Looking for that summer glow or just to have a healthy yet sun-kissed complexion? Not sure which highlighter is best for your skin tone or where you should apply it? We’re all for having an illuminating glow and our guide to being bronze and beautiful will show you how to get selfie-worthy skin with no filter.

cover photo: Sachen Beauty 

HOLR writer Chia Kougianos shares her top tips for perfecting your faux summer glow up so you can radiate and feel like your best self at your next summer event! 

Overwhelmed by the whole idea behind the art of contouring?  If you’ve ever heard the terminology “baking” or ever had someone tell you to invest in a contour kit, keep on reading because HOLR has you covered. A little bit of bronzer, and highlighter can work magic and give you the illusion of your face looking slimmer than normal if done right. 

How to Choose the Right Highlighter for Your Skin Tone:

 

Very Fair Skin Tones – Those with very fair skin tones can look forward to wearing highlighters in golden shades to achieve a major glow up. It will help add colour to your complexion so you can enjoy sun-kissed skin all year round.

 

Fair Skin Tones – For those of you with fair to medium skin tones, champagne toned highlighters are a great choice as they will also help to add warmth and accentuate your summer glow.  

 

Medium Skin Tones – Olive skin tones can pull off any highlighter with warm undertones. Opt for colours that include pink, bronze, champagnes and even peach tones. It will help illuminate your face and compliment your features.  

 

Dark Skin Tones – For those with darker skin tones, opt for a neutral bronze shade when it comes to choosing a highlighter. Rich rose gold tones and bronze work wonders and even some silver shades are great as they add warm undertones. 

How to Glow Like a Pro

What You Need: 

• Foundation
• Illuminating primer and or luminizer to mix into foundation
• Cream and or powder product in a bronzed tone
• Blending brush, a beauty blender, or sponge
• Highlighter
• Translucent powder or setting spray

 

Step 1: Lay the foundation

Start by applying your usual base. You can opt for a cream foundation for full coverage or if you want to make it more translucent use a tinted moisturizer. For an extreme summer glow mix in a luminizer or illuminating product into your foundation. Giorgio Armani’s fluid sheer #3 and #11 iare infamous for being used in that way. Also make sure you’re applying your make-up in natural light so you can get an accurate idea of what you’ll look like when you go out.

Step 2: Create Shadows with your Bronzer 

Take your cool toned bronzer and add a small amount onto your sponge.  To reference where the bronzer should be applied take your finger and measure where the halfway point of your ear is. Then go in with your brush and start blending  from the middle point of your ear towards your lip area. Be sure to not blend this too close to your mouth. You can also apply a little along your hairline and under your jaw and in the areas where you want to add more depth. This could include the sides of your nose, your jaw line, your temples and the perimeter of your forehead.

Step 3: Brighten the lights

Now take a shade a few tones lighter than your foundation and dab it onto your highlighter brush. Apply the highlighter to areas that would naturally catch the light such as the bridge of your nose, your chin, your under eye area and the middle of your forehead. Looking to define and lift your brow bone? Simply sweep the highlighter under the arch of your brows for extra definition.

Step 4: Blend it smooth

In this final step, blend out all the lines you have created using you’r  blending brush or sponge. Try to blend the highlighter into the areas on your face using gentle circular motions. This will help give you a seamless look. Now do the same for the light colours. The two tones should never blend together. Lastly, apply a finishing powder or setting spray so that you can keep your glow in place all day and get ready to watch the compliments roll in.