Colour Pop Crush on You Super Shock Highlighter Palette ($18.00 for 0.60 oz.) takes the brand’s cream highlighters (that we normally see in screw-top pots) and puts them in a slim, cardboard palette. I don’t know the magic that was involved in this, but I’m certainly interested in learning more about it! So far, I haven’t noticed any changes in the texture (it’s been a week or so) or that “wet” feel of them in the pan, but I am curious how it will hold up over time. All four shades performed consistently with the Super Shock formula overall with one shade being a little less pigmented (or less buildable) and not quite as easy to work with as the other three.
Jouer Rose Gold Blush Bouquet ($30.00 for 0.39 oz.) is a new, limited edition duo that features a mid-tone, shimmery coral and a light-medium, satiny pink. Both shades had good pigmentation and applied well to bare skin, though Marigold was slightly better all-around.
Charlotte Tilbury Bar of Gold Highlighter Palette ($58.00 for 0.24 oz.) contains three, powder highlighters including the brand’s original Bar of Gold shade, along with two other gold-inspired shades. All three shades performed well–pigmented, blendable, long-wearing–and were easy to use. They aren’t particularly unique or different among the slew of powder highlighters on the market, but if your stash isn’t filled to the brim with shades like it, the trio is well worth a look.
Hourglass Fall 2018 Ambient Lighting Blush Palette ($65.00 for 0.33 oz.) contains three, warm-toned blushes–peach, coral, and mauve–that have a subtle, natural-to-luminous finish. The marbling effect found in the formula can result in variation in color between versions, but all three seemed to have more of the lighter portions that ended up in lighter colors compared to the permanent versions I’ve reviewed in the past. I’m curious if readers who picked one up have noticed theirs are lighter as well. Other than the color difference, the quality was the same–soft, smooth, blendable, and easy to work with. FYI, there’s about $76.00 worth of Ambient Lighting Blush in the palette.
Charlotte Tilbury Glowing, Pretty Skin Palette ($75.00 for 0.54 oz.) includes five cheek colors and one setting powder (Medium). While I can understand the inclusion of a finishing powder… I don’t understand it so much in a release where there’s just one palette to choose from, since the finishing powder is flesh-toned and not translucent. In larger cheek palettes, there are often shades that may or may not work for a single skin tone, but everything about this palette seemed geared toward fair to light skin tones. I did not find that the powders felt as smooth or as finely-milled as the brand’s standalone blushes , bronzers/contours, and highlighters.
Pat McGrath Sublime Sublime Skin Highlighting Trio ($50.00 for 0.42 oz.) contains three, metallic highlighters that are supposed to have a “gel-powder” formula that has a “silky smooth texture” and “buildable intensity” (with respect to finish). The three powders were very smooth, silky, and blendable with high pigmentation, and the texture did feel like a cross between a gel and a powder as there was no powderiness, but it didn’t feel wet either. The level of shimmer and shine could be built up by layering on more product. They lasted between eight and nine hours. They had a more “melted” look on the skin that I think made them appear more “lit-from-within” when worn at medium coverage.
