Pages

Monday, May 13, 2013

Dolce & Gabbana Eva Illuminator & Tan Blush: Highlighting & Contouring








Among the many face products in the Dolce & Gabbana line there's also The Illuminator -Glow Illuminating Powder in two shades: Eva 3 and Shimmer 6. The latter is pink-based, so I skipped it, but Eva, a nude beige powder with a smooth finish, seemed like the right choice.

Now, despite the name and some of the marketing materials this  Dolce & Gabbana Illuminating Powder is not a highlighter. It's a light reflecting powder that's more of a finishing product than a topical illuminator. Eva works along the same lines of Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powder in the way it diffuses light and creates a soft glow with no visible particles (Hourglass Ambient Lighting comes in several shades, though, and some are more glowing than others). I like the silky softness of this powder, but  it's  colorless and subdued that when it comes to allover sheer light diffusing and a perfect photoshopped finish I much prefer the loose powder from NARS (that I still need to review. I know, it's been months), and for adding a visible glow Hourglass is far superior.

The other side of the shade/illuminate equation is contouring. With my facial structure I do this less on my impossible to find cheekbones (I have none) but more to narrow the nose and define my jawline. Dolce & Gabbana Luminous Cheek Color in Tan #22 is a good product for this purpose. This nude tan blush has no hint of orange. It's a very neutral shade, light enough not to require an hour of diffusing but visible and effective. The texture is soft and smooth (Dolce & Gabbana blushes have many fans because of their silky finish), and it's easy to work with.

The packaging of Dolce & Gabbana products is sturdy and detailed. One might not be crazy about the blinding gold, but it's luxurious and nice in its way. The Illuminator's (half decent) brush comes in a separate pocket attached to the compact's velveteen pouch. Blushes are packaged more traditionally with a scratchy little brush inside the compact.

Bottom Line: Tan is definitely worth trying if you're after a nice contour powder. The Illuminator is overpriced for its quality and performance.

Dolce & Gabbana Eva Illuminator ($50) & Tan Blush ($45) are available from Saks and Sephora.

1 comment:

  1. I'm so glad you did this review. Eva was on my wishlist, mostly for the packaging I confess, but now I think I'll be picking up some Candlelight instead. Sarah x

    http://skinperfecting.blogspot.co.uk/

    ReplyDelete

I love comments and appreciate the time you take to connect with me, but please do not insert links to your blog or store. Those will be deleted. The comment feature is not intended to provide an advertising venue for your blog or your commercial site.