Kaleidos Mars Melter Space Age Highlighter Review & Swatches
Mars Melter
Kaleidos Mars Melter Space Age Highlighter ($14.00 for 0.10 oz.) is a light, peachy-coral base with flecks of pink-to-orange shifting sparkle. It had a more translucent base, as marketed, so the coverage was semi-sheer to medium, buildable with more of the coverage coming in the form of sparkle and moderate shift that had a wet-like sheen.
The texture was drier, somewhat crumbly, and it felt like the powder was disintegrating a bit as I used it, so I had to use a very light hand to avoid breaking up the powder too much in the pan. For the most part, it did not appear as dry on my skin as it felt to the touch or seemed in the pan, but there was a noticeable amount of stray sparkle after six hours of wear. The powder was blendable on my skin and was just shy of emphasizing my skin’s natural texture.
FURTHER READING: Formula Overview for details on general performance and characteristics (like scent).
Top Dupes
- Becca Own Your Light (LE, $38.00) is less shimmery, darker, cooler (90% similar).
- Makeup Geek Daybreak (P, $20.00) is less shimmery, darker (85% similar).
- Becca Pink Sapphire (LE, $38.00) is less shimmery, darker (85% similar).
- Melt Cosmetics Kill (PiP, ) is less shimmery, darker, warmer (85% similar).
- MAC Wrapped in Gold (LE, $42.00) is less shimmery, lighter, cooler (85% similar).
- MAC Nuanced (LE, $34.00) is darker (85% similar).
- ColourPop Coronation (LE, $12.00) is less shimmery, lighter (85% similar).
- Urban Decay NSFW (LE, $26.00) is less shimmery, lighter, warmer (85% similar).
- Becca Spanish Rose Glow (LE, $38.00) is less shimmery, lighter, cooler (85% similar).
- Becca Smoky Quartz (LE, $38.00) is darker (80% similar).
Formula Overview
$14.00/0.1 oz. - $140.00 Per Ounce
The formula is supposed to have "vibrant, color-shifting" shades that have an "ultra-lightweight, smooth texture that practically melts onto skin." They are described as being "translucent yet highlight reflective" with a "multi-chrome finish." I had different experiences across the range, so it was not the most consistent of ranges. They did, on average, apply a little better in practice than they appeared initially swatched.
For the most part, the regularly-priced ($14 at the time of publishing) shades were more like intense duochromes than true multi-chromes to me, and I do think the price reflects that (as their true multichromes are $36 each). They had translucent bases across the board with some shades having stronger initial coverage than others, but they produced a noticeable sheen and shift on my skin.
The texture was what varied from shade to shade with some shades feeling drier, almost crumbly, and being particularly prone to emphasizing skin texture, even though I don't have that much visible texture on my cheeks (this is not a common issue for me, it can happen but it is infrequent that I really feel a highlighter emphasizes my texture!) while other shades were firmer but applied more smoothly on my skin.
I liked the tones and shade range more so than the formula, but a couple of shades were really lovely to work with. They tended to wear around eight hours on my skin before fading visibly, though the chunkier, more sparkly shades had visible migration around the six-hour mark.
Browse all of our Kaleidos Space Age Highlighter swatches.
Ingredients
Calcium Aluminum Borosilicate, Octyldodecanol, Ethylhexyl Palmitate, Talc, Paraffin, Boron Nitride, Caprylyl Glycol, Hydrogen Dimethicone, Tin Oxide, Ethylhexylglycerin, Triethoxycaprylylsilane, Titanium Dioxide (CI 77891), Red 40 Lake (CI 16035), Yellow 5 Lake (CI 19140).
Disclaimer: Ingredient lists are as available by the brand (or retailer) at the time of publishing. Please always check product packaging, if it exists, for the ingredient list applicable to the product you're purchasing, or the brand or retailer's website for the most up-to-date ingredient list.
Even though it only got a C+, it actually looks beautiful worn on the cheeks. Many others have mentioned that this shade actually arrived to them shattered due to the drier, looser press, though. So, it’s a fragile one, for sure.
Hmmm – well the formula literally was a melter! To have it so crumbly is pretty poor on the part of the brand. Looking at the dupe list for this shade makes me realize how many great highlighters Becca bought out in its heyday…..
Very interesting. I love my Mars Melter! I’m surprised it rated so low actually!
Did not care for this one at all. No peach on my skin just neon pink. Very crumbly not smooth at all. I’ve purchased eye palettes from this brand and liked them but this was an ugly fail for me. The only plus is the packaging is nice. But I don’t buy makeup for the packaging.