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Lancome Rosegold Lights Glow Subtil Silky Creme Highlighter Review, Photos, Swatches

Lancome Rosegold Lights Glow Subtil Silky Creme Highlighter
Lancome Rosegold Lights Glow Subtil Silky Creme Highlighter

Lancome Rosegold Lights Glow Subtil Silky Creme Highlighter ($30.00 for 0.14 oz.) is a muted, medium-dark rose with warm, golden shimmer. Bobbi Brown Telluride (LE, $48.00) is more shimmery, cooler (90% similar). Becca Raspberry/Opal (P, $27.00) is warmer (90% similar). NARS Coucher de Soleil III (LE, ) is less shimmery, lighter (90% similar). Bobbi Brown Tawny Glow (P, $48.00) is more shimmery (90% similar). Looxi Beauty Venom (P, $7.50) is lighter (90% similar). Laura Geller Pink Buttercream (P, $28.00) is brighter (85% similar). MAC Talk of the Town (LE, $29.00) is more shimmery, lighter (85% similar). Tom Ford Beauty Incandescent (Bottom) (PiP, $75.00) is more shimmery, darker (85% similar). Natasha Denona Dark (03) (P, $38.00) is darker, warmer (80% similar). KIKO 111 Classic Rose (P, $12.00) is brighter, warmer (80% similar). Laura Geller Tropic Hues (P, $28.00) is brighter, cooler (80% similar). NYX Deep Plum (P, $6.50) is less shimmery, darker, brighter (80% similar). Bobbi Brown Sunset Glow (P, $48.00) is more shimmery, lighter (80% similar). Surratt Beauty De Cherubique (P, $32.00) is brighter, warmer (80% similar). See comparison swatches / view dupes side-by-side.

The Glow Subtil Silky Creme Highlighter is a “buildable cream highlighter” that gives a “soft-focused glow.” The texture is dense, lightly spongy, and very emollient to the touch–it feels quite wet initially–but it goes on smoothly and dries down to a powder-like finish, so it doesn’t look wet or glossy (nor does it slide right off the face, either!). If you thought, “Hey, that looks like ColourPop!” — you’re right on the money; the texture is very much in that vein, and to my knowledge, I’ve really only seen ColourPop use that cream formula in a cheek product (but they were not the first to use it in eyeshadows–Chanel, BUXOM, Dior, and MAC have also used it). I find Lancome’s formula to be more slippery to the touch, but they perform largely the same otherwise. Rosegold Lights had semi-sheer, buildable color payoff with a soft, blendable texture that was easy to apply to the skin with a synthetic brush or fingertips (I prefer fingertips myself). The color lasted for nine hours before fading very slightly.

Also, a note: the interior plastic pan that product actually sits in was offset in both of mine, so that it could pop out, which I do not think was intentional, and I was able to pop it fully in and haven’t had them lift out on their own since.

Lancome Rosegold Lights Glow Subtil Silky Creme Highlighter
Lancome Rosegold Lights Glow Subtil Silky Creme Highlighter

Lancome Rosegold Lights Glow Subtil Silky Creme Highlighter
Lancome Rosegold Lights Glow Subtil Silky Creme Highlighter

Lancome Rosegold Lights Glow Subtil Silky Creme Highlighter
Lancome Rosegold Lights Glow Subtil Silky Creme Highlighter

Lancome Rosegold Lights Glow Subtil Silky Creme Highlighter
Lancome Rosegold Lights Glow Subtil Silky Creme Highlighter

Lancome Rosegold Lights Glow Subtil Silky Creme Highlighter
Lancome Rosegold Lights Glow Subtil Silky Creme Highlighter

Lancome Rosegold Lights Glow Subtil Silky Creme Highlighter
Lancome Rosegold Lights Glow Subtil Silky Creme Highlighter

Makeup Look
On face:
  • Tarte Rainforest of the Sea Foundation
  • Guerlain Les Voilettes Loose Setting Powder
On eyes:
  • Becca Champagne Collection Eyeshadow Palette
On lips:
  • MAC Ravishing Lipstick

41 Comments

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Ivana Avatar

Though I´m normally not a highlighter gal, this goes on my wishlist (however with my fair skin, it looks like a lovely blush option).

Katherine T. Avatar

Wow, this is really pretty, love the color and shimmer! Think it will be pretty on medium to darker skintones, either as highlighter or blush topper

Ray Avatar

I think the prevailing suspicion is that Lancome had always used Seed Beauty (ColourPop’s parent company) to manufacture some of its products. This highlighter isn’t ripping off ColourPop as much as it’s simply the newest product commissioned by the manufacturer they’ve always used.

It casts ColourPop’s own formulations in a different light. It makes me think that they went with the unusual cream-based products so it would be more difficult to pinpoint which prestige brands use Seed Beauty. if they came out with a powder, someone would eventually connect the dots and it wouldn’t be great for the prestige brand.

Shana Avatar

Longtime didn’t buy anything from Lancôme.
I tried some products in the past but never been wooed by them, there were more deception than other. And since I tried and hated their artliner, I lost the interest for this brand. For me this brand’s price is just in between high end and drugstore, but with a medium quality. So I prefer to reach real high end and drugstores brands with better quality.

I’m surprised that it get a A+. Good for them ! But the packaging look meeeh. And without any fancy pattern, it looks like drugstore.
At that price point, they could at least put it in their good old black plastic packaging with a pretty pattern in it.
The BB Telluride looks much more attractive to me. And BB has 2x more product without to be 2x more expensive than the Lancôme.

The shimmers looks little too big on pictures.

So Lancôme, it’s still a pass for me.
But good to know that it’s a A+ formula !
If they came out with an other one with less golden shimmers, I’ll give it a try.

Christine Avatar

I don’t rate based on packaging – it is not part of the rating system so the packaging would have no impact on the rating of the product!

If you did not like Lancome products in the past, I don’t know that I would try this formula – sounds like it’s just not a brand that works well for you. 🙂

Shana Avatar

It’s great that you rate products basing on their formula and not on the packaging.
A good packaging is a plus, but the quality of the formula is what we want to know before buying something. <3

Shana Avatar

Lancôme is the 1st luxury brand I bought when I was young. It has special place in my heart. I want to love their formula, but it never really worked on me.

And with time I’ve notice that their black plastic packaging looks like Chanel’s, the price is just a little less than real high ends. So it just became brands I skip (like Clinique, HR, Estée Lauder, etc. those “in between” brands) to keep my budget for TF, Dior, YSL, Guerlain, etc. Cause I know that those brand’s formulas work well for me.
In other words, I don’t have the budget for Lancôme as long as they are not perfect, but if one day it become perfect like TF <3, I'll be happy to come back. 🙂

Katherine T. Avatar

I like the color and shimmer, but agree with you the packaging is very disappointing. For $ 30, they should ‘ve put this in an elegant black/ gold packaging and embossed the product with the Lancome rose symbol in gold, after all, it’s a rose gold highlighter! At least, it wouldn’t look like a blatant ripoff of ColourPop

Shana Avatar

Exactly !
It’s like the Pat McGraph highlighters. For someone with that kind of experience, and curriculum in this industry, the packaging of those highlighters just doesn’t fit the image of the creator, and the price tag she fixed.
Same for Lancôme here. For once they made a A+ formula product, they put it in a cheap plastic container. But it’s ok to charge 30$ for that.
Even brands like Catrice or Essence can make pretty clear and thick little containers that do not look that cheap.

Miss Kitty Avatar

This is such a lovely, complex color! I like how it’s got just a touch of brown to it, it’s not a straight rose-pink… I’m going to have to go and swatch this in person because this is divine! 😀

As for the formula, I believe the first blush to use this formula was the L’Oreal Visible Lift Color Lift Blush (boy, that was a mouthful!!!) that came out in early 2013. I do wish that Sephora had the ingredients for the Lancome posted, then we could compare it with the L’Oreal and Colourpop formulas.

Joce Avatar

They are clownin with that price point for what is basically a colour pop product. Color might be different, but not that different to justify such a high price with this packaging??????.

Bonnie Avatar

This is so beautiful as a blush I’m really tempted. But it’s hard to look past the fact that it looks and feels just like CP for 3x the price! I do think the color is very unique even if the formula is not!

Lulle Avatar

I just bought one of these (the other one you reviewed) and I find the formula incredibly silky and smooth, with a result that’s really flattering and not excessively metallic like a lot of highlighters can be these days.
As for the packaging and similarity to ColourPop, it’s funny that it causes so much outrage because Lancôme launched cream blushes in the exact same packaging last year with their summer collection (Blush Subtil Crème, I have one) and I didn’t hear anyone complain. Probably because bouncy cream blushes are more common while this type of formula for highlighters is harder to find, and only ColourPop comes to mind.

Marielle Avatar

It’s so pretty ^_^, I will definatly buy it when it would be available in Europe. I would have loved to try the colourpop version but they don’t ship in Europe, as it is for the price I get why it’s more expensive than the colour pop version so I don’t mind.

Tracey E. Avatar

Ages ago, I bought a Lancome Sensational Effects Cream Blush (in Model Mocha). I ADORE this blush, which works so well as a nude-y cheek contour/blush and has good wear time. I wish Lancome would bring this line back. So, I’d have time to test a Lancome cream highlighter.

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