Taylor Swift Matches Her Blinding Cheekbone Highlighter to Her Bejeweled Bag and Choker

She made the whole place shimmer.

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Taylor Swift and Gigi Hadid going to dinner in New York City
(Image credit: Backgrid)

So much of Taylor Swift's aesthetic is built around nostalgia, from her signature NARS lipstick and winged eyeliner to her heavily vintage-inspired personal style. The 1950s and 1960s tend to be the eras she references most often, but her latest makeup look showcases a trend pulled straight out of 2015: blinding highlighter.

Not since the halcyon days of YouTube beauty gurus and Jaclyn Hill Champagne Pop mania have I seen a highlight so frosty. Even at New York City's dimly lit hotspot Waverly Inn, where she was spotted giggling and gossiping over dinner with bestie Gigi Hadid on Dec. 3, the pop star's opalescent highlight still made the whole place shimmer.

A photo of Taylor Swift wearing an all-black ensemble accessorized with plenty of sparkle.

Taylor Swift meets Gigi Hadid for dinner in an all-black ensemble accessorized with plenty of sparkle.

(Image credit: Backgrid)

The dazzling sheen of her cheekbones added some much-needed sparkle to an otherwise all-black ensemble comprised of a Simkhai bubble dress with long knit sleeves and a taffeta skirt, paired with pointy Gucci pumps. Her accessories mirrored the lunar glow of her highlighter with a diamond choker, diamond drop earrings from De Beers, and a disco ball-esque rhinestone bag from celebrity-favorite brand Dôen.

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Legendary makeup artist Pat McGrath is responsible for many of Swift's best beauty moments, including her scintillating "Bejeweled" music video glam. So it's not hard to imagine her reaching for a glossy swipe of McGrath's Skin Fetish Highlighter + Balm Duo as a final touch before dinner. We also know Swift has been wearing a warm cinnamon shade of NARS lipstick called "Morocco" for years now. (That is, when she's not sporting a matte cool-toned red lipstick named "Elson" from McGrath's Liquilust range on tour.)

In other words, it wouldn't be crazy to assume one of her two favorite brands is responsible for the twinkle at her temples. But either way, she polishes up real nice.

Shop Glimmering Highlighters Inspired by Taylor Swift

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Hanna Lustig
Hanna Lustig
Staff Writer

Hanna Lustig is a staff writer at Marie Claire, where she gets to gab every day about the topics she holds most dear: fashion, beauty, and celebrity. Hanna’s editorial journey began with formative internships at Elle and InStyle, where she was lucky enough to work for some of the smartest women in media while she was still in college at the University of Tennessee. Hanna then accepted a digital culture reporting fellowship at Insider, where she helped carve out a new beat dedicated to covering influencers. Those experiences later served her well as a staff writer at Glamour, where she developed a knack for spinning quick turnaround celebrity news and trend reporting into juicy feature stories. Some of her greatest hits include an earnest ode to the no-pants trend, this meticulously reported feature exploring the rise of endoscopic facelifts, this snappy take on the Chanel-designed fantasy of Sofia Richie’s wedding, this tribute to WAGs past and present, and this timeline of Katie Holmes’s life and career as told through her denim collection.

Diane Keaton once hung up on Hanna during an interview, but thankfully that mishap did not derail what has otherwise been a deeply fulfilling career writing for and about women. As one of Marie Claire's resident experts on style and culture, her current coverage ranges from exploring TikTok's contrast makeup theory and the return of the boat shoe trend to interviews with costume designers for hit shows like Nobody Wants This and The Penguin. When she’s not at work, Hanna can probably be found listening to pop music, talking to her dog, and gossiping with her best friends. For more of Hanna’s perfect opinions on pop culture, you can follow her on Instagram and X.