The Rihanna Method Of Applying Highlighter (2025)

The Rihanna Method Of Applying Highlighter (1)

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Beauty

Oh, so that’s how you’re meant to do it.

by Chelsea Peng

It’s pretty standard operating procedure to put your highlighter on the tops of your cheekbones, and maybe a dab on the brow bone and the Cupid’s bow if you’re feeling frisky. But Rihanna just made it abundantly clear that we may have been missing a spot or two.

We’ll get into her method forthwith, but before that, a swift recap of what else is happening in celebrity-beauty world. Miley went outside a lot in New York City with good outfits and, dare we say, even better hair. Chloë Sevigny, as she is wont to do, went off-piste with a lipstick choice that was very much not aligned with her peers’ MO of late. And Doechii’s tweet said “studious lesbian,” but her full-face beat said “I’ve been hitting the makeup books.”

Here, see our selects for the most interesting and inspiring beauty looks famous people tried out this week.

Miley’s Goes-With-Anything Texture

Miley’s been dishing up an all-you-can-eat fashion buffet, but the hair —air-dried-looking waves and microbangs —didn’t change. Not super revelatory for us normies, but in the time of 29 outfits a day with new glam for celebrities, it’s giving rock-star louche, which is just so her.

Rihanna’s Highlighter Tutorial

Read first, zoom in later. In this educational photo (thank you, flash), you can clearly see where Rihanna’s expert highlight has been applied: on the cheekbone, yes, but concentrated on the inner and outer corners of the eye, in the center of the lid, and under the arch of the brow. She is a mom of two young kids, so that might explain the brightening and opening effect of the placement. (This e.l.f. product’s applicator helps keep your own highlighting work precise.)

Chloë Sevigny’s Off-Kilter Red Lip

When everyone else does matchy-matchy, Chloë goes a shade or two off. While the easy move would have been to mix up a Vaquera red, the noted fake-dive-bar hater veered left with a jammy lipstick. And that’s why she’s the GOAT.

Doechii’s Everything

The lip combo. The draped blush. The megawatt lashes! This is a departure from Doechii’s usually more understated look, but that’s the fun of makeup.

Barbie Ferreira’s Deep Side Part

Since it’s well and truly back, now would be a good time to re-up a cardinal rule of side parts: They usually look best when they fall at the arch of the eyebrow. And in case anyone ever said anything to you about not doing one at all if you have a widow’s peak, ignore ‘em.

Ever Anderson’s Kerchief Curls

Cute! We’ve hit peak belt and peak headscarf-over-baseball-cap this festival season, so maybe the fresher reference is storybook heroine. Pull out those crucial front pieces (which also make this not babushka), and leave an explosion of ringlets in the back.

Leighton Meester’s Fresh Cut

Pretty sure she got a color refresh, too. This serves as a reminder to book your own bang trim/dye touch-up/whatever-else hair appointment about two weeks before any major event you have this spring, like seeing your LOML play a festival (so random).

The Rihanna Method Of Applying Highlighter (2025)
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