How To Choose The Perfect Highlighter Brush For Your Collection

The makeup you use has a large impact on the overall finish of your look, but the brushes you use are just as important. When you apply your highlighter, you'll want to use the perfect brush to give you the ultimate glow. Getting your highlight right and using the best highlighter for your skin tone can make or break your look and you can even contour your face with the beloved product. With #highlighter racking up over one billion views on TikTok, it's definitely a makeup staple you shouldn't skip out on.

When it comes to highlighter, you can be a lot more flexible with the application process. It doesn't need to be put on in any specific areas of the face, so you have a lot more freedom to achieve a dewy glow. Although it's easy to apply, the type of brush you use will define your look and depends heavily on how much glow you want in your look.

The general rule for highlighter brushes is that if you love shine, you should use a brush with short, thick bristles to make your highlight look bright and glowy. For a more neutral look, use a fan brush or a tapered brush that will give you a less intense look. 

One of the most popular makeup brushes people use to apply highlighter is the fan brush. If you don't want to overdo it with the highlighter, the fan brush only picks up a slight amount of product and is perfect for gently swiping highlighter across your skin. We recommend the Tarte FANatic highlighting brush which is specifically designed to give you weightless application so that you can build your highlight as you go. 

For a versatile brush that you can use to apply both powder and liquid highlighter, opt for a stippling makeup brush. When you use this small brush with liquid highlighter, you'll get a bold glow while with a powder highlighter, you'll get a softer, more sheer finish (via Bustle).

For an intense glow and the ability to be able to apply more product easily, try a small blush brush. With this brush, you'll be able to easily put on your glowy highlighter without having to reapply until you get the desired glow. Sephora's Makeup Match blush brush is an option for a seamless application process. The head of this brush is angled, which will make it easier to create a soft and blended look in a few gentle swipes. 

If you're still unsure whether a brush is for you, you can opt for a makeup sponge to give yourself more flexibility when applying your highlight. You can use a makeup sponge for any type of highlight and will have to build the highlight yourself with a few sweeps across the skin. Try Sephora's Original BEAUTYBLENDER makeup sponge for a luminous, glowy finish. It's one of Sephora's top-selling blenders and went viral on TikTok for providing a seamless and naturally blended makeup look.