There is a specific kind of glow that has nothing to do with highlighter. You know the one: skin that looks hydrated and alive, cheekbones that catch the light without anything sitting visibly on top, an overall radiance that looks like good health rather than good makeup. It is the most-searched finish in beauty right now, and also the most misunderstood.
The mistake most people make is reaching for a highlighter and calling it done. Real glow is built in layers, starting well before you reach the shimmer. It starts with the base, runs through every product you layer on top, and ends with something that takes it from the face to the body.
Here is how to do it properly.
In This Guide:
- Why Glow Starts Before Makeup
- The Base: Your Secret Weapon
- Face Glow: Where to Place It and How
- Body Glow: The Step Most People Skip
- The full product list
1. Why Glow Starts Before Makeup
The most luminous skin in 2026 is not heavily made up, it is well-prepped. Beauty trend forecasters have pointed to a shift away from coverage and toward radiance this year, with the focus landing on skin that looks hydrated and naturally perfected rather than masked (Laura Mercier, 2026). That means the way you treat your skin before foundation touches it matters more than any product you apply on top.
Hydration is the foundation of glow. Dry, dehydrated skin reflects light unevenly, which is why even the most expensive highlighter can look patchy on someone who skipped moisturiser. A good moisturiser applied generously and given time to absorb creates the smooth, plump surface that lets everything on top perform at its best.
2. The Base: Your Secret Weapon
The ILIA The Base Face Milk Essence is the kind of product that changes the texture of your skin before a single drop of foundation goes on. It’s a lightweight milky essence powered by hyaluronic acid and a barrier renewal complex, designed to be layered between skincare and makeup to lock in hydration and leave skin looking visibly plumper and smoother. It’s vegan, Leaping Bunny certified cruelty-free, and formulated without fragrance, silicones or synthetic dyes, which makes it a strong pick for anyone trying to shop with a bit more intention.
Apply it after moisturiser and before your tinted product or foundation. Skin will immediately look more alive. The dewy, barely-there finish it leaves means any base product you put on top sits differently, more like skin and less like makeup.
3. Face Glow: Where to Place It and How
Once your base is on, this is where the visible glow comes in. The key thing to understand about highlighter and illuminator placement is that less surface area, more intensity, usually wins. You’re not dusting shimmer across your whole face, you’re placing it precisely where light would naturally hit (NYX Professional Makeup, 2026).
The e.l.f. Halo Glow Liquid Filter is a multi-purpose complexion booster that works as a standalone base on its own, giving skin a sheer, soft-focus radiance without the weight of a full foundation. It’s infused with hyaluronic acid and squalane to hydrate as it covers, and it comes in 15 flexible shades to suit a wide range of skin tones. e.l.f. is double-certified cruelty-free by Leaping Bunny and PETA, 100% vegan, and manufactured in Fair Trade Certified facilities, so it’s worth knowing the brand backs up its glow with some genuinely solid ethics too. Think of it as the step between skincare and makeup, something that evens everything out and makes skin look genuinely glowy before anything else goes on.
For a more concentrated, high-impact illumination on the high points of the face, the Iconic London Illuminator is the one to reach for. Press it onto the tops of the cheekbones, the inner corners of the eyes, the bridge of the nose, and the cupid’s bow. Use your ring finger rather than a brush for a more skin-like finish, and build slowly rather than applying too much at once. Iconic London is 100% vegan and cruelty-free across the brand, and the Illuminator specifically has also been independently verified as reef-safe. It’s the product that creates that lit-from-within look makeup artists talk about constantly.
The difference between a glow that looks natural and one that looks overdone usually comes down to placement and blending. Concentrated on the high points, blended softly at the edges.
4. Body Glow: The Step Most People Skip
Most glow routines stop at the face. The ones that look truly stunning don’t. When your face is luminous but your arms, shoulders and décolletage are flat and matte, there’s a disconnect that reads as product rather than radiance. Extending the glow to the body is what pulls the whole thing together, particularly in summer.
The Sol de Janeiro Glowmotions Glow Body Oil does this better than most. Inspired by the Brazilian obsession with glowing skin, it wraps skin in a luminous shimmer while nourishing it with açaí oil, cupuaçu butter and coconut oil. It comes in two shades, Copacabana Bronze for warmer tones and Rio Sunset for a champagne shimmer, and the scent alone makes it worth buying. The entire Sol de Janeiro range is vegan, cruelty-free, reef-safe and comes in recyclable packaging. Apply it to bare skin after showering on the shoulders, collarbones and legs, skipping body moisturiser first so the oil can absorb properly.
For holiday looks that make the most of this kind of all-over glow, take a look at our guide to the best holiday makeup looks for summer 2026.
The Full Product List
- ILIA The Base Face Milk Essence
- e.l.f. Halo Glow Liquid Filter
- Iconic London Illuminator
- Sol de Janeiro Glowmotions Glow Body Oil
Glow is not one product. It is a system, and each layer builds on the one before it. Get the prep right, use your illuminator with intention, and don’t forget your body. That is all it takes.
Featured Products
References
- Laura Mercier (2026) 2026 Beauty Trend Forecast: Makeup Looks Defining the Year Ahead. Available at: https://www.lauramercier.com/blogs/art-of-living-flawlessly/2026-beauty-trend-forecast-makeup-looks-set-to-dominate-next-year
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NYX Professional Makeup (2026) Where to Put Highlighter Makeup. Available at: https://www.nyxcosmetics.com/blog/where-to-put-highlighter.html
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