Fenty Beauty Diamond Ball-Out Killawatt Freestyle Highlighter Reviews & Swatches

Christine — Sat, 11 Aug 2018 19:00:00 +0000

Diamond Ball-Out

Fenty Beauty Diamond Ball-Out Killawatt Freestyle Highlighter ($34.00 for 0.28 oz.) is a brilliant, medium-dark silver with a sparkling, metallic sheen. Applied more as an eyeshadow, it took on a mid-tone depth, as opposed to when it was sheered out, it looked lighter and brighter–but it was still noticeably silver. The consistency was smooth, dense without being overly firm nor was it too thick, so it was easy to pick up just a smidgen of product on a fluffy, highlighting brush to apply a hint of product on cheekbones as a highlighter but could just as easily be applied with an eyeshadow brush for full color coverage on the lid. It was an incredibly reflective, high-shine highlighter on cheeks, and it blended out well on my skin. It wore well for eight and a half hours on me before it started to fade.

This is the brand’s first charity product; 100% of every purchase of this highlighter goes to the Clara Lionel Foundation, which is Rihanna’s non-profit that “funds education, health, and emergency response programs around the world.” I like that the brand has made the Killawatt formula friendly for cheeks and eyes, so for those who want to support the cause, it’s still conventionally “wearable” as a silver eyeshadow, but I tried to showcase it as more “wearable” as a highlighter–it’s all about what you pair it with, I think, and I recommend using a light hand and building up to the intensity and coverage level desired. I was surprised that it paired well with bronzer!

FURTHER READING: Formula Overview for details on general performance and characteristics (like scent).

Top Dupes

View Swatches View All Dupes

Make Up For Ever ME116 Silver (P, $17.00) is less shimmery, lighter (90% similar).
Too Faced Tin Soldier (LE, $16.00) is lighter, brighter (95% similar).
Guerlain Les Gris #4 (P, ) is cooler (90% similar).
L'Oreal Primped & Precious (LE, $7.99) is lighter, brighter, cooler (90% similar).
Urban Decay Aluminum (LE, ) is lighter (95% similar).
NARS Interstellar (P, $25.00) is lighter, brighter (90% similar).
Clionadh Char (P, $5.50) is cooler (90% similar).
Urban Decay Glamrock (LE, ) is lighter (85% similar).
Dior Black Bow #4 (PiP, ) is darker, cooler (85% similar).
Viseart Chloe (PiP, ) is lighter (85% similar).

View Swatches

Formula Overview

$36.00/0.28 oz. - $128.57 Per Ounce

The formula is described ranging from “subtle dayglow to insanely supercharged” with a “cream-powder hybrid” formula that feels “weightless” and is long-wearing. They can also be used on the eyes, body, lips, and so forth, per the brand. They feel like a traditional powder, but they have a smooth, moderately dense texture that doesn’t kick up a lot of excess product in the pan but also does not feel stiff or difficult to pickup with the brush. The finishes varied from shade to shade; where Metal Moon was the most subtle and had a satin-to-pearl finish, Trophy Wife was the most over-the-top with chunky, obvious glitter and less base color compared to the other shades.

The duos featured a light-to-moderate highlighter on the left and then a more sparkly, metallic highlighter on the right with the exception of Ginger Binge/Moscow Mule, where the left shade (Ginger Binge) was more intense (possibly owing to the richer color and payoff). In general, I found the left, more subtle side of each duo to be sheer to semi-sheer, somewhat buildable, whereas the right, more metallic side was substantially more pigmented. All of the more intense highlighters (Trophy Wife and the right side of the duos) did accentuate the look of my skin’s natural texture to some degree.

For use on the eye, they worked better with a slightly dampened brush, as it gave the powder a bit more binding powder for better adherence to the lid, but the ones I tried on the lid were blendable and easy to apply with no real concerns from the application itself other than the potential for fallout over time.

Browse all of our Fenty Beauty Killawatt Freestyle Highlighter swatches.

Ingredients

DIMETHICONE, ISODODECANE, TALC, DIISOSTEARYL MALATE, SYNTHETIC FLUORPHLOGOPITE, POLYETHYLENE, MICA, SILICA, CETYL DIMETHICONE, PHENOXYETHANOL, WATER/AQUA/EAU, TIN OXIDE, ALUMINUM CALCIUM SODIUM SILICATE, CALCIUM SODIUM BOROSILICATE, CARMINE (CI 75470), ALUMINUM POWDER (CI 77000), BISMUTH OXYCHLORIDE (CI 77163), TITANIUM DIOXIDE (CI 77891), IRON OXIDES (CI 77492, CI 77499).

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.