Dua Lipa's Makeup Artist Just Shared Her Genius "Butterfly" Highlighter Technique

We're all guilty of wasting countless hours scrolling on TikTok. But, every once in a while, a beauty tip comes along that makes it all worth it. Is however-much time lost a fair trade for one-step falsie-level lashes or, say, perfect highlighter in literally five seconds? If you ask us, yes.

One of those tips comes straight from the mouth of Dua Lipa's go-to makeup artist, Lisa Eldridge, who has a lightning-fast, one-product glowing skin hack she’s been kind enough to share with our FYP: the “butterfly technique.”

Ahead, we’re giving you insight into Eldridge’s latest pro tip. Float like a butterfly, slay like a Dua-worthy highlighter look. That’s basically the quote, anyway.

The Trick

We’re no strangers to Lisa Eldridge’s TikTok… or her Instagram, coffee table book, and iconic YouTube channel. She’s a true beauty legend, and when she posts it’s time to pay attention. 

According to Eldridge, the butterfly technique is a go-to when she’s on set and short on time. The best part? All it takes is a pair of hands and your favorite liquid highlighter.

"One of my favorite on-set pro tips is what I call my butterfly technique. This is when I’m on set and I notice that the model or celebrity needs more glow in this area,” Lisa explains in the TikTok, demonstrating the application area with a swipe up her cheekbones to her temples. “The photographer, they’re doing their thing. They don’t want you going in and if you do go in, they want you to be really, really fast.”

With her model at the ready, Lisa swipes some liquid highlighter—she uses her very own Lisa Eldridge Cosmetics Elevated Glow Highlighter ($38) in Crystal Nebula—onto the outside edge of her own hand. Then, she rubs the edges of her hands together to distribute and warm up the product.

“What’s really great is that this part of your hand is the perfect shape to fit into [the cheekbone] area,” she says.

According to Lisa, the next step is applying the highlighter to the skin in three upward, curved “butterfly wing shapes.” (It’s like your hands are cupped, but you’re only utilizing the outside edge of your palm. Explaining it makes it sound much more complicated than it is.)

“It takes five seconds and honestly I believe that hands are often the best makeup tools,” the MUA adds as her model looks on.

While this trick works best on someone else, Lisa has an extra tip for self-sufficient glow-seekers.

“On yourself, using the fleshier part of the side of your hand, pat onto the cheekbone [using] a rocking motion up to your temples,” she wrote in a comment after someone asked if they’d have to cross their arms for self-application.

Finally—it’s this easy!—use your fingers to tap the product into the skin. And ta-da! You’re as luminous as mermaid Barbie herself.