points—Smart AND Fast 🔥
Alright, first thing first…everyone loves to recommend painting your WHOLE face with highlighter—which is a vibe for Instagram shoots, but for day-to-day? Nah. We’re going for the quick, “Who me? I just woke up like this” glow, which means putting your shimmery goods ONLY on the high points of your face. We’re talking:
- Cheekbones
- Bridge of the nose
- Tip of the nose (because, yes, that lil poppin’ glow makes all the difference)
- Cupid’s bow (for the PERFECT pout)
- Brow bones (hello, instant brow lift)
- Inner corner of the eyes (wake-up hack: unlocked)
By sticking to JUST those spots, you eliminate the back-and-forth brush action and save like half the time. Plus, the focal glow makes your features pop more—major two-for-one win!
Focus on cheekbones, brow bones, and your Cupid’s bow for that extra snatched look.
Get Lit Without Looking Oily 💡
Let’s talk product texture for a sec… because no one wants their face to look like it just came from an all-you-can-eat pizza buffet, right? The trick is using the RIGHT KIND of highlighter based on your skin type.
Creams & Liquids:
– Best for dry or combo skin; they’ll melt into the skin giving you that lit-from-within radiance.
– You don’t have to set them—yay extra seconds saved!
Powders:
– Excel in lasting power, especially for oily or combo skin. Also, super buildable if you’re going from daytime glow to an all-out nightlife ~vibe~. Just set it and forget it!
Best of all, liquid formulas can be dabbed on with your finger (seriously, we love a multi-purpose tool 💅). Start small. Like, we definitely don’t need to go full Rudolph with our nose highlight or anything. A single tap on each high point and bam: instant glow.
Mixing Highlighter with Your Base—Gamechanger 🥵
Here’s one of my FAVE hacks when I’m feeling lazy (which, let’s be real, is a lot of the time LOL).
Add a couple of drops of liquid highlighter to your foundation or BB cream. You’ll get a subtle glow that looks super natural. Perfect for when you wanna look dewy but not ‘makeup-y’—ya feel me? It also cuts down on layering tons of products after!
You don’t even need to act like you’re a chemist—just use the back of your hand to mix the two, dab it onto your face with a beauty sponge or your fingers, and you’re golden (literally). Try to hit only the high planes of your face with a little extra, like your cheekbones and brow bones.
Trust me, this trick legit gives you an out-of-this-world glow with minimum effort.
Mix some liquid highlighter with your foundation for that ALL DAY glow.
Fake the Glow: The Lazy Girl’s Guide to Highlighting 🙃
Okay, this one’s for my girls that wanna skip the whole blending situation… use cream eyeshadow sticks instead of a traditional highlighter. It’s super easy to control and you don’t even need a brush. Swipe it onto your cheekbones and nose, then blend out with your fingers. Boom, glowing face achieved in less than 30 seconds.
Another trick: if you’re really pushed against the time wall and can’t even deal, use a highlighting powder and a fluffy eyeshadow brush (yes, for your face). Hear me out! A smaller brush means more precise application, PLUS it’ll blend faster since you won’t have as much product on your skin.
Swipe on some cream eyeshadow as a highlighter and blend with your fingers—thank me later!
Highlighters That Double as Eyeshadow? Yassss Please 👀✨
Short on time? Kill two birds with one stone by turning your highlighter into eyeshadow. I totally do this when I don’t have 20 minutes to spend detailing my eyes but still want that shimmery pop. Simply swipe a little highlighter onto your lids—using your finger or a fluffy brush—and you’re good to GLOW babes.
P.S. A little pro-tip for when you want that extra extra shimmer is to apply it wet (aka with a damp brush). You’ll be ✨ GLEAMING ✨ proudly like a disco ball.
A Brush Ain’t Always Necessary (Sorry, Makeup Brushes! 😬)
Okay, hear me out. Brushes are amazing, don’t get me wrong, but don’t get discouraged just because your brush collection is feeling a little light! Your fingers are lowkey one of the BEST tools for applying highlighter. Especially with anything creamy. The warmth of your fingers helps melt the product into your skin, making it look more like skin and less like makeup.
Here’s how you can do it in three easy steps:
1. Apply the highlighter directly to your finger.
2. Tap the product onto your cheekbones with light dabbing motions.
3. Blend just a smidge with clean fingers to avoid harsh lines.
TBH, no brush can blend as seamlessly or quickly as warm fingers can. Plus, less cleaning brushes = more glow time, lol.
Highlight Choices for Different Skin Tones ✨
Important sidebar: not all highlighters are created equally, especially when it comes to shades. Picking the best shade for your skin tone is KEY for that radiant glow-up, so let’s hit on that real quick!
- Fair: Go for champagne or light pink tones!
- Medium/Olive: Warm golden shades are your bestie.
- Deep: Bring out that magic! Look for bronzy, coppery, or golden highlighters.
I made this quick reference for you:
| Skin Tone | Recommended Highlight Color |
|---|---|
| Fair | Champagne, Light Pink |
| Medium Olive | Warm Golden, Peach Tones |
| Deep | Bronze, Gold, Copper |
You can totally play around with these too! If you’re feeling like a pink highlight on a Tuesday, who cares? Live your best life, babe.
Glossy Skin Hack—No Highlighter? No Problem 💦
Okay, imagine this: you’re at a friend’s house and realize you LEFT YOUR HIGHLIGHTER AT HOME (dun, dun, dun 😱). Chill, it’s fine! Grab a lip gloss—YES, a lip gloss—and dab it on those same high points for an instant glow. Lip balm works too, but gloss just gives you a really dewy look. And bonus: it’s moisturizing, so your skin’s looking glowy AND hydrated. Two-in-one, baby!
If you’ve already got highlighter and wanna crank it up a notch, apply a little gloss on top of your usual highlight to get that glass-skin effect everyone’s obsessed with.
Practice Makes Perfect With Highlighting ⏱️
Last but not least: don’t stress if it doesn’t look Insta-perfect right away. Real ones know that practice makes highlights blend smoother and faster over time. The best part is you’re still fabulous either way, even if you accidentally go a little overboard with that cheek highlight (been there LOL).
The real flex here is FEELING yourself, whether you’re glowing on the outside or shining like the star you are inside.
Final Thoughts 🤩
So you see babes, highlighting doesn’t have to be this big, drawn-out process. With these quick-fix tips and a little bit of the right highlighting product, your glow game can be on lock without needing hours in front of the mirror.
From cream stick hacks to lip gloss stand-ins, there’s no reason not to embrace the glow 🤍 You’ve totally got this, and trust me—once you get the hang of it, nobody’s gonna stop that radiant energy from shining through.
Now go out there and glow like the sun, queen! 🌟
And if you have any other speedy makeup tips, drop them in the comments! Let’s make sure we all stay glowing AND on time 😉
