Anastasia Beverly Hills is incredibly hot right now. They recently released the Modern Renaissance palette to tremendously positive reviews, a stick foundation in an expansive and inclusive shade range that every brand should pay attention to, and the Master Palette by Mario that people are already raving about. And now they are releasing the Ultimate Glow Kit for the holiday season.
But, I won't be buying.
As I've mentioned before, an unpopular opinion of mine is that a highlighter is a highlighter is a highlighter. Typically, when you've got one great highlighter, it doesn't matter how many more you have as they will all generally look the same once applied and sheered out onto the skin. The entire point of a highlighter is to look like a glow or sheen on the skin, not a thick stripe of color. Because of this, I do feel the market is oversaturated with these products as there is only so much a highlighter can do.
With that being said, there are sometimes highlighters that seem special or different enough that I can justify the purchase and be really happy with. But this palette isn't that for me.
What I like about this palette is that I think it would look really lovely on darker skin. So many highlighters cater to lighter skin, so it's always exciting to see something more thoughtfully curated to be inclusive to all customers. I also think this palette would easily work for lighter skin tones, and I commend Anastasia Beverly Hills for creating products that fit diverse populations.
There's no denying that the colors in this palette are really beautiful, but I just simply don't need it. I already have two Anastasia Beverly Hills Glow Kits in Gleam and Sun Dipped. And I love them. I think they give a really beautiful foiled look to the skin, and I love that I can dip my brush between colors to create a myriad of different finishes. Truthfully, I really don't notice a significant difference in most of the colors once they are applied, but I'm okay with that. The Gleam kit makes me ever so slightly pink and cool-toned, where Sun Dipped gives a nice warm glow.
With that being said, I think it's important to consider the price and really evaluate the use you would get out of all the shades in the palette. That's the tricky think about palettes--when brands try to include all skin tones, typically every shade won't work for every person. So for some people, the lightest shade, "Snow," will be their most used and the shade they will probably use up before really touching the other colors. And for others, "Snow" might look ashy on the skin and may not be used at all. So, while it can be nice to have the variety, it is important to be realistic about how many shades you will wear the most.
The Ultimate Glow Kit costs $45 for six pans at 0.16 ounces a piece. I think that's a much more reasonable price when compared to other highlighter palettes released for this holiday season, but I think a regular Glow Kit is a much better value at $40 for four pans at 0.26 ounces a piece.
If you're interested in the color scheme of this palette, I would recommend checking out the Glow Kits in That Glow (only available on the Anastasia Beverly Hills website) and Sun Dipped.
That Glow
Sun Dipped
If, like me, you don't see a discernible different between highlighters when applied to the skin, and you just want one excellent product, I love Becca's highlighters. The two that I have (that also keep me from buying the Ultimate Glow Kit) are Moonstone (my favorite) and Opal.
Moonstone
Photo: Temptalia
Opal
Based on Anastasia Beverly Hills's other recent releases, I imagine this palette will be hyped and celebrated, but I also don't think it is unique enough to be really exciting. Their Moonchild palette (which I am still lusting over) was really an exceptional release. It is a beautiful, unique palette that is wearable but still different enough to be intriguing. Not everyone wants a face highlight with a blue, green, or purple shift, however, so it makes sense that their holiday offering would be something more neutral that could reach a wider audience.
I just simply have too many highlighters at this point to welcome more of the same into my collection. I also don't find this palette different enough from their other Glow Kits to be all that interesting. And I won't be buying.
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