Smashbox + Vlada Petal Metal Highlighter Review & Swatches
Smashbox + Vlada Petal Metal Highlighter ($40) is a new, limited edition gel highlighter available in three shade selections that recently launched with the Petal Metal Collection which is a collaboration between makeup artist Vlada Haggerty and Smashbox Cosmetics.
I’ve expressed how taken I was with this entire collection in some of my earlier posts and also in my recent review of the Smashbox Petal Metal Covershot Eyeshadow Palette review. It’s a stunning collection to say the least and beautifully presented with shades that aren’t the same o’ same o’ round up of nudes.
One of the things I instantly loved about the Smashbox + Vlada Petal Metal Highlighters was the gorgeous square metallic rose gold compacts and the lovely 3D rose designs that reminded me of Milani’s Rose Powder Blush. Everything is just gorgeous in this collection and visually very appealing but the highlighters are the star of the show.
We all know I hate highlighters but I admit I hauled two. There are three shades one of which is exclusively available at Sephora and the other two are sold everywhere else. Smashbox describes the highlighter as having a gel texture which I assumed would be like Estee Lauder Pure Color Illuminating Powder Gelee that launched a few years ago but after getting it I was leaning towards it being more Laura Mercier Face Illuminator. It’s actually neither.
Here’s the bad news…
This is a nice highlighter for people who like subtly. This is not a highlighter for people who want their glow to be seen from outer space. If you’re looking for intense pigment with a rich metallic finish there isn’t a doubt in my mind this formula will disappoint you. If you’re looking for a subtle sheen you’ll be pretty ok with this formula.
I must express some disappointment not because the shades I purchased both lacked pigment. But because they did prove a little difficult to pick up. I swirled and swirled and I swirled my brush in this highlighter and it just failed at picking color up. I thought the blush would have a slurry-like consistency but it’s actually a lot firmer that I expected but not dry nor powdery. It was just a real pain to get the color to transfer to my brush. I used several blushes and in the end I settled on a smaller fiber brush with soft bristles. I had to built a bit but I was able to use the shade Rosemantic as a blush. It did lack the glow and metallic finish I thought it would have but if you apply a bit of setting spray after application you will get more depth and glimmer to your look. Gilded Rose was the worst of the two shades as this had really sheer pigment and a very subtle glow. I suppose you can say both are great if you’re a heavy handed makeup user as you really can’t go over board during application. They do fade rather fast as I did wear Rosemantic as a blush as I said earlier and I got about five hours in before the color faded a good deal.
Smashbox + Vlada Petal Metal Highlighter comes in lacking. The lack of glow, pigment, and the poor application made these a disappointing purchase. I imagine if you take highlighter very seriously these will be a sorely sad purchase. There’s some subtle glow here but not enough for me to recommend you splurge $40 on this mediocre formula no matter how gorgeous the packaging!
Smashbox + Vlada Petal Metal Highlighter is available now at ulta.com and sephora.com. And now on sale at macys.com for $19.50!
Did you haul these?
How did application go for you?