What they are: Sephora Collection Colorful Powder Luminizers are a range of 6 new highlighters. They have a gel-powder formula that helps them to meld with the skin without looking dry and they give off a soft, buildable glow without glitter or large sparkles. These are $14 each, contain 0.12 oz / 3.5 grams of product, and can be purchased from Sephora and Kohl’s.

Packaging: Simple clear compact that snaps open and closed. The hinge has a good amount of tension to hold whatever position it is placed in and opens completely flat if desired. It doesn’t look like it’s possible to remove the pan easily from the packaging.

Smell/Fragrance: No detectable scent or fragrance.

Expiration: I could not find an indication of shelf life anywhere on the product.

Ingredients:

Mica, CI 77891 (Titanium Dioxide), Cetearyl Ethylhexanoate, Silica, CI 77491 (Iron Oxides), Glycerin, Polysorbate 20, Caprylyl Glycol, Squalane, Ethylhexylglycerin, Synthetic Fluorphlogopite, 1,2-Hexanediol, Pentaerythrityl Tetra-Di-T-Butyl Hydroxyhydrocinnamate, Chondrus Crispus (Chondrus Crispus (Carrageenan)), Xanthan Gum, Dicalcium Phosphate, CI 77492 (Iron Oxides), Tocopherol

Sephora.com

Performance

Shade Selection: I like that they have paired this down to six shades but at the same time span a large range of depth. Most of the shades are neutral-ish and offer the type of sheen that can go from ultra subtle to noticeable but not mirror-ball with the most colorful thing being the shade Pink Flash. I think almost anyone can make almost any of these shades work in some way as they are sheer but buildable. The two lightest ones have the least visible amount of base color or “cast” on me. The rest have a sheer warm base color that could get in the way if you don’t want it there or it could help to add some color to the cheek.

Application: If used strictly as a cheek highlighter, I would use a small fluffy brush (like a large eyeshadow crease brush) to pick up product and dust it along the tops of my cheekbones. The powder grips onto the skin well but I can use my brush to buff over it, spread it out and diffuse it till I get it looking like I want. If I go into one of the deeper shades to use as bronzer or blush, I can tap lightly into the pan with a blush brush to start and continue building up the color till I’m happy with it. Again, since they adhere well to the skin, I buff over the cheek a bit as I go to make sure the color is looking even and well blended. I don’t have any issues with patchiness or unevenness until I get to the shade Blinding Bronze. This one still works and ends up looking even but it shows up much more starkly against my pale skin so I need to spend some more time blending it out. Using them as eyeshadows, I can use all the same eyeshadow brushes I normally would for regular eyeshadows or my fingers. They adhere well even if I use dry brushes and give a soft shimmer finish that is just a bit more reflective than a satin finish eyeshadow but less so than a foiled/metallic shadow. There is hardly any fallout used this way but I did notice the shade Rose Quartz gave me a tiny bit of sparkle fallout (as that is the shade with the most visible sparkle in it). The amount of fallout I got was far less than I get from the average eyeshadow though. 

Texture/Consistency/Finish: The gel-powder formula is a bit firmer to the touch and easier to pick up just the right amount of product on a brush. It is difficult to over apply the product unless you are trying to. It does not have a powdery, dry texture that flies into the air as a brush touches the pan. As it is applied to the skin it adheres easily and lays closely and smoothly on the surface. It does not leave a visibly powdery finish on the cheek. The sheen these give off is on the softer and more refined side. They can be built up easily to a level that looks obvious and noticeable to others but it never goes into “seen from space” territory.

Pigmentation/Color Payoff: Most of them have a sheer base color that gets slightly more visible against my skin tone as I go into the deeper shades. Iced Pearl and Rose Quartz are the only ones that I cannot see a base color against my skin tone. The rest of them could be passable as glowy blushes (or glowy bronzers for the shades Glitzy Gold and Blinding Bronze) if they are built up heavily enough. If they are built up that heavily, I don’t feel the amount of sheen and luminosity I get from the shimmer is so intense that I wouldn’t feel comfortable wearing them out.

Longevity: On the cheek, these last well all day. They can transfer off a bit if I’m touching my face too much but with normal wear, I still see it clearly by the very end of the day. Worn as eyeshadow, these have okay wear time but benefit from the use of a primer. I get about 6 hours without primer until I start seeing it crease and in that same time with a primer I see only the very faintest hint that it’s beginning to fade in the crease. Being closer to skin tone shades and somewhat more sheer than a true eyeshadow, its easy to get away with this slightly less than ideal wear time as it isn’t very obvious.

Pros and Cons:

Things I like:

• I find all the shades usable in some way. Most of them are pretty basic, neutral shades that aren’t shifty or glittery.
• Beautiful sheen that isn’t too overpowering and can be applied ultra subtly or built up to be fairly noticeable, if desired. 
• Only one shade with marginally larger sparkle. Chunky sparkle is not an issue with these.
• The gel-powder texture isn’t dry and sits well on the skin.
• Easy to pick up the right amount of product on a brush.

Drawbacks and other considerations:

• Might be too subtle for someone that loves a super intense highlight. 
• The base color in some of the shades may show up as a “cast”. 
• Building up the sheen also means building up the color.

Do I Recommend Them?

Yes, these are nice quality for a fair price. I especially like that the shades offered are “wearable” but aren’t TOO basic. They add a little something extra not only from the sheen but from the colors themselves. And I find the multi-use claim actually true as I can use some of them for glowy blush/bronzer or eyeshadow and they function well for those purposes.

Glitzy Gold

For all of the demo photos below, I am wearing the Natasha Denona My Mini Dream Blush (just matte part) and used the highlighters on the tops of the cheekbones. The true color of each shade alone is better seen in the swatches and the demos can give you an idea of the kind of effect they might have if used as highlighters.

Glitzy Gold is a bright golden copper. It’s not a particularly yellow gold and also not very dark so I can just barely pull it off on my skin tone if used with a light hand. The base color in this one adds a bit of warmth to my cheeks that almost looks like a light bronzer.

Sparkling Honey

Sparkling Honey is a light-medium rose gold. It is more pink than I expected based on the shade name but is still warm-toned. This one is ever so slightly deeper and warmer than my skin tone but I can still use it lightly as a highlighter. Works well as a blush topper too.

Pink Flash

Pink Flash has a very sheer warm peachy base color with an easy-to-see pink sheen. The pink sheen definitely overpowers the base color but not completely. The base color is a bit deeper than my skin tone but it is sheer enough that I don’t think it looks bad. This is one I’d use more as a glowy blush or a blush topper than a highlight.

Blinding Bronze

Blinding Bronze is something I’d use as a glowy bronzer or an eyeshadow. It builds up on the skin more slowly and gently than an eyeshadow. Picking up color on a brush or a fingertip is easy but I pick up less color in one pass than something like an eyeshadow. This one has mostly small particles but if I really scrutinize it there are just a scattering of some small sparkles as well.

Iced Pearl

Iced Pearl has a very subtle light pink sheen in certain lighting (more visible in the demo photo). I wouldn’t describe this as being a shifty shade but it does seem to look different depending on what kind of light it is under. This has all tiny shimmer particles and gives a soft, smooth glow to the skin.

Rose Quartz

Rose Quartz is slightly deeper than Iced Pearl and has a warmer pinky tone. This one is mostly made up of a base of small particles but does have some slightly larger shimmers that create a sparkling shimmer finish. Of all the shades, this is the one with the most visible sparkle, but the overall effect is still soft and subdued.

Worn As Eyeshadow

To give you an idea of the kind of finish and color payoff these have when used on the eyes, here’s a quick look using Blinding Bronze all over the lid, Sparkling Honey on the lower lashline and Iced Pearl on the inner corner. I used dry brushes for most of this but patted Blinding Bronze on with my finger to the upper lid as well. I used the lightest matte shade from the Natasha Denona My Mini Dream Palette in the crease before applying any of the other shades.

What it is: The Natasha Denona My Mini Dream Glow Blush is a mini cheek trio based on the larger cheek palette from the earlier My Dream Collection release. It contains 2 matte blushes and 1 highlighter all pressed artfully into a single pan. The color of the deeper matte blush is the same as the one from the larger palette in the collection.

Price/Quantity: $20.00 for 4 grams

Availability: Natasha Denona, Sephora, Ulta, Beautylish

Shade Range: 1 shade option.

Packaging: Plastic compact with a soft-matte finish and feel that opens most of the way but not completely flat and has a magnetic closure. It has a fairly large mirror inside the lid and the pan inside is not removable. The weight feels lighter than expected in the hand but otherwise it still feels like well-made, nice quality packaging. 

The pan is about the average size of a blush (see comparisons below). The side that contains the matte blushes is plenty large enough to fit a normal sized blush brush into without dipping into the shimmer next to it. It’s not super easy to pick up only one of the matte shades though as they are very slim and somewhat splotched into either. I can only realistically mix the two mattes but the resulting shade works well and is neither too light nor too dark. 

Smell/Fragrance: Smells like absolutely nothing to me.

Expiration/Shelf Life: 24 months after opening.

Performance

When mixed, the color of the matte blushes is a very slight warm-leaning medium mauve. It is similar and very comparable to several other blushes that have been favorite go-to shades. The color payoff is easy to control. I can apply it lightly and build it up easily to look more intense. Either way, the color goes on evenly and sits smoothly, almost seamlessly, on the skin. It doesn’t look dry or powdery even up close. The finish of the matte side is like a natural-matte. It’s not totally flat and dull but does not have any visible shimmer in it.

The shimmer is fine, not chunky or sparkly. It has a good amount of reflect that is very buildable. I can apply it very lightly and get a subtle glow or build it up to something more dewy looking. It gives a smooth, soft glow. It’s not a blinding metallic sheen but it can be built up to be strong enough to look a bit “unnatural” if that’s the type of highlight you prefer. It has a slight rosy-neutral tone to it but still looks very neutral/nude on my complexion, definitely not pink. Though it is a powder, the texture is almost “creamy”. Not dry in the least and melts into the skin well.

There is a bit of powdery kickup in the pan if I try to mix the blushes and highlight together all in one swirl. If pick them up separately, I don’t get as much kickup. I think the shimmer is pressed a bit looser or just crumbles much more easily when touched than the mattes do. The amount of kickup is a noticeable but I don’t think it’s too excessive.

After one wear test of 9 hours, the blush was still visible by the end of the day. It faded a little bit but I was touching my face occasionally over the course of the day. For this test, I used the highlighter as a topper on one side of the face and mixed into the blush on the other side. The highlight on the side where I used it as a topper faded much more than the side where I mixed it together with the matte blush.

Pros and Cons

Things I like:

• Color works well for me personally. The type of shade I’d reach for when I’m not sure what blush to pair with the rest of my makeup. Very “neutral” on me. “Goes with everything” kind of color.
• Buildable color payoff. Easy to add subtle color or build up the intensity.
• Even application of color without patchiness whether applied lightly or heavily.
• Not inexpensive but not unreasonably priced for the quality.
• Pan is large enough to use just the mattes or the shimmer if I want.

Drawbacks and other considerations:

• There is only this one shade. I like the formula and having the blush and highlighter together but more shades in this format would be awesome.
• There is some kickup when using a brush to mix the highlighter and blush together in the pan.
• The color of the matte blush is easily dupable.

Do I Recommend It?

Yes. Even though the color isn’t the most unique, I really like how both the blush and the highlighter apply and sit on the skin, and the presentation is super cute. I like the convenience of having the highlighter included and being able choose to just use the matte side or swirl it all together for a more glowy and slightly lighter looking color.

Swatches

Comparisons

The first two swatches are of the Natasha Denona Blush and the rest are:

• Too Faced Cloud Crush Blurring Blush in Velvet Crush
• Tarte Amazonian Clay Blush in Exposed
• Benefit Rockateur (discontinued)
• Benefit Wanderful World Blush in Willa
• Essence Satin Touch Blush in Satin Love (discontinued)
• Essence Pure Nude Baked Blush in Rosy Rosewood
• Nars Blush in Orgasm

There are some similar shades, especially of the matte portion of the Natasha Denona blush. It’s not super unique in color but it does have a slight warmer peachy nuance.

Above I have:

• Fenty Killawatt Freestyle Highlighter in Lightning Dust
• Becca Shimmering Skin Perfector in Moonstone
• Becca Shimmering Skin Perfector in Opal
• Benefit Cookie
• Benefit Dandelion Twinkle
• Maybelline Master Chrome Highlighter in Molten Rose Gold
• Essence Pure Nude Highlighter in 10 Be My Highlight

The Natasha Denona highlight is brighter and has a slight pink tone to it compared to the others. On the face, I don’t find that it actually looks pink, though. The reflect I get from it is right in the middle, not being as shiny as something like Benefit Cookie but more reflective than Essence Pure Nude Highlighter and Benefit Dandelion Twinkle.

bareMinerals Gen Nude Highlighting Blushes are a collection of 5 glowy and subtly tinted blushes that can be worn alone, layered over other blushes, or simply used as highlighter. All except Mauve Glow are pretty light on me. The rosy base color barely shows up against my skin tone. I can build them up without feeling like I’m intensifying the sheen too much. The shimmer particles are very fine and give the skin a noticeable glow without looking blindingly metallic, sparkly or glittery. The glowy finish is strong but I don’t feel it is unflattering or makes the texture of my skin look worse. They feel like really nice quality to the touch, not dry at all, and they pick and transfer super easily with a brush. They build up blend out almost effortlessly.

Price: $26 each
Availability: bareMinerals, Ulta, Sephora, Macy’s, Kohl’s

Pink Glow

The main thing I notice with Pink Glow is that the sheen in this one is reddish pink. If it has much of a base color, it is difficult to see. Because of the color of the shimmer particles, this one is pretty unique to what I have in my collection.

Mauve Glow

Mauve Glow has a warm bronze base color and purplish blueish sheen. This one reminded me of Benefit Rockateur (RIP ) because that one had a similar vibe with a warmer-toned base color and a cooler-toned sheen. Trying to two side by side, they are definitely not dupes but if you liked that one and miss it, you may like this one. The sheen from Mauve Glow is stronger but can easily be toned down by brushing over it with a clean brush.

Rose Glow

Rose Glow has a pale pink base color with a cooler, more silvery sheen. This is similar to Opal Glow but, side by side, that one is quite a bit warmer and this one is much more obviously pink. The two end up having about a similar depth when layered more heavily and worn as blush.

Opal Glow

Opal Glow is a pale pinky champagne. This just barely has enough color in it to show up as a blush against my skin tone but I’m more likely to use this as a highlighter, a blush topper or perhaps an eyeshadow. The warm pink tones in this are pretty strong and noticeable when used on the eyes but on the cheeks, it has a more neutral look on me. I get a strong, almost wet-looking sheen from this and if I build it up to get more of the base color to show up, the sheen does intensify but I don’t feel like it’s too reflective or unflattering. When used very high up on the cheekbones, it is ever so slightly darker than my skin tone but still passable used that way because the base color is sheer enough.

Peach Glow

Peach Glow is very similar to Opal Glow in color and finish but this one is a hint warmer and peachier. It builds up about the same way too. If I were to choose one or the other to wear as blush by itself, I’d go with this one because it just shows up better on me.

Bonus Comparison

I thought I’d show these two side by side in case anyone was wondering how they compare.

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links, which means I make a small commission when you make purchases through them.

Too Faced Diamond Light Highlighter is a multicolor highlighter with parts that are blue, green, and purplish pink that swirl together to create a multi dimensional highlighted look to the cheek. It contains 12 grams of product, retails for $34, and can be purchased from Too Faced, Sephora, Ulta, Nordstrom, and Macy’s.

The packaging is made of a high quality cardboard that is held closed with a magnet. The little button you see at the bottom of the compact is just for show – it doesn’t actually do anything. It is pretty but a little thick. It doesn’t include a brush or mirror, which is fine by me.

You could concentrate on a certain color if you wanted, using a smaller fluffy brush, or simply swirl all the colors together.

This had a very silky smooth and finely milled feel to the touch. It wasn’t dry or powdery at all. The powder was pressed just right, not too loose and not too firm. It applied and blended out evenly on my cheek.

The highlight can be quite intense if you want. Just a gentle tap onto the powder with a brush is plenty for me (I prefer a subtle highlight). Swirling all the shades together ends up depositing a lot of product on my brush – more than I’d like – and yields a very intense highlight. I just pat excess off the brush onto the back of my hand.

The color shift is pretty noticeable. Mine had a lot of blue in it so I found it paired best with cooler toned blushes. It clashed a little when I went with an overall warmer look.

I wore it for about 7 hours before I started noticing slight fading.

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links, which means I make a small commission when you make purchases through them.

Tarte Love, Trust & Fairy Dust Palette contains 10 eyeshadows and 1 highlighter. The compact includes a large high quality mirror and opens all the way so that it can be laid out flat on a table if desired. Each eyeshadow is contains 1g and the highlighter contains 2g. It is limited edition, retails for $39 and can be purchased from Tarte, Sephora, and Ulta.

I really dig the mix of colors in this palette. They balance each other out and there isn’t too much overlap except for the two darkest shades which could be used interchangeably. It’s the type of thing I could easily reach for everyday, if I were using the same palette on a daily basis.

The purple toned shades (Giggle and Whimsical) are very muted so the undertone doesn’t show up very well on the eye. It ends up looking more taupe/greyish. They stand out more if you incorporate the warmer shade (Frolic) somewhere in your look as well to provide some contrast.

After using it a few times, I would give the quality of the product inside an 8/10. It’s not perfect but it’s pretty darn good. The parts that could use improvement are the lasting power when used on bare eyelids, a smidge of patchiness from some of the matte shades, and shimmer fallout from the shade Magic. I’m not too bothered by lasting power because over a primer these last at least 8 hours. The tiny bit of patchiness is there but I’m nitpicking so that you are aware of it. The shimmer fallout for me personally is the most annoying thing because it affects the order in which I apply my makeup.

• Gossamer – Very pale peach with a matte finish. Soft and smooth but not too powdery in the pan. Good color payoff. Sits nicely on the eyelid without looking dry or powdery.
• Frolic – Midtone peachy brown with a matte finish. Good color payoff, blended out easily. Looks warmer-toned on the skin than in does in the pan.
• Wonder – Deep chocolatey brown with a mostly matte finish. There are some super tiny sparkles but once this is applied, it reads as matte. This swatched exceptionally well in a single pass without any patchiness or streaking. I didn’t notice any fallout from it either during application. It did “stick” a bit where I first applied it and required me to be extra mindful to blend.
• Wish – Deep plummy brown with a mostly matte finish. Like Wonder, this also has some tiny sparkles that pretty much disappear once applied. This shade is more patchy and also has a drier feel to the touch. It seems to apply and blend equally as well as Wonder, though.
• Whimsical – Midtone muted mauve with a matte finish. This was somewhat powdery and messy in the pan.
• Giggle – Pale muted mauve with a matte finish. This has an incredibly smooth, creamy feel to the touch. It is still a powder though.
• Mystical – Bright pink shimmer with a subtle orange base that becomes more visible as the shade is blended out.
• Magic – Classic rose gold with a metallic finish. This shade has significant shimmer fallout. If you plan to use it, I recommend doing your eye makeup before your face makeup.
• Flitter – Pale warm pink with a shimmer finish.
• Twinkle – Golden peachy shimmer. It’s not so obvious in the swatch, but this has some larger glitter particles that become more visible during application. It wasn’t bothersome, but just something to note. It applied fairly well with a dry, flat brush.
• Flower Crown – Champagne shimmer with subtle yellow undertones. This can be applied lightly and the shimmer will spread out and give you more of a sparkly highlight effect. Applied with a heavier hand, this will give off more of a metallic highlight. The yellow undertones are subtle enough that they don’t look obviously warm-toned on my cooler-toned skin. This is loose, powdery and messy in the pan.

In this look I am wearing:

• Gossamer – Inner corner, brow bone
• Giggle – Transition
• Whimsical – Crease
• Wonder – Outer lid
• Twinkle – Inner lid (applied with dry flat brush)
• Magic – Center of lid (applied with finger)
• Frolic – Lower lashline

Everything worked out well for this look except for a tiny bit of fallout from Twinkle and some more extensive fallout from Magic, which I had to buff away with a small powder brush. Frolic is much warmer and more orangey on the eye than it looks in the pan, so it’s a good thing they balanced it with the purple-y shades on the opposite side of the palette. After 5 hours, I could see some slight fading in the crease both with and without primer. It looked like it was the shimmer shades that were most affected.

In this look I am wearing:

• Gossamer – Brow bone
• Frolic – Transition
• Wish – Crease
• Mystical – Outer lid
• Flitter – Inner lid
• Giggle – Lower lashline

The shimmery shades (mystical and flitter) had a bit of fallout but not enough that I’d feel the need to do my face makeup after doing my eyes. They applied okay with a brush at first but I went over them and applied the same shades with my fingers to intensify the color. The mattes generally applied fine though I think Frolic was a tad patchy which was more noticeable as I tried to build up the color. This look gives me Urban Decay Backtalk Palette vibes with the overall warmth and orange/cranberry tones. This wore for 9.5 hours with primer with a tiny bit of fading. The unprimed eye was very faded and visibly creased.

The Urban Decay Backtalk Palette is a face and eye palette containing 8 eyeshadows, 2 blushes, and 2 highlighters. It retails for $46. The palette is divided by a removable mirror and is held closed with a magnet. This mirror has to be placed back into the palette for it to close properly and there is also a certain direction it must be facing. Both sides of the mirror are magnetized differently.

The shades weren’t what I was expecting. I was expecting softer more mauve-y looks from this palette and what it actually gives me are bolder, pinker looks.

The way I typically do an eye look doesn’t work quite as well for me with the shades provided. For example, my first instinct was to use Backtalk as a crease shade and Attitude on the lid but these two shades have such similar undertones that the look turned into a reddish muddy mess.

The two lighter shimmer shades, Bare and Curve, are too similar. When I see 2 shades that are similar in a palette, it makes me feel like I’m getting one less shade than was promised.

The shades are generally soft and smooth with a small amount of powderiness in the pan. After several uses, I can see a slight dusting of loose powder on the packaging but nothing that bothers me. I only experienced fallout from the shade 180. The shimmers are softer with a satiny finish. The only one that comes close to being metallic is Attitude.

The pigmentation is not terribly intense but I also wouldn’t describe it as weak. There is a nice middle ground here with the color payoff from all of the shades. Everything blended out easily for me.

The highlighters look darker in the pan than they apply to the face. I initially thought Low Key would be more of a blush topper for me, but it works as a highlighter on my skin tone. The peachy tone you see in the pan is much sheerer once blended out on the cheek.

After wearing the eyeshadows for 8 hours, the eye I used Nars Pro Prime on held up flawlessly. The unprimed eye had a little bit of creasing but generally still looked decent. The blushes and highlighters wore well for 8 hours with very minimal fading.

Swatches

Look 1

• 3 Sheets – brow bone
• WTF – crease
• Shade – outer lid
• Bare – inner lid

Look 2

• 3 Sheets – brow bone
• Backtalk – crease
• 180 – outer lid
• Attitude – center of lid
• Curve – inner lid

Look 3

• 3 Sheets – brow bone and inner lid
• WTF – upper crease, lower lashline
• Backtalk – lower crease
• 180 – outer half of lid
• Bare – lower lashline
• Curve – center of lid, applied with damp brush

Look 4

• 3 Sheets – brow bone, inner corner
• Backtalk – inner crease, inner lower lashline
• WTF – outer crease, outer lower lashline
• Shade – outer lid, applied with fingertip
• Attitude – inner lid, applied with fingertip

Blushes and Highlighters

Maybelline’s Pink Edge Palette, $12 at Ulta, has everything you need (minus lip color) to create a cooler toned mauve-y look. The colors are well coordinated and come together to create a look that is a teensy bit more colorful than what you get with your typical neutral palette.

The eyeshadows are kind of powdery but they have good, buildable pigmentation. They feel smooth to the touch and blend out easily on the eye. All of the mattes perform well and the shimmers are mostly decent, though I think they are the weakness of the palette. They don’t adhere as well to the lid as I’d like. Most of the shades have very little visible fallout except for the rose gold and black eyeshadows. The rose gold applies best with a damp brush to minimize fallout and get the most popping shine out of it.

The blush goes beautifully with the eyeshadows. It’s just bright enough to add some life to the overall look. It has stronger pigmentation than I thought it would so I only need to tap my brush into it lightly for a pop of color.

The highlighter is similar in texture to the shimmer eyeshadows with shimmer that disperses very readily and evenly over the skin. It is VERY subtle though. It’s the type of shimmer that you can see better in certain types of light, like sunlight. The effect is more of a sparkle than a sheen. I applied it pretty heavily for the photos and it’s still subtle! It is a highlighter that would be nearly impossible to over apply.

Overall, I like this palette and am happy to have it in my collection. I love that this has a blush in it and that all the colors coordinate so well because it makes for a perfect little travel palette.

Click on the swatches to see a larger image.

In this eye look I am wearing all of the eyeshadow shades.

• Matte Light Pink – Inner corner and brow bone
• Matte Taupe – Transition shade
• Lighter Berry – Crease
• Darker Berry – Outer lid, blended up into the crease
• Pale Shimmery Pink – Inner lid
• Rose Gold – Center of lid, applied with damp brush
• Shimmery Taupe – Lower lash line
• Matte Black – Outer half of upper and lower lash lines

The Tarte Amazonian Clay Blush Palette Color Wheel is a limited edition palette containing 8 blushes and 2 highlighters. Each pan contains 0.084 oz/ 2.38 g, compared to the full size blushes which are 0.2 oz. It retails for $44 and is exclusively available at Sephora.

The palette opens up like a clamshell and closes up with a clasp. There is no mirror but the back of it has a mirror-like reflective finish so you could use it as a mirror if you wanted to. It is surprisingly not as thick and bulky as I had imagined. I included a couple images below comparing it to one of Tarte’s regular permanent size blushes.

The product inside is decent but not excellent. I have Blissful and Exposed from the permanent line and they are great – not powdery, and just the right amount of pigmentation. The matte shades in the palette were pretty close in quality to the permanent blushes, but a couple of them are a tad powdery. Ironic, Montage, and Icon are all fairly similar in tone and look about the same once applied to the cheeks. It would have been nice to see more variation in color. Surreal, Deco, and Mod had enough variation to look different on the cheek, though. The two shimmery blushes, Concept and Culture, are very powdery and leave a mess in the palette which was disappointing, but they did look nice once applied. Concept looks more shimmery in the pan but a lot of the sparkle brushes away when applied to the cheek. Culture’s finish has a much stronger sheen.

Crafty is pale pink-toned highlighter with a sparkly finish and a pinkish sheen that can be seen depending on how light falls on the skin. Idol has a muted yellowy-bronze tone to it with a finer shimmer finish than Crafty. They are both a little powdery.

Pros:

• Good pigmentation
• They blend well
• Nice compact packaging
• Blushes are large enough for a blush brush
• No mirror, but the packaging is mirror-like
• Pretty good value for the number of shades

Cons:

• More variation in color would have been nice
• Some of the shades are powdery

Worth Buying?

If you already have a pretty good blush stash, this is probably not something worth picking up as the colors aren’t really unique. Also, if you are a stickler for quality, it’s going to be more of a miss. It could be a good option for travel, though, because it does manage to pack a bunch of options in relatively small packaging.

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Product Description

Laura Geller Filter Finish Baked Radiant Setting Powder is a universal powder designed to “blur flaws, balance your skin tone, and illuminate your face with a warm natural glow.” It contains 0.24 oz / 7 g and retails for $32. It can be purchased from Laura Geller and Ulta.

Performance

This was an ultra fine, smooth, and lightweight powder with a very pale neutral nude sheen. The sheen wasn’t sparkly or frosty, but was very natural looking from a normal distance. When using this as a highlighter, I found it nearly impossible to over apply, as it was both subtle yet noticeably brightening. However, using this as a setting powder didn’t work well on me, particularly on my forehead where I have large pores, and on my nose, which is shiny enough on its own.

The packaging seems to be made well. It wasn’t difficult to open, stayed closed securely, and the hinge worked well. There was no fragrance but the powder did have a faint mineral smell which was not noticeable during normal use.

The closest thing I have in my collection to this is Hourglass Incandescent Light from the Ambient Lighting Palette, which is a little bit more subtle and a smidge more powdery. They both impart a similar subtle glow and have a silky, thin texture.

Worth Buying?

I can see how this could be very beautiful as a setting powder on somebody with naturally great skin. If you have any kind of texture though, like large pores, fine lines, sun damage, or acne scaring then it’s best used sparingly as a highlighter. I recommend checking this out if you need a highlighter that is truly neutral in color and/or more subdued. It’s a good alternative to a white highlighter, which can look too intense at times.

Pros:

• Subtle, natural sheen
• Difficult to over-apply (when used as a highlighter)
• Not powdery
• Neutral color

Cons:

• Emphasizes texture
• Could easily be too glowy as a setting powder on oily skin

Product Description

Price/Quantity: $7 for 0.5 fl oz.
Availability: NYX website, Ulta, Amazon
Color Range: 2 colors
Color/Texture:

• Sunbeam – Pinkish shimmer with small glitter particles.
• Gleam – Peachy bronze shimmer with a subtle glowy finish.

Packaging: Flat squeeze tube with a twist off lid.
Smell/Fragrance: It is not fragranced but it does smell like an “unscented” moisturizer.

Performance

Application: Easy to just tap on and blend with your fingers. Feels lightweight and not sticky. Dries down completely after a minute so it won’t rub off easily. This could also be mixed in with your liquid foundation to give it a more dewy finish.
Pigmentation: Provides a subtle glow. It’s not frosty or shiny. Sunbeam will deposit a few tiny glitter particles and seems to be a bit more light reflective than Gleam. Gleam just has very fine light reflecting particles that are hard to see unless you look up close.
Longevity: Since it dries down it will easily last all day.

Overall Opinion

Pros:

• For Sunbeam, a little goes a long way. It can be built up to be more frosty if that’s what you like.
• Gleam can be used on darker skintones as a subtle illuminator or on lighter skin tones as a liquid bronzer
• Could work on more than just cheeks for added glow (eyes, shoulders, collar bones, etc.)
• Feels lightweight on the skin
• Dries down completely

Cons:

• For those who like shinier, frostier illuminators, these may be too subtle

Worth buying? Yes. I am not sure why but I just did not expect to like these as much as I do. They don’t create a dramatic visual effect but they sure make me feel like it. This product offers one very natural looking shade (Gleam) and one more glitzy option (Sunbeam). Gleam would be an excellent one to mix with your foundation for a nice summer glow. These are very nice and could hold their own next to higher end illuminators.