Our younger readers may not believe me, but there was a time not so long ago when highlighter simply wasn’t a typical part of our makeup routines. Highlighting creams and powders were more or less a foreign concept until Y2K, their popularity surging in the new millennium. And ever since we all welcomed highlighters into our makeup bags, whether you prefer your gleam subtle or strong, we have all followed a universally accepted and understood rule: Apply it to the high points of your face — especially atop your cheekbones.
But Martha Stewart isn’t exactly one to follow other people’s rules.
The icon attended a 92NY event in New York City on Wednesday, October 4, looking unfairly fabulous in her signature beauty style: a voluminous, side-parted bob, and soft makeup in shades of brown and champagne on the eyes, as well as light pink on the lips and cheeks. But her cheeks were also host to a healthy dose of highlighter, even farther inward than the blush she was wearing and not anywhere near her cheekbones.
Makeup artist and Mally Beauty founder Mally Roncal, who likes to apply highlighter with her fingers, has previously shared her recommended technique with us: “Tap your fingers up and down your cheekbones, and then dab whatever’s left over on your brow bones, the center of your chin, and just one tap on the tip of your nose.” Sounds pretty much like you’ve always heard, right? But while Stewart got the middle-of-the-chin memo, she defied what makeup artists have been telling us for years by wearing highlighter on the apples of her cheeks.
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