These Nourishing Highlighters Enhance Cheekbones Without Settling Into Lines

For all of the glow and none of the fallout.

By Danielle Fontana Dooley, Associate Director, Digital Content · Feb 27, 2022

Whether your cheekbones are already sky-high and chiseled or are desperate for a little extra love, highlighter is a great way to emphasize the area and deliver a “lifted” appearance. However, rainbow-bright, powdery formulas don’t work for everyone. Ahead, nourishing formulas that sink right into the skin and deliver a believable, healthy glow to the tops of your cheeks—no glitter or line-emphasizing powders to be found.

1 / 9

Dior Forever Couture Luminizer Highlighter Powder ($48)

Loved by celebrities like Natalie Portman and Maye Musk, this light-catching powder won’t settle into lines like many powders can. Instead, the creamy formula offers a second-skin highlight wherever it’s dusted.

2 / 9

Westman Atelier Lit Up Highlight Stick ($48)

Skip the shimmer with this glossy highlight stick that delivers nothing but nourishing ingredients and dewy, healthy-looking skin. The balm also doubles as a lip-finisher thanks to its translucent, high-shine formula.

3 / 9

Saie Glowy Super Gel Lightweight Dewy Highlighter ($28)

As lightweight as they come (it’s 75-percent water!) this tap-right-on illuminator creates a healthy looking sheen no one would believe is actually makeup.

4 / 9

Rare Beauty by Selena Gomez Positive Light Liquid Luminizer Highlight ($22)

The smallest amount of this blends-right-in formula adds serious radiance to any makeup look and can be blended with the warmth of your fingertips or your favorite brush or sponge.

5 / 9

Makeup by Mario Master Secret Glow ($22)

All dew and no shimmer, this translucent balm delivers a megawatt glow to cheekbones, lips and lids in the most believable finish.

6 / 9

Artis Hyperblend Pro Finishing Pen in Light ($50 for four)

The ultimate light-shifting quad, each of these non-pigmented pens work to interact with light in a different way and deliver a specific finishing effect to the skin. Our radiance-boosting favorites: Light, which reflects light, or Gloss, for a dewy, translucent sheen.

7 / 9

Hourglass Vanish Flash Highlighting Stick ($42)

Dot this creamy formula onto the high points of your cheekbones and blend for a your-skin-but-better glow that won’t fade throughout the day. Plus, its soft-focus finish helps to minimize the appearance of larger pores.

8 / 9

Iconic London Illuminator ($40)

A little bit of this liquid gold goes a long way. Whether added to your foundation for a radiance boost or lightly tapped onto the cheekbones, this cult-favorite formula delivers a sunkissed, dewy glow to the skin.

9 / 9

Gucci Éclat De Beauté Effet Lumière ($33)

Glassy skin is in, and this chic pot is here to make it easier than ever to achieve. With zero glitter or color to be found, this balm-meets-gel formula is the perfect finishing touch to any look. We like to apply it on the lids and tops of cheekbones for a “lifted” effect.