Glossier Haloscope review

Glossier instantly became the IT brand for the cool girl when they launched a few years ago. Their aesthetic? No makeup, makeup. Think the kind of makeup that will enhance your features, but without the tell tale signs of wearing a lot of product. This was a great response to the then ever so popular Insta-glam makeup look that was making the rounds. Glossier kicked against that trend and make natural makeup cool again. I love them for that, because I love products, especially as my base, that are not too noticeable. Enter their Haloscope: a cream highlighter that should leave your cheeks with a stunning dewy look.

Review: Glossier Haloscope highlighter in Quartz

This highlighter is a cream highlighter that comes in a stick. They are never really my favorite to use as they can mess up your makeup quite easily. There are only three shades available, of which two are quite light. I picked up Quartz, which is their ‘universal’ shade and should therefore work for everyone. It retails for $22 and Glossier’s availability is currently very limited. If you’re in the US or the UK and a handful of other countries, you’re in luck as the official website will ship their wares to you. They unfortunately do not ship to The Netherlands. That’s why I bought my products on my most recent trip to New York, where they have a showroom in Soho.

What is Glossier’s Haloscope?

Glossier’s Haloscope is a cream highlighter that should give a dewy effect. If that doesn’t sound too special too you, then you can be right, because that description in itself does not seem to warrant the hype surrounding this brand. Why this is more special is because it is a by-phase highlighter with a nourishing cream in the core a pearly finish on the outer rim to give that dewy look. What this highlighter promises is a dewy finish, so not metallic, not wham bam in your face highlight, but a subtle lit from within healthy glow minus the sparkle.

Why did I buy this highlighter?

When I first stepped into the store, this was on my list of things to check out but not something that I knew I wanted to get like the Glossier Stretch concealer. I had heard lots of people raving about it though and so I wanted to check it out. And I fell in love! It is a good creamy formula that needs a bit of warming up before you use it, but when you do: oh wow! This looks really stunning on the back of your hand as well as on your face. It has a really good sheen, but without it looking sparkling like a discoball. One downside: this only comes with 5.5 grams of product which is not a lot. The second picture in this blog post features an image of the product when it is fully twisted up: it’s just a small nub.

How does this product swatch?

Luckily for this product, a little goes a long way and you don’t need much to get the desired effect. I have been using this product consistently for the past two weeks and there is no noticeable dent yet. The formula is creamy but not greasy which is great. It has a very smooth, silky texture that glides on easily. It blends in seamlessly and as you can see here, when using the stick itself it can be build up to be quite full on. Quartz is described as a pearl shade and I would agree. I do find it a bit light though so if you have a deeper skin tone this may wash you out and look too grey and ashy.

How does this product apply?

Since this is a cream product I would recommend warming it up before applying it to your face. Applying this straight from the stick might lead you to smudge your foundation underneath, unless of course you are using this on your bare skin (which is very well possible too). What I like to do, is to warm this up on my finger tips and then press my fingers together and tap it onto my face. I never go in with the stick itself as it would just be messy. I feel that pressing it onto the cheek bones makes for the prettiest, dewiest look. It is more subtle but if you were to apply a second layer, you can make it stand out more. This is a product that can be build up.

My final thoughts

The Haloscope highlighter by Glossier is one that really surprised me from the moment I swatched it. It is definitely more subtle but for a day-to-day basis this product is one that works very well. This will not give you that BAM in your face highlight, but a more dewy, almost glass like skin look. I wore it in a ton of my videos lately and I like how it only shows up when it hits the light. There is no product noticeable when your face is not catching any light, but then when you move to turn your head you get a pretty dewy bit of highlight. Truly lit from within.

Would I recommend the Glossier Haloscope highlighter?

This highlighter is super pretty but the only reason why I cannot give it my fullest recommendation is because of two reasons. First of all, there is very little product in here. The stick you buy is only filled with 1/3 of product, which makes it feel a bit like a scam. Even though the product only takes a little bit to get the job done, I still feel like it should come with more product. Secondly, this product is very difficult to get if you are not in a country where Glossier ships. So unless Glossier makes their products available worldwide I would not recommend. It is not worth a trip around the world just to get your hands on this product.

Have you tried cream highlighters before?