The Unexpected Product That Doubles as Highlighter for Fair Skin

I thought I'd seen it all when I reported on my fellow Allure editors' favorite unexpected product uses. However, a tip I recently learned about highlighter for fair skin absolutely blew my mind. As a highlighter enthusiast, I've never thought about straying from my shimmery selection. Honestly, I love having cheeks so bright that they could probably seen from the Mars rover. But I know that's not the case for all my fellow pale girls.

If you have fair skin with cool undertones like me, I'm about to blow your mind. Ashleigh Ciucci, a makeup artist based in New York City, recommended I try purple color corrector as a highlighter. She discovered this tip after realizing that finding the right highlighter for fair skin can be challenging at times. "Champagnes can be too warm and flat whites can be too chalky," she tells Allure. That's where purple color corrector comes in.

Purple color corrector, which comes in pastel lavender and lilac shades, is typically used to neutralize yellowness and sallow skin and help even out the warmer spots within your skin tone. You apply it on the parts of your face that you want to target, and then follow it up with a concealer or foundation to mask the purple hue. This is the typical color-correcting process that is done with other shades like green, orange, and yellow. However, with Ciucci's hack, the lavender is applied after the base makeup.

When she told me this, I was immediately skeptical. Wouldn't that make me look like I started to do galaxy makeup and stopped halfway through? I've used lavender highlighters before, but they are more subtle and sheer compared to the color corrector (plus, I like how they make me look like an alien goddess). Ciucci assured me that I would have nothing to worry about. "By using a creamy light lavender cream, you create a soft halo of light that almost reads opalescent," Ciucci says.

Learn how to contour your cheeks:

After hearing Ciucci's tip, I put it to the test. I applied my current favorite BB cream, the Belif Moisturizing Bomb Cushion Compact, first, per her recommendation. Then, instead of reaching for highlighter, I took NYX Cosmetics Concealer in Lavender and pat it atop my cheekbones, down the bridge of my nose, and on my cupid's bow. When I looked in the mirror, I honestly got emotional. I was shocked at how incredibly right Ciucci was (not that I ever doubted her). The purple shade actually did read as an opalescent highlighter, but it was more subtle than what I pictured in my head. The glow the lavender color corrector gave my skin looked natural and dewy. I kept looking at my reflection back and forth to make sure the result wasn't just some kind of a highlighter fever dream. I can confirm that it was very real, guys, and I highly recommend you give this hack a spin, too.

Here are three other lavender color correcting options to try out:

Becca Backlight Targeted Colour Corrector in Violet ($30)