I first saw
KathleenLights mention this highlighters and I was intrigued. As far as I know, she's also a huge highlighter lover and when I saw this affordable beauty, I decided to see why it's so pretty. At first I was shocked how dark it looked in the packaging, but as Kathleen says, this swatches totally different.
It comes in a very simple plastic packaging. Top is transparent. It seems a bit flimsy. In it is 6.5 grams and it costs 3.79€.
It actually looks really dark in the pan. The upper photo doesn't do it justice, it
looks more orange, like in the bottom photo. In fact I though that this was a bronzer, that's how dark it looks. Don't be fooled by the looks.
It's a peachy champagne shade with white cool reflection. If you heavily swatch it on the skin, it looks weird, very peachy and almost like a shiny bronzer for fair skin tones. But once you apply it on the skin with brush, it gives a lovely warm peachy base with cooler white or even silver sheen. I've been using it know that I still have some tan and it looks like a very natural highlight. On warm skin tones it has no visible peach undertone (considering that you apply it lightly), though I can't say how this would look like on cooler or neutral tones. That being said, it's still a bit darker highlighter. I wouldn't recommend it for very fair skin tones. It's probably more suited for light to medium and medium skin tones with warmer undertone. But since it has cool sheen, it might also look pretty on neutral skin tones. The shimmer in it is tiny, which makes it look really natural. There's no visible glitter chunks, just a lovely sheen.
Swatches are taken under a sunlight, because I am a bit tanned and I couldn't catch the right color. It actually looked like nothing on my skin.
I think it's a baked formula, which means it's very dry to the touch and swatches dusty with the brush. It's not very pigmented, but this means you can slowly build up the intensity. This highlighter can look really sheer or very heavy, depending on how much you apply. Keep in mind that the heavier you apply it the more peachy is going to look.
I also compared it with some other highlighters. Terra Naturi Shimmer Powder Body & Face in 01 Golden Highlight is much more orange based golden highlight. It also has a golden sheen instead of a cooler one. theBalm Mary-Lou Manizer is the lightest of them all. It's very white based light yellow golden champagne shade with again a lot of that white sheen. Catrice LE Treasure Trove Golden Powder in C01 Golden Grace is very similar to Essence. Catrice is more pink or even mauve based with the same cool sheen. Essence is a bit more peach based, just slightly warmer based, but has the same cool sheen to it. I would say Catrice is better for those with cooler skin tones and Essence is better for those with warmer skin tones. I also don't like Catrice that much, because it swatches very pink based on my warm skin tone and it just looks off.
I have some comparison photos of me without the highlighter on the left (I have foundation, powder and bronzer) and with it on the right.
I have it applied on tops of the cheeks, on top of brows, along the nose and tip of the nose and on top of Cupid's bow.
This is lovely affordable, natural looking, peach based with cool sheen highlighter. It's more suitable for light to medium and medium skin tones. It has tiny shimmer and can look very sheer or intense. The formula is dry and swatches a bit dusty. I personally like a fairly natural look of it and the fact that the shimmer is tiny and it just gives a lovely sheen. In general I like warmer highlighters, but this one has a warm base and a cool sheen, which is a mix of both. I like it for more natural highlight looks, combined with more neutral or cooler makeup and for now when I still have some tan. It will probably be too dark for me in the colder months.
