LAURA GELLER BAKED GELATO SWIRL ILLUMINATOR IN GILDED HONEY | REVIEW + SWATCHES
I've been trying to get my hands on this beauty for quite a while now but it has been sold out everywhere. The reason for that is because many claim this to be a dupe for the MAC limitied edition 'Whisper of Gil' Highlighter and their lastest limited edition highlighter in 'Oh, Darling'. I haven't tried either of those as they sold out faster that you can say MAC, and I (and every other makeupjunkie out there that didn't manage to get our hands on it) have now been trying to find the perfect dupes for them. This one is apparently one of them.
Where to buy it: You can buy it from Laura Gellers website, Beautybay, Feelunique and Cult Beauty amongst others. I bought mine from Cult Beauty.
Price: For the amount of product that you recieve and the ugly cheap packaging this little thing (it's actually quite small) is very expensive. I bought it for 21 GPB which is about 260 SEK. In comparison The MAC mineralize skinfinshes cost 295 SEK here in Sweden and they are a lot bigger and will last you longer. So basically it's too expensive.
Packaging: As I've already said, the packaging looks and feel cheap and above that it's also ugly. The only pretty thing about it is the product itself and the swirl they've shaped it into in the compact. Other than that the packaging is horrendous. You would think that at least this little thing would be slim, but they've even managed to make this tiny product a bit bulky. The lid isn't flat it's dome shaped like a bubble. So yeah, not a fan of the packaging.
Color/pigmentation: The color payoff is amazing and I must say that I love the golden highlight so much! At first I was actually a bit disappointed because I felt that the color payoff wasn't as great as I had hoped it'd be. That was only because this highlight is actually best applied with your fingers and not with a brush. So if you want that highlight to be seen in the dark, apply it with your fingers. If you want a more subtle highlight, use a fan brush. Once I learned that, I fell in love with the highlighter.
Texture: The product itself is hard and not at all as soft and butterly like my other highlighters. It's that hardness that makes the color payoff be less than stellar when you use a brush, so thats why your fingers are the best tool for applying this beauty. The color is a very golden champagne color, and is almost a complete dupe for the Becca Shimmering Skin Perfector in 'Opal'. The difference between the two is that this highlight is a little darker than the Becca 'Opal' one. There is no glitter in this like there are in my MAC mineralize skinfinishes in 'Global Glow' and 'Soft & Gentle'. I'm not fond of glitters in my highlights whish is why they are my least used highlighters. When applied to your face it's smooth and blends very well with your skin, It looks luminous and it doesn't look like just a shimmery powder on top of your face. This highlight will be used a lot this summer becuase this color looks gorgeous with tanned skin. Can't wait!
Longevity: The longevity is great. It lasts me an entire day, from when I leave home and get back. That's about 10 hours. It may have faded a tiny bit, but it will last a solid 8 hrs without fading.
Pros:
- Beautiful color
- Very opaque
- Will last for at least 8 hrs
- No glitter!
- Will give you an intense luminous glow
Cons:
- The price
- That it's always sold out everywhere
- The dome shaped lid
- It's small
All in all? If you can get your hands on this highlighter, do so! It's beautiful and very pigmented. I love to apply this as my eyebrow highlight because it makes my eyebrows look on fleek (haha I hate that word).
What do you think of 'Gilded Honey'?