Like all makeup users know, it’s rather difficult keeping a natural highlighter on. Why you makeup-free people ask? Because all that natural highlighter pretty much melts away after you’ve finished your makeup. Then you’re forced to re-apply it to your skin with a cream illuminator or shine stick. And even that might disappear by lunchtime.

As it turns out, there’s a clever makeup hack to achieve a natural-looking glow that radiates through foundation, concealer, and setting powder. According to Nikki DeRoest, a celebrity makeup artist, the trick is called pre-highlighting. It’s even a major skincare secret among her star-studded clientele.

“The single technique that makes skin look naturally radiant, both in person through an iPhone camera, is implementing the pre-highlight,” she told Refinery29 of her now-signature glowy aesthetic (as seen on celebs and supermodels like Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, Hailey Bieber, and Shanina Shaik).

DeRoest told Refinery29 the technique is straightforward: you simply highlight the skin before makeup. “After I apply a priming moisturizer to the skin— the Bobbi Brown Vitamin-Enriched Face Base is my go-to — I’ll rub liquid highlighter all over the cheekbones, up on the forehead, down the nose, and a little bit on the chin,” she explains. “I’ll either use the Chantecaille Lumiere highlighter or By Terry’s Brightening CC serum, which are both illuminating liquids that coat the skin with light-reflecting pigments. Next, I’ll move onto foundation and concealer.”