FLOATING IN DREAMS

Who doesn’t want to transform themselves into a unicorn? That was my first response when I heard about the Anastasia Beverly Hills Moon Child palette. Released at the height of the Flow Kit craze, this palette went a bit under the radar for most people I believe. But when I spotted it and compared it to the other Anastasia Glow Kits, I knew this would be the one for me. Not only is it a very unique product, it is also decidedly more wearable and versatile than you might think.

Anastasia Beverly Hills Moon Child Glow Kit

One of the reasons why I think nobody was really talking about this much was because this is only available through the Anastasia website. This palette is exclusive to the brand and it cannot be found anywhere else. I decided to bite the bullet and pay up the cost of shipping, handling and duties on top of the original $40 retail price. It wasn’t too bad in the end and I estimate I paid roughly 50 euros for this palette all in all. I bought this last fall, but it is currently still available.

The Packaging

The Moon Child palette was the first of its kind: a iridescent, colorful highlighting palette with 6 shades. The look of the palette is very similar to the regular Glow Kits. This also comes in cardboard packaging and has no mirror. Unlike those however, this comes with 6 rather than 4 shades. The pans of the original Glow Kits are removable. The pans in this palette are not.

The packaging feels a little bit cheap, but the holographic sheen this has, is absolutely stunning. The baby blue holographic tint simply goes well with the 6 shades of highlight inside, which range from the very wearable to the what-the-???.

The Product

All 6 shades of this palette are unique to say the least. This highlighting palette is not for the feint of heart: it doesn’t include any standard highlighting shades. Forget about your golds and champagnes. This palette comes with blues, purples and oh yes, green. Pink Heart is probably the most wearable shade in the palette, but below I will show you how these actually work when applied in a make up look.

Because highlighters are notoriously difficult to photograph, I decided to add flash to give you some sort of an idea. As you can see, when these shades hit the light they truly come to life. Each shade isn’t just a highlighter, but has a duochrome sheen to it that is different when the light hits it just right. This means that when this is on your face, the highlight will be more pronounced depending on the movement of your face.

Blue Ice

This may not look very blue in the pan, but when applied to the face it most certainly lives up to its name. This is an iridescent baby blue shade that appears white at first glance, but turns blue when the light hits it. This is surprisingly wearing because it has a very white undertone. This is great if you want to turn yourself into a straight up ice queen.

Star

This is one of the more easy shades to wear in the palette. It is simply a straight up silver highlight. It has a grey undertone, which may not make this very suitable for an everyday face highlight but this can look stunning in eye looks.

Purple Horseshoe

A blue toned purple. That is what Purple Horseshoe is. This looks more purple in the shade, but has a stunning blueish indigo sheen when it lights up.

Pink Heart

Compared to some of these other shades, Pink Heart is the most underwhelming. It is the most wearable shade for sure. It looks white in the pan, but this pulls very baby pink when the light hits it. Great highlight if you like them cool toned.

Lucky Clover

For those days you feel like a space alien. Just kidding! Lucky Clover is a green highlight. Green! In fact, this is a very brightening color that makes for a stunning inner corner highlight.

Blue Moon

Another more wearable shade: blue moon pulls mostly towards a white with a blue undertone. It looks very similar to Star, but it is a bit more refreshing and not as grey as that.

The Swatches

As you can see these highlighters swatch very well. Especially for a highlight these are very intense and in your face. For face application, it is best to use a very light hand as you can overdo it very easily. Which is why my favorite way, and the reason why I purchased this palette in the first place, is to use this as eyeshadow. This is a great palette to add some interest and pops of brightness into an eye look.

Not saying these cannot work on the face, they can and I tried almost all of them on my cheeks. I even wore a few of the purple and blue shades to work and nobody even noticed I was wearing a crazy colored highlight. This product is unique and of great quality. These highlights pack a real punch and apply an blend well.

The Application

Purple Horseshoe – Lucky Clover

I managed to take pictures of 5 out of 6 of these shades. As I mentioned my favorite way of using these is in eye looks. Star and Lucky Clover are definitely ones that I am not itching to use on my face, but both shades work well in eye looks. Here you can see Purple Horseshoe in my inner corner and Lucky Clover in my inner corner and as a highlight on the middle of my lid.

Nothing – Pink Heart – Blue Ice

To prove my point, I also added a few pictures having applied these to my cheeks. All shades give a distinct glow of which Pink Heart is the most wearable. Because it’s pink it easily blends into your skin tone. Additionally it has more of a duochrome shift to it, making it less intense.

For good measure I also applied Blue Ice to my cheeks. Seemingly meaningless in the pan and also one of the shades with a more patchy swatch and still, on the face, this packs a punch. This will not be everyone’s cup of tea, but I love that blue toned, icy sheen it gives.

To show you that even a blue highlight can look okay: this is the full face with Blue Ice. Say what? As intense as this may look up close, it does shift depending on how the lighting hits it. Which is why, full face, with the rest of my make up applied, this doesn’t look like you’ve gone completely mental at all. It is different for sure, but nothing too silly.

The Conclusion

Should you buy this palette? Absolutely not. If you like your highlight natural and wearable (no matter how glowy you like it) this is not for you. And I think that rules out the majority of people. If like me, you are a make up enthusiast and enjoy playing around with make up more than the average person? Then this one is for you. This is that different, out there, make up product that not only is of great quality, but also gives you tons of creative freedom. In the mean time, I will continue to be rocking this to work.

Would you wear one of these highlight shades?