Astral Blue Star

Pat McGrath Astral Blue Star Chromaluxe Hi-Lite Cream ($30.00 for 0.23 oz.) is a pale, iridescent blue that shifted blue-to-green with smaller and larger sparkle/micro-glitter particles throughout. It seemed to have a more translucent base so most of the coverage came from the sparkle/glitter, which resulted in mostly opaque coverage that quickly blended out to semi-opaque coverage. It could be diffused further to semi-sheer to medium coverage if desired.

The texture was creamy, on the thicker side but had more slip compared to Pale Gold 002, so I found that this shade was slightly easier to work with and was more forgiving during applications as well.

The effect of the finish can be lovely when you get it right, but the application is tricky as there's a fine line between too much and too little product. When I tried to pat it on top of another eyeshadow as more of a layering product, it was hard to get the product to adhere over the powder from my fingertip, but I felt like a fluffy brush made it dry down too quickly (so it was dry before it hit my lid!). I was able to carefully apply a second layer to get a little more bang for my buck as a topper shade.

As a standalone eyeshadow, it worked well all-over the lid or to highlight the inner tearduct, as it had a smoother sheen that was more forgiving and harder to over-do, though I'd recommend using less product than you think you'll need initially to learn how the product works. I liked using a fluffy, synthetic brush to apply it to the inner tearduct and fingertips worked better for all-over lid application.

As a cheek highlighter, it applied better with fingertips as brushes seemed to absorb more product and sparkle (as it dried down) so not much translated onto my cheeks. The downside was that the quicker dry down coupled with a heavily sparkled--and therefore thicker, more textured finish--meant that I had to be very careful to avoid lifting up base products when it was applied over them (as opposed to bare skin).

If built up or over-applied, the finish became thick, textured, and emphasized my skin's natural texture and lines; it could easily look patchy or "cracked" after dry down. The product is quick to set, which is good for avoiding initial creasing, but it does make it harder to work with. Once dry, I'd avoid working with it as it could flake off during more moderate to heavy blending. It stayed on well for eight hours with minimal movement/migration.

Note: I did experience some product exploding from the tube when I first opened it, but I didn't experience additional product loss when opened on later occasions.

FURTHER READING: Formula Overview, which is a detailed review of the range as a whole.

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