Brandi Fowler
A highlighter stick will give you the best subtle glow for summer and you have plenty to choose from. Glossier, Chanel, Benefit, and Chanel are firm favorites and will that will take your summer glow to the next level.
There’s something about a touch of highlighter that takes skin to the next level during the summer months.
If you’re not familiar with highlighter sticks, they’re essentially a highlighter compacted into an easy-to-use tube that you can swipe on your cheekbones, browbones, or anywhere natural light hits your face to amp up the radiance of your complexion.
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You can go subtle with the sticks or give yourself a megawatt glow depending on your preference and the brand. Or, skip foundation all together for a no-makeup makeup radiance or use it on top of foundation for a more finished look.
Ciaté London's Dewy Stix gives a luminous glow
Any way you use it, don’t miss amping up your complexion with a glow this summer with one of our fave highlighter sticks below.
Beauty lovers swear by them - and one try will show you why.
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Ciaté London Dewy Stix Highlighter Stick
For highlighter sticks with a ton of shimmer and gleam, look no further than Ciaté London’s Dewy Stix. This luminous highlighting balm creates a gorgeous dewy effect with minimal shimmer and a natural glow. The gel-like formula comes in three shades: Glow - for a low-key iridescent glow, Gleam - for a golden hue, and Lustre, a rose gold hue that gives a ‘lit-from-within' look.
Ciaté London Dewy Stix Highlighter Stick, $26, Ciaté London
Glossier Haloscope Highlighter Stick
Beauty lovers are obsessed with this highlighter - and for good reason. Glossier is known for its cult following, and this highlighter packs a punch. Its outer layer is formulated with crystal extracts for an all-day glow minus the glitter, and the beauty product is infused with moisturizers for a hydrated and dewy glow. It comes in three shades suitable for all skin types and complexions.
Glossier Haloscope Highlighter, $22, Glossier
Uoma Beauty Double Take Sculpt & Strobe Stick
This double-ended highlighter stick is a contour and highlighter stick in one. It highlights, defines, and shades, with its strobe end, which provides a glow with its creamy illuminating formula, and its sculpt end, which has a pigmented formula that provides lightweight coverage and a matte finish.
It’s long-wearing and buildable too. It comes in five shades: Honey Honey, White Pearl, Brown Sugar, Brown Venus, and Black Pearl.
Double Take Sculpt & Strobe Stick, $40, Uoma Beauty
Benefit Cosmetics Watt's Up! Champagne Cream Highlighter Stick
This champagne cream-to-powder highlighter is a bestseller on Sephora, with shoppers saying it gives complexions a “natural radiant glow.” The highlighter has a luminous sheen and it also comes with a built-in blender to provide an even, luminous gleam.
Benefit Cosmetics Watt's Up! Champagne Cream Highlighter, $30, Sephora
Fenty Beauty Match Stix Shimmer Skinstick
Rihanna’s popular beauty brand has a highlighter stick that is definitely worth a try. Shoppers swooned over the product saying it gives a “summer glow with a hint of sparkle.”
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It’s a magnetized makeup stick that is long-wear, lightweight, and shimmery, and it not only highlights and enhances complexions. You can use it as a blush too - and it comes in 15 shades.
Fenty Beauty Match Stix Shimmer Skinstick, $26, Fenty Beauty
Chanel Baume Essential Multi-Use Glow Stick
Chanel is synonymous with luxury, so you can expect the same from the fashion house’s highlighter too. The glow stick has a sheer, hydrating balm that is silky, smooth, and buildable, and it gives skin a natural-looking glow. It’s available in three shades: transparent, sculpting, and golden light.
Chanel Baume Essential Multi-Use Glow Stick, $45, Macy’s
Ilia Illuminator Highlighter Stick
Clean beauty is always a good idea - and so is this vegan highlighter by Ilia. It’s a multipurpose cream highlighter infused with avocado oil (protects skin), orange peel wax (locks in moisture), and shea butter (hydrates skin), and gives skin a subtle, dewy glow. It’s cruelty-free, gluten-free, and sulfate-free.
Ilia Illuminator Highlighter Stick, $34, Sephora
Maybelline New York Master Strobing Light Stick
Maybelline’s Strobing Stick is proof that you can find good highlighters at the drugstore too. Amazon shoppers swear by it for a natural, sunkissed look and for its versatility. Some use it over their foundation, under their foundation or on bare skin, and even on their lids and lips for a subtle glow.
Maybelline New York Master Strobing Light Stick, $13.27, Amazon
Westman Atelier Lit Up Highlighter Stick
This luxe highlighter stick, which Gwyneth Paltrow’s Goop team loves, is vegan, gluten-free, and translucent-free, and gives skin a radiant finish. It’s infused with moisture-boosting ingredients like Vitus vita fruit extract, which gives skin a dewy, glass-like sheen.
Westman Atelier Lit Up Highlighter Stick, $48, Sephora
Surratt Torche Lumiere Highlighter Stick
This velvety, golden highlighter gives the skin a multi-faceted glow and has a creamy formula that makes skin glisten when it's hit by natural light. It’s lightweight and inspired by the jewels in the vitrines of the Place Vendome.
Surratt Torche Lumiere Highlighter Stick, $54, Revolve
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