Huda Beauty N.Y.M.P.H. All Over Highlighting Powder
Overview: I have to begin with a straight up admission that I think Huda Kattan is just wonderful. I have been watching her youtube videos for years and I am a fan. She is so full of energy, open, and honest; and always comes off as someone who is probably a really good person with a strong conscience. Huda Beauty products can be a hit or a miss for me though. Some of them, I love; others not so much. When she announced this highlighter, I was probably literally the first person to hit “place order” on her website. The description sort of made it sound like this product was some elusive highlighting luxury secret that just couldn’t be mass-produced because it was so special and the brand had somehow manage to bottle it - and make it available to us! I am a vapid collector of highlighters so there was no way I was going to not be marketed to here. Now, was it really a never-seen-before highlighter? Definitely not. However, is it still a beautiful product? Absolutely. It goes on like a dream, is pressed into the pan like a piece of art(collector’s edition alert!), and damn - you get a LOT of highlighter for your money. Like, a lot. Like, 30 grams worth. So if you would like to buy one solid highlighter for your face and body and want it to last a long time - this would probably do the trick.
Formula and Application: This is a super soft powder with fine sparkles/microglitter running through it. The sparkly bits are very fine (I almost hesitate to call them glitter because it doesn’t have any of the chunkiness generally associated with glittery highlighters) and finger swatches feel like as if you are spreading creamy molten metal on your hand. Many products don’t always appear the same when applied with a brush (as opposed to finger swatching). Not so with this guy. With a small highlighter brush (I was using the Makeup by Mario x Sephora Highlight brush and the Sigma High Cheekbone Highlighter Brush) this highlighter goes on your face almost exactly like it swatches- like a gold liquid-y shiny layer of glow; sparkling as it catches the light - owing to the fine sparkly-bits. With a larger powder brush like the Nyx 03 (for when using it on the body), it applies like a gold-bronze loose powder - a bit chunkier - but it gave my limbs a shiny bronzed look which I loved. You could probably get a similar effect on parts of your face if you apply this with a fluffly brush as opposed to a more packed brush like the ones I was using. For me, the formula and application was the best thing about this highlighter. Is it again, a never-seen-before formula? No. But is it really, really good? Yes.YES.
Color: I would characterize the color as a light-medium gold with bronze-peach undertones. In the launch video, Huda talked about how the powder has both light-gold and bronze-gold parts to it and you can either pick them up seperately or swirl your brush through the whole pan to get them both. To be honest, I couldn’t really tell the difference - at least on the particular palette I received. It may be that there is some variation across palettes (given such an intricate powder design) and some may have more of this differentiation in the pan than others. I lean towards slightly lighter gold highlighters (like Charlotte Tilbury’s Bar of Gold - the original single highlighter) but that is just a personal preference. I think this shade would flatter a lot of skin tones.
Packaging: The pan inside this palette is truly a work of art. The geometric rose design is sharp and angular and just as detailed as all the promotional images depicted - and even more visually appealing in person. I am sure that over time, the sharp angles would soften and eventually the palette would become less multi-dimensional but the size of this paletter sort of ensures that that will not happen anytime soon. While its size is something that was highlighted by the brand, I actually think the size makes it a little unwieldy. It’s heavy, a bit bulky, and the outer plastic packing is definitely not as “luxury” as the product inside. The first powder I ordered was rattling inside the pink outer packaging and when I opened it, the pan completely fell out. The brand promptly sent a replacement - which did not fall out - but I think the weight and size of this highlighter is not likely to be conducive to convenience of both travel and usage. At the same time, as a body highlighter, the large size does allow for easy application.
Natural Light (facing the window): Three swatches where I first swirled my brush through the whole pan, then tried to limit myself to what faintly appeared to be the slightly darker bronze-gold areas, and then to the somewhat lighter gold areas. As you can probably see, there isn’t much of a difference (from L to R): Mixed, Bronze-Gold, Lighter Gold. These swatches are admittedly on the lighter side - this is how the highlighter will look in bright natural light when directly facing it. The second and third swatch images (below) are closer to what the color looks like most of the time.
Natural Light - window on the right: Mixed, Bronze-gold, Light-gold
Indoor Light (Under a lamp): Mixed, Bronze-Gold, Light-Gold
The highlighter palette under natural light - from a window on the left.
The highlighter palette under indoor lighting - lamp on the left.
Look of the Day
Clockwise from L to R: Lisa Eldrige Lipstick in Skyscraper Rose, Tom Ford Traceless Foundation Stick, Em Cosmetics Color Drops Serum Blush in Cherry Splash, Marc Jacobs Glow Stick in Spotlight, Chanel Ombre Premiere Longwear Powder Eyeshadow in 905-Electrum Lame
This highlighter is available exclusively on the Huda Beauty website for $55 (US).
https://hudabeauty.com/us/en_US/shop/nymph-all-over-highlighting-powder-HB00336.html
Disclaimer: All products were purchased myself and these views are my own and not sponsored by any brand. The link above is not an affiliate link, and I do not get any monetary compensation if you decide to buy this product.
