Let Olivia Culpo Show You the Power of a Great Highlighter
Shine bright this winter.


Is there anything Olivia Culpo can't do? The 2012 Miss Universe winner is known for her killer workout routines, chic style, and minimalist beauty philosophy. She has also co-founded multiple businesses in the food and beverage industry, and her face mask business, More Than A Mask, donates to causes including Feeding America and The Period Movement.
Considering all this, one would think that Culpo has very little time on her hands, but she's spoken often about how much she loves experimenting with beauty and doing her own makeup. Historically, she has opted for a more muted look during her downtime, but when stepping out on Tuesday night with a friend for dinner in Los Angeles, Culpo stunned with a monochromatic red-orange lip and eye makeup, complete with a frosty highlight that absolutely stunned.
We commerce editors are always on the lookout for new products to shop for—so, naturally, we had to find out what highlighter Culpo uses. As it turns out, she's spoken multiple times about her love for the Charlotte Tilbury Beauty Liquid Highlighter Wand, which she describes as "the best part ever" of her makeup routine.
Culpo says she typically uses the wand on her cheekbones, the tip of her nose, and her cupid's bow for a subtle glow, and she uses a brush or beauty blender to apply. Her favorites are the Hollywood Complexion Brush and the original BeautyBlender makeup sponge.
After applying her liquid highlighter, Culpo heightens her shine with the Charlotte Tilbury Film Star Contour Duo, which happens to come with the sculpting bronzer that she uses.
Another highlighter that Culpo has mentioned: The Charlotte Tilbury Bar of Gold palette (Are you sensing a pattern here? We love that brand loyalty!), but that product has unfortunately been discontinued.
All is not lost, however. The Bar of Gold palette included platinum, rose gold, and yellow gold shades, which you can easily scour your favorite makeup sites for. To make your life easier, though, we've included our favorites below.
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With these options, you'll achieve that Olivia Culpo highlight in no time. We recommend wearing this beauty look with a slicked-back hair style like Culpo's low bun, so that the world can admire that gorgeous glow.
So what are you waiting for? Go on and shine, you crazy diamond.
Gabrielle Ulubay is a Beauty Writer at Marie Claire. She has also written about sexual wellness, politics, culture, and fashion at Marie Claire and at publications including The New York Times, HuffPost Personal, Bustle, Alma, Muskrat Magazine, O'Bheal, and elsewhere. Her personal essay in The New York Times' Modern Love column kickstarted her professional writing career in 2018, and that piece has since been printed in the 2019 revised edition of the Modern Love book. Having studied history, international relations, and film, she has made films on politics and gender equity in addition to writing about cinema for Film Ireland, University College Cork, and on her personal blog, gabrielleulubay.medium.com. Before working with Marie Claire, Gabrielle worked in local government, higher education, and sales, and has resided in four countries and counting. She has worked extensively in the e-commerce and sales spaces since 2020, and spent two years at Drizly, where she developed an expertise in finding the best, highest quality goods and experiences money can buy.
Deeply political, she believes that skincare, haircare, and sexual wellness are central tenets to one's overall health and fights for them to be taken seriously, especially for people of color. She also loves studying makeup as a means of artistic expression, drawing on her experience as an artist in her analysis of beauty trends. She's based in New York City, where she can be found watching movies or running her art business when she isn't writing. Find her on Twitter at @GabrielleUlubay or on Instagram at @gabrielle.ulubay, or follow her art at @suburban.graffiti.art
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