Natasha Denona Gold Glow Highlight Duo Review & Swatches

Glow Gold

Natasha Denona Gold Glow Highlight Duo ($42.00 for 0.5 oz.) is for someone who loves warm, gold highlighter and never feels like their highlighter has enough glitter in it. The Diamond Powder is a more sparkly formula, and that particular shade is described “sparkling,” though I’d say it’s teetering on the side of full-on glitter, while the Super Glow formula is more finely-milled with a shiny sheen but less overt sparkle… but it, too, had a good amount of sparkle and micro-glitter.

If you’re not into glitter, give this a total miss, and for those who do like glitter, the texture of both shades was difficult to work with as they were so dense that they were stiff and did not pick up well with a brush (even denser brushes). I really had to jab my brush and push it against the powder’s surface and then felt like it required enough buffing that lifting your base products would be a real concern.

I was able to get both shades to work on my skin, and they showed up, but they left me disappointed; especially as I’m a fan of both formulas from past releases, and the Super Glow formula is superb… but not this time around. In particular, the right side, which was the Super Glow formula, was most disappointing.

Glow Gold

4.5

Product

8.5

Pigmentation

Texture

7.5

Longevity

2.5

Application

60%

Total

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Glow Gold (Left)

Gold Glow (Left) is a medium gold with strong, warm undertones and a glittering, gold finish. It had medium coverage that built up to semi-opaque coverage but really required a heavy handed approach in order to pick up product from the pan, due to it being so firmly-pressed.

I think the coverage and finish were in line with past shades released in the formula, but the texture was much firmer and drier, which made it more difficult to use. I felt like a a fair amount of the sparkle got trapped in my brush, so the finish wasn’t quite as glittery applied to my cheeks as it initially appeared. When I blended out the product, it didn’t blend out as evenly as I expected, and over foundation, it was more prone to moving it around. On me, this shade lasted well for eight hours but some sparkle had traveled over time.

Top Dupes
Ingredients

Top Dupes

View Swatches View All Dupes

Too Faced Apricot in the Act (Highlighter) (PiP, ) is less shimmery, darker, warmer (90% similar).
Anastasia Golden Dawn (LE, ) is less shimmery, darker (90% similar).
Anastasia Sunray (LE, ) is less shimmery, darker (85% similar).
Fenty Beauty Trophy Wife (P, $36.00) is more shimmery, darker (85% similar).
Natasha Denona Medium-Nude (PiP, ) is lighter, warmer (80% similar).
Charlotte Tilbury Lovegasm Highlight (LE, ) is darker, warmer (80% similar).
Marc Jacobs Beauty Make a Sheen (LE, ) is lighter, warmer (80% similar).
Tarte Gator Wings (LE, ) is lighter (80% similar).
Coloured Raine Damage Control (Highlighter) (LE, ) is more shimmery, lighter (80% similar).
MAC Dazzlegold (LE, $34.00) is more shimmery, lighter, cooler (80% similar).

View Swatches

Ingredients

Polymethylsilsesquioxane, Calcium Sodium Borosilicate, Dimethicone , Polysorbate 20, Zinc Stearate, Talc, Diisostearyl Malate, Caprylyl Glycol, Phenoxyethanol, Sodium Dehydroacetate, Aluminum Hydroxide, Potassium Sorbate, Hexylene Glycol, Tin Oxide. [+/-] May Contain Ci 77891 (Titanium Dioxide), Ci 77491 (Iron Oxides), Ci 77492 (Iron Oxides), Ci 77499 (Iron Oxides), Ci 19140 (Yellow 5 Lake).

Glow Gold (Left)

Product

Pigmentation

Texture

7.5

Longevity

Application

70%

Total

Glow Gold (Right)

Gold Glow (Right) is a light-medium, golden copper with warm undertones and a glittering finish. It had semi-opaque pigmentation but steadily yielded sheerer and sheerer coverage with subsequent usage as the surface was prone to hardening (typically occurs from the natural oils that can transfer between cheek and brush or fingertips and skin!).

It had developed significant hard-pan within two uses (which encompassed applying once my arm and once on my cheeks), so the third time I used it (which is the time I apply for actual testing for the review), it had sheer coverage and I had to scrape at the surface to get enough product to release to apply it to replicate the result I had in my initial face swatches.

The texture was incredibly dense, stiff, and hard to pick up with a brush; I had to jab and push my brush against the surface in order to get product to come off. I felt like the drier texture was reflected on my cheeks as it was uneven and patchy in places, even when I tried to buff it into place. On top of foundation, it lifted up my base and made my foundation look patchy/cake-like. This shade stayed on well for eight hours before fading, but there was some glitter that had migrated over time.

Formula Overview
Ingredients

Formula Overview

$38.00/0.35 oz. - $108.57 Per Ounce

The formula is supposed to be a "super-soft powder" that "mimics skin's natural texture for a slick, seamless finish that won't settle in fine lines" while creating a "multidimensional glow" and "glass-like sheen." The powder has a denser consistency with slight slip and creaminess, but it definitely feels like a powder. The three shades available had semi-opaque to opaque coverage in a single layer with a strong, metallic sheen and a lot of shine--more reflective and shiny than shimmer in texture, but it was a mega-watt kind of glow. It worked well with standard, tapered highlighting brushes without having to use a light or heavy hand with it. The highlighters applied evenly, blended out easily, and lasted for eight to nine hours on me.

Browse all of our Natasha Denona Super Glow Highlighter swatches.

Ingredients

Calcium Aluminum Borosilicate , Dimethicone, Polymethylsilsesquioxane, Zinc Stearate, Polysorbate 20, Diisostearyl Malate, Silica, Mica, Tin Oxide, Caprylyl Glycol, Phenoxyethanol, Sodium Dehydroacetate, Potassium Sorbate, Hexylene Glycol, Ricinus Communis Seed Oil, Sodium Hyaluronate, Hydrogenated Castor Oil. [+/-] May Contain Ci 77891 (Titanium Dioxide), Ci 77491 (Iron Oxides).