Urban Decay Aura Afterglow 8-Hour Powder Highlighter Review

Hello everyone,

Having had an awesome experience with the Urban Decay Afterglow 8-Hour Powder blushes (I have even included them as my top picks for best in beauty 2015 list), I couldn’t wait to try out their new highlighters from this range. There are currently 3 shades of highlighters – Sin, Aura and Fireball. This review will be on the Urban Decay Afterglow 8-Hour Highlighter in the shade “Aura.”

Product Description:
A super-soft, long-wearing, blendable powder highlighter for strobing.

What it does:  Afterglow 8-Hour Powder Highlighter is finely-milled to perfection for a lightweight (yet luxurious) result with an ultra-soft, creamy texture. It goes on sheer and blends in easily so that you can apply just a little or a lot. The wearable formula applies seamlessly, no matter how much you build it, and it has shades that are suitable for any skin tone. It creates a radiant, strobed effect that lasts all day—and never leaves just a powdery dusting of shimmer. Infused with light-diffusing pigments, it enhances and perfects the skin.  It is formulated without parabens.

Price:
$26

My Experience with Urban Decay Aura Afterglow 8-Hour Powder Highlighter:

Packaging:  I love the sleek packaging. The outer case has a reflective mirror finish which is sort of helpful as the inner side of the case contains no mirror. On the inside, there is a thatched design over the UD logo, through which the color of the product inside is sort of visible, though not clearly. The color family of the highlighter shade is marked via a similar-colored sticker on the bottom. There is no applicator provided. The outer case does tend to attract fingerprints as most beautiful looking packaging do.

Texture:  This powder is very finely milled and smooth to touch. There is no grittiness or chunky shimmer particles. The application and blendability is simply effortless. It does not kick up a whole lot of powder when you dip your brush in, but the brush picks up the right amount of product. I have used both a fan brush (Wayne Goss brush 15) and my Real Techniques Setting Brush, which I love to highlight with, and both brushes work equally well.

Pigmentation:  Pigmentation on this highlight is perfect, not too much to look like you have a streak of color on your face, but just enough to have your highlight be seen even from a distance. The sheen/glow it gives is softer than the intense Becca highlighters, but comparatively stronger than Hourglass strobe powders.

Shade:  I picked up the shade “Aura” as this one seemed quite unique and I don’t have a shade like this in my highlight collection. I usually gravitate more towards warm shades with a golden undertone (like Becca Champagne Pop), unlike this shade Aura which is a very cool iridescent pink shade. It has a silver-lilac shift. It looks quite flattering on my “Light-Medium” skin tone and I didn’t feel it to clash with the warm tone of my skin. The trick to making this shade work the best is to wear it with other cool-toned aspects in your makeup. For example, I would pair this with a light pink blush or lipstick keeping the eyes taupe-y for a more seamless look. I would not wear this highlight, with let’s say, for example, a warm golden-coppery eye or a reddish lip.

This shade would work great for very light all the way to medium skin, but I would not recommend this shade for dusky/deeper skin tone as a gold tone highlight would be better more flattering pick.

Staying Power:  When Urban Decay claims that their product wears for 8 hours, they deliver! I found this highlighter to wear strong for the whole day, which is 8-9 hours for me without much fading. It does not accentuate pores or emphasize skin’s texture or dryness.

Overall, I am quite happy with this product and will recommend it.

Pros of Urban Decay Aura Afterglow 8-Hour Powder Highlighter:

• Beautiful packaging.
• Smooth, soft texture.
• Easy to blend.
• Buildable pigmentation.
• Soft shimmer.
• Leaves a beautiful glow.
• Very unique, cool tone iridescent pink shade.
• Great staying power.
• Does not emphasize dryness or pores.

Cons of Urban Decay Aura Afterglow 8-Hour Powder Highlighter:

• Not the best shade for deeper skin tones.

IMBB Rating:
4.8/5

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