Beauty Product Reviews

Just okay

I really love VDL’s lumilayer primer, but this one was a bit of a let down. It feels greasy and drying at the same time and settles into pores and fine lines. Underneath foundation, it’s fine. But nothing mind blowing. Sometimes I like to use a blurring primer alone to even my complexion, but I can’t really do that with this primer.

Amazing primer

I love looking fresh, dewy, & radiant, despite having combo skin. I don’t find the iridescent particles to be large or chunky. Basically glitter free. I wouldn’t say it emphasizes texture, but I also don’t have super textured skin, so I can’t speak too intelligently on that. I do have some medium sized pores and minor pitting from acne in a few spots, but the primer doesn’t seem to draw too much attention to those areas. I also like the ultraviolet tone that this has. It’s does a decent job at minor color correction, but again, emphasis on the minor. It doesn’t feel heavy, but it does feel slightly tacky, which is good if you’re layering a foundation over top. This also looks really pretty on its own if you just want dewy skin. The smell is lovely, like a lot of K beauty complextion products on the market. It applies smoothly and evenly. You don’t need much. I can get away with half a pump. This doesn’t break me out either, which is a huge plus. I’ve tried this under maybelline Matte & Poreless, laura mercier flawless lumiere radiance perfecting foundation, and the Giorgio Armani luminous silk foundation. It looks amazing under all of them, but my favorite is with the luminous silk. Overall, I really like it. The component is nice and simple. Comes in a glass bottle with a pump. Pump gives you a decent amount of control over the amount of product you want to extract. I’d definitely recommend it if your looking to buy a good radiant primer. I can’t use most other radiance enhancing primers because they tend to break me out. It’s a good swap for the maccosmetics strobe cream. It’s a little steep for the price ($32), but you do get a full ounce. I’m not swooning over it per se, but I’d definitely buy it now, knowing how much I like it and how my skin looks when I use it.

Pretty, but...

I do like the highlighters in this palette and if you're a fan of the Moon Child palette, then I think this would be a great palette to add to your collection. If you consider yourself a collector or curator of beauty products, this would be a good addition. I love the iridescence and duo chrome shift of the highlighters, especially when you layer it on top of a dark base, like a black liquid lipstick or black eyeshadow base. It's fun for editorial looks and for those who are more daring. However, if you're looking for something more wearable or practical, this would not be a wise investment, in my humble opinion. They do tend to go on a bit sheer at first, but they are still pigmented enough to tell that they aren't a traditional highlight. Some of the shades are wearable, especially if you were to mix them with a more subtle highlight to sheer them out even more, but I feel like that would kind of defeat the purpose of this palette.

One thing I will say, is that I'm not a huge fan of ABH highlighters. And I don't mean to say that I hate her highlighter's, because I do like them. It's just that I've never really understood the craze and I feel like I've given the palettes a fair shot. I have the first glow kit she came out with, and I wasn't blown away. I also bought the Moon Child and the Aurora palettes to see if there were any changes or chance that they would grow on me. Unfortunately, that has not been the case. I find that I get a lot of kickback when I gently dip my brushes into the pan. I also noticed that some of the shades have glitter in them and they just end up going everywhere. When I apply the highlighter, it takes a while to build decent pigmentation, no matter what kind of brush I use. I honestly thought that the formula would be a bit more refined and not as chunky or gritty. I can't think of any other word to describe the texture. I've even used setting spray on my brushes (both before or after picking up product on my brush), and that helps with the kickback problem. But I don't think it's really a solution that would allow me to fall in love with her highlighters. As a working artist, I just find that the highlighter palettes are not for me.

Again, I don't hate her highlighters. They're good. They just aren't what I like or look for in a highlighter. I do enjoy using them when I'm feeling creative or inspired. I hope this helps!