Microhighlighting: The TikTok Hack That Will Give Your Face A Lifted Glow

Makeup trends are surfacing and disappearing at record rates, especially with the rise of TikTok and other social platforms that lean into makeup tutorials and styles. Whenever the word highlight pops up, people scramble to get the latest tips on achieving glowing, sculpted complexions, and for a good reason. Until highlighting became a popular (and simple) trend to master, getting a dewy glow felt out of reach for some. Numerous tricks can give you this look without needing a personal MUA, but one hack might be a step above the rest.

Micro-highlighting sounds like something that could require a laser and some recovery time, but this trend is painless and easy to pull off. On TikTok, you can find it under "Dream Girl Highlighter," which sounds a little less intimidating but gives you the same effect. This technique is used to lift your complexion where you want to see a difference, producing a sculpted finish that gives you an oh-so-glowy finish. The best part of this viral look is that there are multiple products you can choose from to ensure you get the right colors and highlight for your skin. With such an easy answer to a coveted trend, there is no reason everyone can't pull off the micro-highlight hack.

Micro-highlighting might sound complicated (and can be a mouthful), but this trick is super simple. It revolves around applying a highlighter in certain sections of your face to give it a lift. A few steps are required to ensure it looks good once you've applied everything, but these are quick, and once you've mastered them, it will become second nature. For this hack, you can choose from a white pencil, which many users on TikTok opt for, but you can also use cream or liquid concealers and highlighters.

You might decide to stray from the TikTok preferences because white pencils don't compliment every skin tone, and you want to avoid using anything that will look unnatural. The first step to recreating this trend is doing the rest of your face makeup. Apply your foundation, then add any contour or powdered bronzers you want to include before starting on the micro highlight. Once you're done with your base, you will create a map of where you plan to blend the highlighter. Cream products might have the best effect to begin with, while you practice, though you can use pencil options for a matte finish.

With your highlighter (or a concealer), mark the areas underneath your eyebrows and at your inner eye corners. From there, bring the highlighter downwards along your nose before finishing with two upward swipes at the corners of your mouth. Depending on your preference, as you play around with this technique, you might find adding some product to the outer corners of your eyes in an upward direction helps lift your face even more. The lines should be parallel to one another, which will help give a symmetric finish.

To take full advantage of this trend, try to locate and highlight spots on your face that you might not usually apply it. You'll notice the most difference between these places and those that benefit most from the hack. You can use a makeup sponge, brush, or any other blending tool to begin rubbing the highlighter. The most significant piece to remember is that all products must be blended to create a seamless lift. Different TikTok users also add highlights in other places, like @parissax, who adds a line from the end of her nostril upwards toward her cheek.

Every person's face and lines will be different, which means this trend comes down to trial and error. Add lines or remove them each time you micro-highlight until you find what works for you. The overall result of the videos and tutorials is a "snatched," lifted look that is hard to ignore. Creating sculpted lines with just a white or light-colored highlighter and a blending tool rather than fillers or surgery sounds as good a hack as any.

Different products will give you a different finish, so playing around with matte concealers or highlighters can be an excellent way to determine your favorite. You can also combine matte and shimmer by alternating the areas you use each one on. This combination can be highly flattering, but sticking with just one or the other looks great, too. One of the best parts of this trend is that its user-friendly technique also leaves room for creativity. So highlight to your heart's delight until you get the lift you love!