We support wearing highlight year-round, but it's almost criminal to skip out on the strobing step in your summer makeup routine. No summer beauty look is complete without a dusting of a shimmery highlighter.
When shopping for a new summer highlighter to incorporate into our makeup routine, we look for formulas that glide onto the skin, blend out easily, and create a glow so stunning your iPhone camera can pick it up in photos. We recommend you keep a few shades handy to coordinate with different makeup trends and experiment with placing the shimmering powders and liquids on your collar bones, eyebrow bones, and anywhere else you want to highlight.
Ahead, you'll find the best highlighters for summer to give your complexion an all-over radiance and glow.
The Becca Cosmetics Ignite Liquified Light Face & Body Highlighter ($38) is a face and body highlighter rolled into one. It gives skin a pearly glow with its lightweight, nonsticky liquid formula.
For a luxurious, cream-powder higlighter formula, try the Physicians Formula Butter Highlighter ($11). It bronzes your skin while giving it a radiant glow.
The Aether Beauty Supernova Crushed Diamond Highlighter ($38) works beautifully on all skin tones, especially deep. It gives your complexion a supersoft, ethereal glow.
Th NYX Professional Makeup California Beamin' Face & Body Liquid Highlighter ($10) comes in two shades, gold and silver, but the gold hue is perfect for summer. It's infused with avocado, rosehip, grapeseed, and jojoba oils, making it ultra-moisturizing.
The E.l.f. Cosmetics Jelly Highlighter ($6) has a bouncy, ultrablendable jelly formula that glides over skin and can be used on your eyes, cheeks, collarbones, and more.
Get a subtle dewy gleam with the Beauty by POPSUGAR Be Bright Shimmer Highlighter ($16). It glides smoothly onto the skin without ever looking chunky.
A few dabs of Marc Jacobs Dew Drops Coconut Gel Highlighter ($45) will have you feeling like a beach goddess. Simply pat on with a finger and blend out with a brush or sponge.
You'll get two soft bronze shades in the Fenty Beauty Killawatt Freestyle Highlighter ($36) to light up your cheekbones.
You'll feel like a golden disco ball in the Milk Makeup Flex Highlighter ($28), which applies smoothly and melts onto skin.
Wet n Wild knows a thing or two about creating game-changing yet affordable makeup, and the Wet n Wild MegaGlo Highlighting Powder ($4) is no different. The smooth powders blend seamlessly and have tons of saturated color.
The cream-powder texture of the ColourPop Super Shock Highlighter ($8) is buildable, allowing you to achieve either a sheer glow or an otherworldly shine with a few extra coats. Each highlighter is buttery soft and leaves you looking lit from within.
Not only does the gorgeous hue of the Essence Pure Nude Highlighter ($4) give you a subtle and natural gleam on your skin, but for under $5, the quality is breathtaking.
The golden-pearl hue of the Benefit Cosmetics Cookie Highlighter ($30) will have you glowing with one sweep of the included brush.