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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.