• Home
  • Video
  • Video: How To Apply Highlighter, With Vincent Oquendo

Video: How To Apply Highlighter, With Vincent Oquendo

To highlight properly—like someone lit a fluorescent lightbulb inside your skull and the beams are pouring out of your face magnificently—attention has got to be paid to more than just a swipe of something sparkly on your cheekbones. Or so says makeup artist Vincent Oquendo, the man responsible for all the glowing faces on the Stella McCartney runway season after season. When tasked with highlighting Lydia, and then taking that look into something more pumped up for nighttime, he pulled out an arsenal of products, including a serum and two (two!) different concealers.

The trick, he says, is starting off with some skincare. Pick a serum (he's using the RéVive Serum Pressé Illuminating Skin Firmer) that can go on bare skin or on top of makeup that's already there. The goal is to refresh, not to treat, so you'll just want to press it on lightly. Brighten up the eyes with a duo of concealers lighter than your skintone. This'll draw attention without the addition of shimmer—that comes later.

Then click the high heavens out of a highlight pen, like the Tom Ford Illuminating Highlight Pen in Citrine. Draw lines along the entire cheek plane, brow bone, top of the nose, bow of the lips, and a little on the chin “if we're feeling adventurous.” For more adventure, use your fingers to blend instead of a brush.

For nighttime, Vincent suggests more of a wet look by adding the Illuminate part of the Tom Ford Shade & Illuminate everywhere you drew the pen earlier in the day. Pat some on the eyelids if “you want to go off the deep end.” Now just try and not sing “ Shine Bright Like A Diamond' every time you look in the mirror. It'll be challenging.

Lydia Carron (Next Model Management) made up by Vincent Oquendo (The Wall Group). Produced by Maya Margolina.