How To Highlight Your Face Shape

Have you ever wondered how celebrities like Kim Kardashian or Cara Delevingne get their gorgeous red carpet glow? Highlighting has been a huge trend for the past year and it’s only gaining more popularity! But, what you don’t know is that you may be doing it all wrong. Everyone’s face is different, there is actually a right way to highlight based on your face shape and the texture of your skin. When learning how to highlight, whether you have a square, round, oval, or heart shaped face there is a perfect routine just for you!

Although the universal highlighting point is located on the high points of your cheeks, the first step to getting the ultimate glow is to find out your face shape. The four most common face shapes are oval, round, square, and heart. People with an oval face shape have balanced features that contour naturally. A round face has soft features with a rounded jawline and chin, think of celebrities like Selena Gomez or Chrissy Teigen. If you have a square shaped face you’re likely to have a strong forehead and sharp jawline. A heart shaped face is exactly what it sounds like, it’s shaped just like a heart! People with this type of shape tend to have a wide forehead and prominent cheekbones with a pointed chin. It is also common for people with heart shaped faces to have a widows peak. 

1. Oval

If you have an oval or round face then you’re highlighting routines are very similar, and definitely the easiest! With having an oval shaped face, you’ll want to focus on keeping the natural symmetry. Apply your highlight with a fluffy brush to the bridge of the nose to compliment your perfect proportions. A trick you should totally try if you want an instant face lift, without the botox, is to apply highlighter to the apples of your cheeks. But, if you have a lot of texture on your cheeks and suffer from having large pores, apply a matte or subtle highlight to avoid accentuating imperfections. Another way you can amp-up your glow is to apply highlight to your cupid’s bow. I absolutely love the Shimmering Skin Perfector from Becca. It’s a gorgeous liquid highlighter that gives a natural and effortless glow!

2. Round

With having a round shaped face, the goal is to lengthen by focusing on the middle of your face. Just like people with an oval shape, you want to highlight the bridge of your nose, and under your brow bone for the most flattering luminosity! The Anastasia Beverly Hills Aurora Glow Kit  is a gorgeous palette with iridescent and metallic finishes that come in the most unique colors. It will give you such an intense glow you won’t be able to get enough of!

3. Square

If you think you may have a square shaped face, your focus just like someone with a round face is to elongate. Highlighting softens the sharp contours square faces tend to have, creating an elegant glow that will turn heads! Focus on lift by using a fluffy brush to dust your highlight along the tops of your cheekbones to your temples in a ‘c’ shaped motion ending close to your hairline. A great highlight that isn’t too intense is the MAKE UP FOR EVER Pro Light Fusion Highlighter in the shade Golden (02). It has the most gorgeous golden glow that compliments a tan perfectly!

4. Heart

Last, but certainly not least is the heart shaped face which is what I have! If you have a heart shaped face your focus is on balancing your features when learning how to highlight. Apply your highlight to the top of your forehead, bridge of your nose, and sides of your jawline with a fluffy brush. Mixing matte and shimmer finishes also helps balance your features without you accidentally going overboard and looking like a disco ball! My favorite highlighter from Sephora is the Diorskin Nude Air Luminizer Powder. It’s a super light powder that’s universal and actually adapts to your skin tone for the ultimate personalized glow!

Not only is it important to highlight your face based on the shape, but the texture of your skin plays a huge role when highlighting. If you have dry skin or larger pores you may want to steer clear of shimmery products and go for a liquid highlight such as the Farsali Unicorn Essence which adds moisture and luminosity without sparkle.  I also recommend focusing on other areas of the face such as highlighting the eyes, above the brows and the cupids bow using the KVD Alchemist Halographic Palette . If you are young and blessed with smooth wrinkle-free skin, a product with shimmer will make your face gleam! The MILK Makeup Holographic Stick is such a cool product that adds a subtle glow for healthy and youthful look. 

I hope this post helped you if you were confused about highlighting, it’s actually not as hard as it looks! Anyone can get a gorgeous Hollywood glow in seconds with these tips that are perfect for every face shape. What’s your favorite highlighting product from Sephora?