Pretty Vulgar Sparkling Sass Shimmering Swan Highlighter Review & Swatches
Sparkling Sass
Pretty Vulgar Sparkling Sass Shimmering Swan Highlighter ($32.00 for 0.20 oz.) is a medium gold with warm, orange undertones and a metallic sheen. The texture was incredibly soft and finely-milled with a velvety feel that bordered on cream-like. It had opaque color payoff that applied well to bare skin with even, smooth coverage that blended out with little effort. It stopped just short of emphasizing my skin’s natural texture, but I could see it potentially doing so on more textured skin. This shade stayed on well for nine hours before I noticed any fading.
P.S. — Mine is broken because I managed to drop it from about five feet onto hardwood floor while getting it out of the box, so it was as if I threw it onto the ground.
Top Dupes
- MAC Light of the Party (LE, ) is lighter (95% similar).
- MAC Hot and Heavy (LE, $34.00) is less shimmery (95% similar).
- Charlotte Tilbury Lovegasm Highlight (LE, ) is less shimmery, lighter (95% similar).
- ColourPop The Real Thing (LE, $10.00) is less shimmery, darker (95% similar).
- Vieve Holy Chic (P, $37.50) is less shimmery, warmer (95% similar).
- Illamasqua Rush (P, ) is less shimmery (95% similar).
- MAC TheBlonds (LE, $41.00) is less shimmery, darker (95% similar).
- Makeup Geek Nightlight (LE, $20.00) is darker (95% similar).
- ColourPop Starflower (LE, $12.00) (95% similar).
- OFRA Rodeo Drive (P, $29.00) is more muted (95% similar).
Ingredients
Mica (CI 77019), Titanium Dioxide (CI 77891), Talc, Zinc Stearate, Iron Oxides (CI 77491), Oryza Sativa (Rice) Extract, Dimethicone, Cetearyl Isononanoate, Boron Nitride, Sodium Dehydroacetate, Caprylyl Glycol, Phenoxyethanol, Iron Oxides (CI 77492), Iron Oxides (CI 77499), Hexylene Glycol, Manganese Violet (CI 77742), Aluminum Dimyristate, Triethoxycaprylylsilane, Disodium Stearoyl Glutamate.
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.
What a pretty shade! Unfortunately, it sounds like this wouldn’t work well on the texture of my skin. But it looks great on you, Christine.
The photo of the broken powder is kind of arty! Can you smash it all up and make a loose powder out of it? (Is that a stupid question? lol)
I’m sure you could, and you could also try to repress it, but I don’t really have the patience or want to spend the time on it! I’m probably just going to recycle the compact and trash the contents (it’s pretty, and if it was intact, I’d probably keep it for a bit, but I obviously don’t need anything at this point!).
They must be pretty fragile. Mine arrived completely shattered. I opened the brand box and powder went everywhere! My return is actually being picked up today. I won’t repurchase online again.
Mine arrived fine – I just dropped it but almost like I threw it to the ground (hardwood) when opening the box, so it was my fault.
I read that but honestly, I’ve dropped other pressed product on the floor (mine is stamped concrete) and they haven’t shattered. Of course, with mine, it had been thrown into a medium size box with essentially no additional packaging. I’d buy them in person though.
Just wanted to share my experience – I don’t think I’ve had very many powder products survive that type of fall personally! Obviously, if it wasn’t packed properly, then of course, don’t buy online if it isn’t a good experience 🙂 I wasn’t trying to assert you shouldn’t, only indicating that in my personal experience, I didn’t feel that the powder was any more fragile than the average powder product!
Oh totally get it…also good to know! Maybe mine was just because of the poor packaging and handling en route. Thank you!
That’s terrible! Just out of curiosity, where did you purchase it and which color was it? I’m considering buying one from Sephora.
Mine was Lilac Lust ordered from Sephora.
Ugh! That’s the exact same one I was going to get. Now I’m paranoid…
It could have been a one off – like a batch issue. I didn’t swatch the powder before I returned it but it did look really pretty.
Well, I just received mine from Sephora today and it was also completely shattered. What a mess and disappointment.
Oh no – I’m so sorry it also came shattered!
I’m sorry it broke. It’s quite pretty.
Pretty Vulgar has such a great highlighter formula! Too bad yours took a dive, lol. So sad to see them like that ?
Yeah, I’m a total idiot – sometimes I don’t know why I’m even allowed to do what I do, lol!
Oh, we’ve all been there. And TBH, when you consider all the thousands of makeup items you’ve handled and *haven’t* dropped, I bet it’s a pretty good success rate, ha!
The hazards of our hard as heck concrete AZ floors, due to almost no basements underneath offering some give. I’m so sorry yours got destroyed. Don’t feel bad, my cat knocked a very heavy artisan glass vase off a table only 2½ feet from the *carpeted* floor, and it shattered as if thrown from perhaps 10 feet away!!! Cutest vase I ever owned, too. Crafted to look like a pocketbook.
Hi Christine, here is a solution,
Smash all the pieces inside it’s own pan with the back of a spoon and add some alcohol until you get a wet paste consistency. Try to smooth the paste as much as you can and let it dry over night. The next day..voila!!! It will look like new again.
Good luck!
Hi Lucia,
Thanks for sharing – I know how to repress, but I’m just not going to take the time since it’s unlikely I’ll ever use this again and that time should be spent working on the blog, not doing something like that!
Seems like a great opportunity to make one of those shimmer sprays that someone made on instagram (it hurt to watch them scrape that ABH highlighter haha)! 😀
I love the shade, but wish it were a little less sparkly. It looks lovely on you Christine.
Hmmm, the score makes me wonder if shattering highlighters actually make them perform better…
I have a shattered highlighter and the non shattered replacement. The shattered one gets more use at home (not traveling for obvious reasons) because it does seem to perform better.
Looks nice on you and the formula looks soft. I will check this out at Sephora and see if I can swatch it in store. The Rouge sale is underway right now so it’s good timing!