Hi everyone! I'm back with another review! If you know me at all, you know I LOVE highlighting and anything that makes me look glowy/dewey and lit. I have a few favorite highlighters, but they are all powders. I saw these in Walmart and was instantly intrigued, I had to try them. I've also read about them being dupes for Benefit's High Beam and Sun Beam. I couldn't find many in depth reviews on these so here is mine! I really like this product, and if you keep reading you'll see why.
Hard Candy is exclusively sold at Walmart, and these babies go for about $9 each. Which, given the amount you get (76.5 g or 2.7 oz) is pretty great! I know that NYX and L'Oreal have illuminators like this in the drugstore but they are more expensive (and I don't like the NYX one).
The bottle says they are infused with 24 karat gold, and I'm not really sure about that. I don't know if that contributes to the sheen or slight sparkle in this product, but it might. The directions state you can apply to face and body for a "sheer, luminous finish". That's the key with this product, the claims on the packaging all point to a sheer glow (duh) or soft glow. This product is not meant to be intense.
The packaging itself is sleek, practical and facilitates easy cleaning.
It only comes in two shades, shown below swatched straight out of tube and blended out a bit. In the buff is a light brown/champagne/gold while blushing babe is definitely more pink with some gold in it. These shades seem very similar to Benefit's High Beam and Sun Beam (which are $34 each for 0.45 oz) but since I don't have those products, you can check out this blog post by Budget Beauty Blog for comparisons.
The product feels quite silky and it's easy to blend in. I appreciate that even though the colors don't match my foundation (especially blushing babe) it doesn't make my skin look uuber weird. It doesn't look like my foundation is my skin tone and then along my cheekbones I randomly have pink cream. It sounds weird but I have had that problem before. What I've noticed is that I like the way it looks after it has had some time to really sink into my skin instead of looking like it's just sitting on top.
I apply the cream onto the back of my hand and use my finger tips to dab it onto my face (cheekbones mostly) and then I can use my damp beauty blender to dab over it.
I've found that it fades a little throughout the day but even after 12 hours I can still see it on my face. Obviously the more you apply, the more you'll see by the end of the day. Since the illuminator is sheer, it is PERFECT for everyday use and for all girls who want to glow just a little. As well, because it is a cream product, when you wear it, it makes it look like your dewy, healthy and glowing.
Another thing I love about this product, is that alone it's great for an everyday fresh faced, dewy look. However if you use it as a base underneath your highlighter, it makes it VERY intense and keeps it on longer. So...if you really want to GLOW then I would recommend using this product as a base and applying your highlighter wet.
I apply the cream onto the back of my hand and use my finger tips to dab it onto my face (cheekbones mostly) and then I can use my damp beauty blender to dab over it.
I've found that it fades a little throughout the day but even after 12 hours I can still see it on my face. Obviously the more you apply, the more you'll see by the end of the day. Since the illuminator is sheer, it is PERFECT for everyday use and for all girls who want to glow just a little. As well, because it is a cream product, when you wear it, it makes it look like your dewy, healthy and glowing.
Another thing I love about this product, is that alone it's great for an everyday fresh faced, dewy look. However if you use it as a base underneath your highlighter, it makes it VERY intense and keeps it on longer. So...if you really want to GLOW then I would recommend using this product as a base and applying your highlighter wet.
Overall, I would recommend this product to others, I think I'll be repurchasing...when I run out a long time from now!
If you have anything you'd like me to do a post on, let me know! You can find me on instagram @themakeupdiaryblog.
Until next time beauties,
XOXO