Spring Strobing

I always seem to be a little late on the hottest trends, and the "colour shifty highlights" trend was no exception. Despite the fact that these might not be in fashion any more, I'm glad I waited out the hype to purchase the Zoeva Spring Spectrum Highlighting Palette. I was most wary of how "unwearable" colourful highlighters would be, but thankfully - Zoeva's palette is pretty wearable! It contains four shades, and from what I hear, is a really great, cheaper alternative to the Kat Von D Alchemist palette!

SP010, SP020, SP030, SP040

The highlighters are housed in Zoeva's classic cardboard palette packaging, but with a matte, rubberised finish, with copper and holographic detailing. It's slim and practical (though I would have liked a mirror), but feels a little on the cheap side.

In the scheme of highlighters, these have quite a dry texture - they aren't creamy/buttery but they aren't chalky and powdery either (thankfully). Because they're on the drier side, they're not nearly as intense or metallic than others that have high shimmer and a foiled finish. There's no obvious, intense shimmer or glittery particles, and on the face these give off more of an ethereal, subtle glow that can be built up somewhat. These look so pretty on the cheeks and don't emphasise skin texture, but by no means will you get that blinding, blingy highlight! I love that these have a relatively light/sheer base colour, and a colourful shimmer meaning you only see a flash of colour when the light hits it, rather than a stripe of colour on your face. So, looking straight on the colour isn't obvious, but when you turn your cheek you can definitely see it! Despite the fact that these are "unwearable" colours, I think the subtlety of the formula actually makes them wearable!

SP010 is the green of the palette. The base colour of this one really isn't obvious, it's mostly just the light yellow-green shimmer and reflect that comes through. On my yellow skin, this is surprisingly wearable! I imagine it would look extra great on those with an olive skin tone. I just make sure to pair it with a more neutral nude blush so it doesn't clash too much.

SP020 is the blue, and is similar to SP010 in that the base colour isn't strong. This particular blue is pretty cool-toned and unfortunately just really doesn't suit my skin tone. I don't know that any blue highlighter will because it just clashes too much with my yellow skin and just isn't flattering! I think pale, cool-toned gals could really work it though.

SP030 is the pink and has sort of a silvery-beige base colour. I would say the pink shimmer is on the warmer side, and I like this a lot more than I thought I would! I'm not a fan of pink cheeks generally, but something about this one is just so ethereally pretty and fairy like. It's really wearable and when paired with the right blush, it can really look quite "natural".

SP040 is the yellow and simultaneously the most "intense" and "natural" of the palette. It has a pale white-gold base and a relatively strong golden-yellow shimmer. It's the most "conventional" shade and reminds me a bit of NARS Albatross. It's by far the most flattering on my skin tone, and I imagine it would be on almost everyone!

I do love the versatility of these powders - you can of course also use them as eyeshadows which is probably how I'll get use out of the blue. You can also mix them together to create new shades, and make some more wearable. The blue and pink make a really pretty purple, and the blue and green make a gorgeous aqua type shade, and the yellow and pink make such a pretty peachy-gold!

While I never thought I'd get use out of colour-shifting highlighters, I'm so glad I picked up this palette because it's so pretty and unique in my collection, and the shades and formula are actually so wearable! 

What's your take on colour-shifting highlighters?

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