Pat McGrath Lunar Allure Divine Glow Highlighter Review & Swatches
Lunar Allure
Pat McGrath Lunar Allure Divine Glow Highlighter ($48.00 for 0.17 oz.) is a pale, rosy beige with subtle, warm undertones and a high-shine, metallic sheen.
- Semi-opaque, buildable coverage
- Smooth, not too firm or too loosely-pressed
- Picked up readily with dry brush, blended out evenly
- Long-wearing (9 hours is typical)
FURTHER READING: Formula Overview for details on general performance and characteristics (like scent).
Top Dupes
- Milani Afterglow (P, $10.00) is more shimmery, cooler (95% similar).
- Bobbi Brown Pink Glow (P, $48.00) is more shimmery, darker (90% similar).
- Dior Holo Pink (001) (DC, $56.00) is more shimmery, darker (90% similar).
- Natasha Denona Fair (01) (P, $38.00) is more shimmery, darker (90% similar).
- Lethal Cosmetics Ionic (P, $18.00) is less shimmery, warmer (85% similar).
- MAC Tutu (LE, $37.00) is more shimmery, lighter, warmer (85% similar).
- Anastasia Crystal (P, $22.00) is more shimmery, lighter, cooler (85% similar).
- ColourPop Horse and Carriage (LE, $8.00) is lighter (85% similar).
- Artist Couture Coco Bling (P, $27.00) is more shimmery, lighter, cooler (80% similar).
- ColourPop Seismic (LE, $10.00) is more shimmery, lighter (80% similar).
Formula Overview
$48.00/0.17 oz. - $282.35 Per Ounce
The formula is supposed to have an "ultra-reflective finish" and "silken feel" to give a "high intensity glow." The texture felt more emollient, almost wet to the touch, though it was distinctively a powder-based formula in practice.
It had mostly opaque, buildable color coverage with a very thin, lightweight texture that applied evenly to bare skin and blended out with ease. The finish was "high intensity" but didn't emphasize my skin's natural texture. It wore well for eight and a half hours before fading a bit.
Browse all of our Pat McGrath Divine Glow Highlighter swatches.
Ingredients
Synthetic Fluorphlogopite, Calcium Sodium Borosilicate, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Zinc Stearate, Dimethicone, Boron Nitride, Hdi/Trimethylol Hexyllactone Crosspolymer, Nylon-12, Silica, Caprylyl Glycol, Phenoxyethanol, Tin Oxide, Calophyllum Inophyllum Seed Oil, Moringa Oleifera Seed Oil, Hexylene Glycol, Tocopheryl Acetate, Tocopherol. (+/-): Titanium Dioxide (Ci 77891), Iron Oxide (Ci 77491, 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.
No dupes for this beauty? This is one of the items that has caught my eye in the past week or so and I was hoping, when your review came out, that I would have a dupe or two…
Fixed after you commented!
I have this shade and it was almost perfect but it’s full of tiny iridescent micro-glitter that’s extremely visible on my very fair skintone.
Thank you for mentioning this! I too have very fair skin and even “micro” glitter just overtakes my face. I was thinking that this color would be nice and not too icy, but now that I know there’s micro glitter that’ll be a hard no from me. When will brands learn that we don’t all want to be seen from Venus, especially during the day! *sigh*
I wondered about that! I don’t like how the swatches look, really patchy as though the formula has chunky shimmer particles. Thanks for the confirmation!
I’m also crazy fair and Rituel de Fille has this line of highlighters (metamorphic?) with chunky sparkles and they look so ridiculous on my skin. Like you can sit down and count every single sparkle. What happened to smooth formulas that create a light-reflecting sheen rather than individual sparkles. It’s like an intact mirror versus broken chunks. Yeah, they both reflect light, buuuut………I’ve gone back to Double-Gleam (MAC) if I use a powder highlighter. It’s smooth and has a touch of silver that really makes my fair skin glow for real.
Because I have a Nars highlighter in an older cheek palette, King’s Road, that looks pretty similar, I’m going to pass on this particular shade. I do think that it’s a gorgeous shade for light on down to the lightest of skintones, though!
Ignore my “no dupes” comment. I’m glad to see I have 2 dupes (Milani and Dior) since this isn’t even showing on the Canadian Sephora site and at the rare I use highlighters (infinitesimal), I don’t need to be adding another fairly pricey one.