Melt Digital Dust highlighter review

I am most familiar with Melt Cosmetics eyeshadow. I have tried several of their stacks and a few of their palettes. But their face products? Those I have yet to try. So when I saw they do what looks like a great range of highlighters, I decided to try one. It comes in 8 different shades so plenty to choose from. I decided to try Morning Star: a light vanilla shade with a peachy shift.

Review: Melt Cosmetics Digital Dust Highlighter Morning Star

Melt Cosmetics is a stunning indie makeup brand that has gotten more widely available and a bit more mainstream these past few years. In Europe the brand is most easily available through Beauty Bay but items go out of stock very quickly. And Melt Cosmetics is not a very affordable brand either. This highlighter retails for around the €35 euro mark which is definitely on the higher end of the spectrum in terms of highlighters.

What does this highlighter have to offer?

Well let’s just kick things off with looking at this gorgeous product for a minute. This comes with 8 grams of product which is a good amount for any highlighter. This is the lightest of the 8 shades available. Melt describes this shade as a vanilla with gold and pink reflects. The pink and gold combination makes for a stunning peachy shift that is not too strong. The base of this shade is a white golden tone that can look quite icy. But on me, fair skin with a cool undertone, this is a great shade.

How does this highlighter work?

In this picture I think you can see the sheen of this highlighter the best. Highlighters, especially ones with a sheen can be most difficult to capture in a picture. However, I think this picture shows off how this is not just another icy highlighter but that there is a subtle warmth to it. The shift is not like with many duochrome highlighters when there is such a strong shift that the highlighter only looks one way in certain lighting. This is the kind of highlighter that looks good no matter what.

How does this highlighter swatch?

This highlighter looks beautiful in a finger swatch. The texture in the pan feels quite thin. This is not a highlighter that is buttery or soft to the touch but almost hard: like the pan is very tough but then the texture of the product is one that is very smooth and gel like. This almost doesn’t even feel like a powder. With a brush you can pick it up quite easily but this is not the kind of highlighter that goes on very metallic to the face. In fact, this highlighter gives off a beautiful sheen that you can build up.

What does this highlighter look like on?

As I mentioned, this is not the kind of highlighter that gives off a very strong metallic sheen. It is more of a shine that looks very glowy and natural on the skin. In a full on swatch this looks far more intense than it does once applied with a brush to the face. As icy as this looks, on the skin the golden/ peachy sheen is what shows up most clearly. This has a near transparent base and turns out to be the kind of highlighter that is great for everyday and you can just pile on without it ever looking too much.

My final thoughts

This Melt highlighter has me surprised. The question though is: is it worth the money? While I really like the shade and the texture of this highlighter, I do think it is a bit overpriced for what you get. I have other highlighters that I feel can do just as great of a job at a much more affordable price point. That said, the shade Morning Star is a very unique one in my collection: it is light, icy, but still warm and peachy at the same time and that’s why this has definitely earned a spot in my highlighter collection.

Would I recommend the Melt Cosmetics Digital Dust highlighter?

Morning Star is a stunning highlighter by Melt. Be it a bit overpriced, I cannot recommend this to anyone. But with 8 available shades it is quite possibly one of the most inclusive highlighter ranges out there. This highlight is shiny but never too much. The glow is still for real and if you like your highlight to pack a little bit more oomph, but without laying on the skin and still looking natural while coming in some more unique shades then I think you my find it worth a splurge.

What is the last highlighter you tried?