| Review | Victoria Beckham Reflect Highlighter Stick

| Review | Victoria Beckham Reflect Highlighter Stick

It's here! The item that will complete the iconic VB glow! We're getting a highlighter stick from the famous fashion and beauty mogul. The brand really knows how to do complexion and cheek products really well so, I couldn't be more excited to test this new launch out! While it doesn't look like the most innovative product, I'm hoping the formula will elevate this highlighter among the ranks of some of the best in the industry. If you want to know if this product is worth it, read on. 

The Victoria Beckham Reflect Highlighter Stick retails for $42.00 USD and is available at Victoria Beckham Beauty. This highlighter is beautifully packaged in a vintage inspired gold tube with vertical ribbing and a off-white enamel logoed piece on the cap. It reminds me a lot of vintage lipstick tubes. The packaging is very lightweight and it doesn't have that weighty luxurious feeling that high-end makeup tends to have. However, it is still very beautiful. If you're a fan of Victoria Beckham, this packaging will look really familiar. It is the same packaging from her collaboration with Estee Lauder, you can see it here in my review of the Morning Aura Illuminating Cream. 

SHADES

As this is the first release of this product, there is only one universal shade. I imagine the brand will expand to more shades in a few months, as they have with other products in their range. This initial launch reveals a shade that designed to suit all skin tones and based on the description of the formula, it should suit all skin tones. 

Pearl - This shade is aptly named and it exactly as you'd imagine it would be. It is a soft universal translucent highlighter that contains warm reflective pearl particles. It has a beautiful pearly shimmer suspended in the glossy base. This is a very universally flattering shade  will suit the very fairest to the very deepest skin tones! 

FORMULA 

Yes, it's another highlighter stick on the market! Ok, is this version really any different from all the many many highlighter sticks out there? Yes, but only by a little bit. Let's start with the look of this highlighter stick. It's quite small and looks much closer to lipstick than a highlighter. The pros are you get more precision during application, it's great for traveling, and it's great for touchups. You would think you actually get less product because it looks like less product than your average highlighter stick but you actually get 5 grams in this highlighter, which is comparable to another luxury brand, Westman Atelier. 

The formula is slightly different your typical typical stick highlighters. They often fall on one of two formula types - glossy with little to no pigment or pigment and shimmer without the glossy texture. This one fall pretty much right down the middle. It has a medium champagne pigment that is ultra-fine suspended in a subtle gloss. The pigment doesn't come off as a shimmery shine like, a typical highlighter that relies on shimmers and pigments to create a reflect, which doesn't look as natural. It is also not incredibly glossy, which can make you look a bit greasy or wet. This one doesn't look "wet" on the skin but it offers the skin more of a healthy glow. Now, on a more oily skin type, you may still find this type of formula a bit greasy looking but that will be due to your oils coming through and mixing with the already glossy highlighter. 

The texture is balmy and subtly glossy. It glides on easily to the skin but it is best over cream and liquid products. I made the mistake of applying this on a powdered complexion with other powdered products and it moved the powdered products around, making the powders gather and look patchy. I would not recommend it. I do think the best way to apply this product is to apply it directly to your cheekbone and use your fingers to blend it out. The formula has a beautiful translucence to it, allowing most of your skin to shine through. It makes the highlighter look more natural. The balance between the gloss and the shimmer is really perfect. The shimmer is very fine and it doesn't pick up on texture or pores on the skin. This highlighter just gives you the perfect gleam to the top of the cheeks. I personally like this formula more than the super glossy and sheer highlighters or the creamy shimmer highlighters. 

This formula will last around five to eight hours, depending on your skin type and the conditions you are wearing it in. I find that with my dry skin I can wear it beyond eight hours and it's still stays strong but even on my skin type, by the end of the day, it will look much glowier than at the start. The oils in your skin will always mix with these glossy formulas and you will look much dewier. I do recommend powdering around the highlighter areas to prevent a greasy look by the end of the day. 

THE LOOK

You can see the gleam on the top of my cheekbones but it still has a little gloss. The highlighter looks a bit stronger here because I set my face and used powder products on the rest of my face so, in contrast, it looks a little extra glowy. It still is a very natural looking highlighter compared to a cream formula that is mostly shimmer pigments. 

FINAL THOUGHTS 

This highlighter really impressed me! I have always been a fan of glossy highlights but I also like the gleam of shimmer pigments. I often use the glossy highlighters to top my shimmer highlighters but this is the perfect balance between the glossy and the shine so, I don't need to layer my products. I like the compact and small product size because it gives you a lot of precision during application. Though the product looks small, you get just as much product as other luxury brands. I think this is one of the better balm highlighters you can purchase because while pricey, they really nailed this formulation. The balance of pigment to gloss is very impressive and it is what makes it stand out from other highlighters. This is definitely one that I reach for over some my other cream and balm highlighters. I really do recommend this highlighter and I think it is well worth the price! 

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