Melt Cosmetics Phoenix Digital Dust Highlight Review & Swatches

- February 26, 2019

Phoenix

Melt Cosmetics Phoenix Digital Dust Highlight ($39.00 for 0.28 oz.) is a deep copper with warm, reddish-brown undertones and a natural sheen. It had opaque pigmentation but the firmer texture meant it was easy to pick up less product for more buildable coverage if that was preferred. The cheek product stayed on well for eight and a half hours before fading slightly. It had a much less intense finish compared to most highlighters on the market, especially with this more powder-gel hybrid formula.

The texture was firmer, denser but very smooth without any powderiness, yet it applied evenly and blended out with little effort. The key takeaway is that with this type of formula, a moderately dense brush will work best to pick up product; it’s more aptly described as firm as stiff, but more feathery brushes (like a fan brush) may pick up product poorly.

Top Dupes

View Swatches View All Dupes

MAC Hushed Tone (P, $27.00) is less shimmery, cooler (95% similar).
MAC Format (P, $24.00) is less shimmery, lighter, warmer (95% similar).
LORAC Golden Hour (LE, ) is lighter (90% similar).
Makeup Geek Ablaze (P, $20.00) is more shimmery (90% similar).
Colour Pop Stryke (LE, $8.00) is less shimmery, brighter (90% similar).
NARS Fervor (Right) (PiP, ) is less shimmery, lighter, cooler (90% similar).
Fenty Beauty Sinamon (P, $25.00) is less shimmery, lighter, warmer (90% similar).
Huda Beauty Bora Bora (PiP, ) is less shimmery, lighter, cooler (90% similar).
Laura Geller Golden Apricot (P, $28.00) is less shimmery, lighter, cooler (90% similar).
Smashbox Rosemantic (LE, $39.00) is more shimmery, lighter, cooler (90% similar).
More dupes -- click to see the full list!

Formula Overview

$39.00/0.28 oz. - $139.29 Per Ounce

The brand doesn't have a great description of the highlighter formula generally, just descriptions of each shade. The lightest shade--Stargazer--is described as "buildable" but the other two are silent with respect to pigmentation, and the lightest shade was quite pigmented. Since there was no general description, I'm holding the formula to the average powder highlighter's claims--pigmented, long-wearing, and blendable, except Stargazer, which I would expect to have "buildable" pigmentation. The formula has a denser, firmer texture, but it never felt stiff nor was it difficult to blend out on the skin. The coverage was semi-opaque and buildable with a high-shine to metallic finish. All three lasted eight hours on me.

Browse all of our Melt Cosmetics Digital Dust Highlight swatches.

Ingredients

MICA, CETEARYL ETHYLHEXANOATE, HDI/TRIMETHYLOL HEXYLLACTONE CROSSPOLYMER, SQUALANE, OCTYLDODECYL STEAROYL STEARATE, GLYCERIN, POLYSORBATE 20, CAPRYLYL GLYCOL, ETHYLHEXYLGLYCERIN, 1,2-HEXANEDIOL, CHONDRUS CRISPUS (CARRAGEENAN), XANTHAN GUM, PENTAERYTHRITYL TETRA-DI-t-BUTYL HYDROXYHYDROCINNAMATE, SILICA, DICALCIUM PHOSPHATE, SYNTHETIC FLUORPHLOGOPITE. May Contain: TITANIUM DIOXIDE CI 77891, IRON OXIDES (CI 77491, CI 77492, CI77499)