First Look| Urban Decay Afterglow 8 Hour Powder Highlighter in Aura

 The Afterglow 8 Hour Powder Highlighter in Aura ($26) is one of three stunning powder highlighters released for Urban Decay's Summer 2016 collection.: Aura is a cool pink, Sin is a neutral gold, and Fireball is a light peach. 

All three are super finely milled to the point of feeling like a gel hybrid formula to my fingers. I feel like it's a successful new venture for Urban Decay, whose previous highlighting products were full of chunky glitter and meant for the body. I picked Aura for its unique color considering that my stash of highlighters is full of warm gold and peach tones.

Below is a very faint swatch of the three shades. Aura looks decidedly ashy on my NC30-35 hand, but it shows up as a pink glow rather than full on frost on my cheeks. It actually reminds me of Colourpop Monster, so if you have one you won't need the other. 

It has a soft texture, sort of like a faux gel formula with a spongey-dense feeling when swatched because it's so finely milled. There isn't any cloud of kick up or dust when you swirl a brush into the pan, but just be careful as more is less with this highlighter. The claim of "8 hours of wear" is completely honest and I found that the color held strong from 9AM to 9PM. 

A lot of folks are going crazy for Sin since it's a classic gold, but I love Aura for its bright contrast on my olive skin tone. I can use it as a light and glowing blush or a strategic beam of light on the cheekbones. 

xo Be