Highlighter 101: A Guide To Different Types of Highlighter Makeup
We like to think of highlighter as the final flourish to any foundation look.
But what does highlighter makeup do? By emphasising the areas of your face where light would naturally hit, highlighter mimics your skin’s natural glow to bring brightness and dimension back to your features.
These days, there are many different types of highlighters that makeup lovers can choose from – from subtle stick highlighters that amp up your inner glow to metallic powders that deliver high-impact shimmer for a night out.
In this guide, we’re giving you a crash course on the different types of highlighter makeup, and how to choose highlighter that works for your skin type and tone.
Find your ultimate highlighter match below!
What is highlighter makeup?
Highlighter is a type of makeup designed to illuminate the hight points of the face: the tops of the cheekbones, the bridge of the nose, brow bone, cupid’s bow, and even the inner eye corner. This draws attention to these facial features, giving the skin a luminescent, youthful-looking glow. While highlighter makeup comes in a wide array of shades, the most common hues include metallic tones such as silver, bronze, or gold.
What are the different types of highlighter makeup?
Highlighter comes in a variety of formulations, including powder, stick, cream, and liquid. Each type of highlighter shares a common goal: to boost luminosity on the skin. But depending on your skin type and makeup preferences, you can achieve this lit-from-within-glow using different textures and finishes.
So read on – we’re breaking down the different types of highlighter makeup below.
Powder highlighter
Usually formulated in a pressed compact, powder highlighters are ideal for intense colour payoff, ample radiance, and long-lasting wear.
Our Buttermelt Highlighter is a perfect example, delivering a high-impact glow that melts seamlessly into the skin. Available in four shimmery shades, this formula is buildable and buttery-soft, making it super easy to use. You can dust this type of highlighter along the high points of the face using a makeup brush – or even your fingers in a pinch!
Stick highlighter
This type of highlighter gives you ultimate control. Highlighter sticks are a great option for beginners and those who prefer a more straightforward application. They're portable, blendable, and perfect for on-the-go touch-ups since you don’t need any tools to apply or blend out your colour. For a foolproof glow, try the Jumbo Multi-Use Highlighter Stick: our weightless, buildable formula that seamlessly blends show-stopping pigment into the skin.
Cream highlighter
If you favour blendable formulas and quick application, add this type of highlighter to your makeup kit. Like stick products, cream highlighters apply easily – and melt effortlessly into the skin for a subtle boost of luminosity.
If you want a simple, no-makeup makeup look with high impact, you’ll love the Wonder Stick Contour and Highlighter Stick. Opt for this dual-ended, face-shaping highlighter and contour stick to lightly sculpt and illuminate your features for a natural-looking finish.
Liquid highlighter
Liquid highlighter is highly versatile: providing anything from a soft, natural glow to intense shimmery pigment. You’ll find that this type of highlighter complements the dewy makeup look perfectly, giving the skin a fresh-faced appearance and a radiant finish that emulates real skin. Liquid highlighters can be blended into the skin using your fingers or a brush.
How to choose a highlighter shade
When choosing a highlighter shade, there are two main things to consider: your skin tone and your undertone.
If you’re going for a more natural look, select a highlighter that’s one to two shades lighter than your skin tone. But you can also experiment with colourful highlighters, too! To nail your perfect match, you’ll want to find a highlighter shade that suits your undertone – cool, warm, or neutral. To do this, explore NYX’s virtual try-on tool and follow our tips below.
Highlighter for cool undertones
If you have blue or purple veins on the inside of your wrist, this means you likely have a cool undertone. In this case, you’ll want to steer clear of warm golden and bronze highlighters and seek out complementary cool-toned shades instead.
The best metallic shade for cool-toned beauties is silver, so our pick is the Jumbo Multi-Use Highlighter Stick in ‘Vanilla Ice Cream’. For colourful highlighters, keep it in the blue and purple family with the Buttermelt Highlighter in ‘No.1 Butta Holographic Lavender’.
Highlighter for warm undertones
Veins with a greenish hue indicate a warmer skin tone, which means you can embrace gold, bronze, and champagne-toned highlighters. These earthy, sun-kissed shades will accentuate your skin's natural warmth beautifully.
The Jumbo Multi-Use Highlighter Stick in ‘Coconut Cake’ will imbue your cheeks with a pearly champagne highlight, while the Buttermelt Highlighter in ‘Buttermelt Hlight Glaze It Butta’ will give your skin that idyllic bronze sun-kissed glow.
Highlighter for neutral undertones
Neutral undertones have a mix of blue, purple, and green veins. And if you’re blessed with this undertone, you can typically pull off a wide range of highlighter shades with ease.
Since you’re not limited by your type of highlighter shade, match to your surface skin tone with the Wonder Stick Contour And Highlighter Stick in ‘Universal Light’, ‘Medium, or ‘Rich’.
Which highlighter is right for your skin type?
Just like choosing skincare products, it's essential to consider your skin type and whether it leans more oily or dry when selecting highlighter makeup.
Read on for our top recommendations!
Best highlighter for oily skin
Powder highlighters (like those in our Buttermelt collection) are designed for all skin types, but they’re an ideal highlighter for oily skin because they smooth over the skin without emphasising grease or texture. Perfect for gently mattifying oily skin types.
Best highlighter for dry skin
Liquid and cream highlighters tend to work best for dry skin. These formulas are designed to melt into the skin to provide a radiant finish, and some even boast hydrating benefits. However, powders aren’t off the table! The key is nourishing skin prep and a highlighter formula that’s packed with hydrating ingredients like the almond- and shea butter-infused Buttermelt Highlighter.
Best highlighter for combination skin
For combination skin, you might get the best results if you mix-and-match your products. For example, you can use a powder highlighter on oilier parts of the face (like the T-zone) and a liquid or cream highlighter on drier areas (like the cheekbones). If you’re looking for an easy, one-and-done application, highlighter sticks can also be a great option.
Best highlighter for sensitive skin
As anyone with sensitive skin will tell you, it can take some trial and error to find products that won’t disrupt the skin. We recommend seeking out hypoallergenic formulas and doing a patch test on your skin before applying to your full face.
Our Jumbo Multi-Use Highlighter Stick could be a good fit, since it’s fragrance-free and formulated with nourishing jojoba seed oil. Why not try it for yourself and find out?
What is highlighter makeup without the right skin prep? Next, find out how to ready your skin for makeup application with our primer 101 guide.
