On the Cheap: Hard Candy Glow All the Way Skin Luminizer

I have a very fickle relationship with highlighters. I understand the concept, and I've even found some great ones in my searches (Chanel's limited edition Empriente de Chanel comes to mind), but I find there's a very slippery slope when dealing with highlighters. One false move and you're headed to the realm of disco balls and cheap 80's makeup looks. On the other hand, some of them are so subtle that it seems a waste of time to apply them at all. Nonetheless, I'm fascinated by them, in large part because I always read such "glowing" reviews on the blogs.

Since I don't have a great history with highlighters, I'm always loathe to purchase the expensive ones. It seems a waste to spend $30 or more on a product I may never really use when that money could be better spent on, oh, lipstick and the like. So when I saw Hard Candy's Glow All the Way at Walmart for only $7.99, I decided to jump on in and give it a try. Perhaps, I thought, it would be a good replacement for some of its higher-priced sisters in the department stores. Sadly, I was wrong. Waaay wrong.

Hard Candy Glow All the Way Skin Luminizer

Hard Candy used to be sold at Sephora, before being relegated to Walmart. The line is known for it's cute packaging and youthful, bright products. In addition, there's the cheap factor...I have yet to find a single item that tops $10. It's a way to get the look you like for less, right? Hmmm...

When I first opened Glow All the Way, I immediately noticed how thick it is. It's not a light, airy mousse (which I think maybe it was meant to be), nor is it an easy-to-manipulate liquid. Rather, it's a thick, heavy, pearlescent cream. Glow All the Way comes in 2 colors: a bronzer and a "pearlescent" pink. I, of course, went for the pink because that's how I roll.

This luminizer is definitely pearlescent. Infused with 14 carat gold, it's definitely got a sheen to it. As a matter of fact, when rubbed in, the sheen is very pretty...a luminous pink shimmer with gold shot throughout. However, subtle it's not. I worked it and worked it, and no matter how much blending I did, I couldn't get it toned down enough that I would want to go out in direct sunlight while wearing it. You can get an idea of what I'm talking about below:

 As you can see, it's a very pale, reflective pink when applied heavily. I rubbed the swatch on the right in quite a bit and still ended up with a shiny mess. Even blotted down, Glow All the Way had so much sheen to it that it was unwearable. In addition, it was very difficult to get an even application. I really, really had to work it before I got it down to a manageable amount of product that didn't look streaky or caked-on. No matter what I did, it was simply not acceptable.

This is also a body luminizer, but I would hesitate to use it that way either. If you miss a spot, it will be glaringly obvious under light, as the shimmer is so overwhelming that it leaves definite lines of demarcation. Between the streakiness, the difficult application, and the overabundance of "luminosity", I can't see how this would work well for any but the bravest souls.

Overall...I'm going to stick to the higher-end brands for my highlighters. This one was an epic fail.

Grade: F