Sydney Grace Morning Glory Highlighter Review & Swatches
Morning Glory
Sydney Grace Morning Glory Highlighter ($12.00 for 0.25 oz.) is a medium, rosy copper with soft, warm undertones and a metallic sheen. It was intensely pigmented where a little went a long way, but the softer, lightly creamy texture made it easy to pick up more or less product as desired. The powder applied evenly to bare skin and buffed out easily along the edges, and I noticed that the base color came through more prominently as I blended out the powder and the shimmer seemed to come through on the higher points of my face–almost as if I applied a highlighter and a blush separately. It wore nicely for eight and a half hours on me before it faded a touch.
FURTHER READING: Formula Overview for details on general performance and characteristics (like scent).
Top Dupes
- ColourPop Andalasia (LE, $12.00) is less shimmery, lighter, warmer (95% similar).
- Dose of Colors Bathe (LE, $28.00) is darker (90% similar).
- Clionadh Bellona (P, $12.50) is cooler (90% similar).
- Tom Ford Beauty Soleil Bloom (LE, $80.00) is less shimmery, lighter (90% similar).
- Morphe Boom (P, $14.00) is cooler (90% similar).
- Tarte NYE (LE, $28.00) is darker, warmer (90% similar).
- ColourPop Charleston (LE, $7.00) is less shimmery, darker, warmer (90% similar).
- Laura Mercier Inspiration (P, $45.00) is less shimmery, lighter (90% similar).
- Cover FX Golden Peach (LE, $34.00) is less shimmery, darker (90% similar).
- JD Glow Essence (P, $16.50) is darker, warmer (90% similar).
Formula Overview
$9.00/0.25 oz. - $36.00 Per Ounce
The highlighters are supposed to be "smooth and pigmented" that "blend like a dream" and "last all day long." The majority of the shades in the range are incredibly pigmented with a creaminess to the texture that makes them a cinch to apply and blend out on my skin.
I was most impressed by how soft, almost cream-like the powders were, yet they weren't too loosely-pressed nor were they prone to powderiness. Some of the finishes are very metallic or frosted, so when worn at semi-opaque or higher coverage levels, they can emphasize my skin's natural texture slightly. They have worn between eight and nine hours on me.
Browse all of our Sydney Grace Highlighter swatches.
Ingredients
Silk Mica (Mica (77019), Boron Nitride, L-Lysine Mica (Mica 77019 and Lauroyl Lysine), Caranuba Mica (Mica 77019 and Caranuba Wax), Magnesium Stearate, Magnesium Myristate, Zinc Stearate ((+/- Mica (Mica 77019), Fractionated Coconut Oil (Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride), Titanium Dioxide (CI 77891) Vitamin E (Tocopherol), Silk Powder, Allantoin, Chromium Hydroxide Green (CI77289), Chromium Green (CI77288), Carmine, Iron Oxide (CI 77499, 77491, 77492), Tin Oxide (CI 778161), Manganese Violet (CI 77742), Ferric Ferrocyanide (CI 77510), Ultramarines (77007), Silica, *Synthetic Flurophylogopite, Zinc (CI 77947), Bronze and Copper Powder (CI 77400), Phenoxyethanol, Caprylyl Glycol, Potassium Sorbate, Hexylene Glycol))
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.
I don’t understand how these can be called highlighters. Aren’t they more akin to blushes that are shimmery and have high sheen? I feel like they’re way too opaque to be highlighters. I’m not trying to be mean, I’m just genuinely confused.
There is a wide spectrum of skin tones and undertones, so more pigmented and/or richer hues are necessary to provide highlighters that work on all skin tones for various needs (one person might want a more contrasting highlight, another might want my-skin-but-better). Many other brands, like Becca (Chocolate Geode, Bronzed Amber, Blushed Copper, Rose Gold, Topaz), MAC (Cheeky Bronze, Gold Deposit), Jouer (Tan Lines), Laura Mercier (Seduction), Fenty (Ginger Binge/Moscow Mule, Girl Next Door/Chic Phreak), and Makeup Geek (Ablaze, Ignite, Firework)… just to name a few. It’s very common for brands to have shades that can work as highlighters, highlight + blush, or highlight + bronzer within the range – really dependent on your skin tone + application style!
Though, most highlighters are opaque but you can always apply with a lighter hand or different brush/technique to get the coverage you prefer, but my experience is that most highlighters are marketed as pigmented!
Since Becca’s highlighter range is quite deep and fairly well-known, here’s an image they have showing swatches on multiple skin tones – https://www.beccacosmetics.com/media/export/cms/products/800×800/BC_92336_800x800_4.gif
Thanks for the clarification, Christine! Prior to my earlier question, I tried to imagine how it would look on someone with a deeper complexion, but I will admit it’s hard for me to accurately envision it because I am so fair that even the lightest hint usually shows up me. Sometimes I need an explanation like yours to remind me just how vastly different products can look depending on your application and your starting complexion.
No problem, Christina!
Morning Glory lives up to the name! It is indeed glorious and sunshine-y! It is on my SG list now. I really like it a whole lot with the lip color you have on. It’s as if they were made for each other!
I agree with you Christina – these do look more like blushes than traditional highlighters. I guess with brands making highlighters more suited to different skintones that what’s a highlighter in one skin tone can be used as a blush for another. There’s a real blurring of the edges here.
However, this product has a beautiful finish and is a lovely colour.
Oh, this is lovely – I fell in love with Pure Joy and ordered it, along with this little beauty and a bunch of other stuff a couple of days ago and I CANNOT wait to get my hot little hands on this utterly gorgeous highlighter!
Love that Sydney Grace is now in regular rotation on the blog! While I’ve been a regular reader/ visitor/ appreciator of the blog for years, as a big SG fan who has been moving more & more toward a preference for singles their inclusion was a major reason I decided to finally utilize more of the blog’s features by entering my own collection, etc but I seem to have hit an unexpected wall. Apparently I did set up an account in the past so I did the password reset only to sign in & receive an error message saying that “my account has been marked as a spammer”?! I have no idea how or why this could have happened as the only thing I’ve done that could be at all flagged might have been trying several passwords before opting to just reset? Otherwise I’ve literally done nothing in the site other than leave periodic comments that directly relate to whatever product is being reviewed. I realize that it’s some sort of technical glitch but is there any way to remedy the issue?
SG is slaying with these highlighters.