Glossier Has Finally Given Us the Dewy, Hydrating Highlighter We Deserve
One can never have too many highlighters—that’s a fact—but quality always takes precedence over quantity. If you can cut it with one stand-alone formula, a product that speaks for itself without layering or requiring advanced blending skills, why proceed with the “gotta catch ’em all” approach?
A metaphor for monogamy, perhaps, but it also makes for a fine segue into my feelings about Glossier Haloscope ($22), a soon-to-be-sold-out highlighter that just launched today. Packaged in an easy, delightfully portable twist-up tube, it comes in two shades: Choose from Quartz, which imparts a pearly, lustrous sheen without turning skin frosty; or Topaz for a gilded, bronzy glow. Both Quartz and Topaz are infused with genuine crystal extracts—you can probably guess which ones.
MORE: How to Skirt the Fine Line Between Dewy and Greasy Skin
There’s something to be said for reinventing the wheel in such a way that the result is actually novel, and Haloscope does just that. The dew-effect finish gives skin a kind of wet, distinctly unsparkly glaze (like a Krispy Kreme straight out of the oven, in the brand’s own words) that doesn’t leave behind a trail of shimmer or chalkiness, even in the icy Quartz shade, which makes my fair skin look downright radiant when swiped in a “C” motion over each temple and the very tops of my cheekbones. (Each highlighter also comes with a placement diagram, and I can’t decide if that is an insult to my intelligence or very necessary indeed.)
(Glossier)
It works like this: The outer “halo” of the highlighter does its light-catching thing, while a moisturizing core of castor, coconut, and sweet almond oils provides, well, moisture. What you get is a hydrated, universally flattering streak of luminosity, which requires little more than a tap-tap-tap of the finger to blend. It’s so easy, so fresh-looking, and so all-around good, you don’t have to be Spencer Pratt to embrace these crystals with open arms.
