I'm always a sucker for anything duo chrome, and lately highlighters as well. I was super excited to see NYX Duo Chromatic Illuminating Powders get released. You have duo chrome, highlighters and they're cheap(about eight dollars)-it's a win win. Details per NYX:
Light up your features with our new Duo Chromatic Illuminating Powder. Available in five glowing shades, this silky Powder blends like a dream for a fresh-faced look. Our breathtaking formulas light-catching pearls deliver a luminous finish that looks different from every angle. Brush this illuminating wonder along the highest points of the face—such as the cheekbones, bridge of the nose and Cupid’s bow.
I grabbed three shades: Snow Rose, Lavender Steel and Crushed Bloom which is shown above starting left then clockwise. The texture of these is nice, finer milled and smooth. They glide on well, no streaky look. I found them easy to layer for a stronger effect, or more subtle if desired. I preferred using a less dense squirrel brush with these like the Wayne Goss Air-Brush was my favorite. The less dense brushes allow for a lighter deposit of color on first pass, then you can intensify if you desire a stronger look. Denser haired brushes like goat will deposit more color quickly making it harder to get a more subtle glow.
Lavender Steel is described as a soft lavender with pink and lavender duo chromatic pearls. That's pretty accurate, it just glows this pink lavender glow. It's a subtle pearl not shimmer or glitter and it's the sheerest of the bunch. It's not too cool toned either, the pink gives it a warmer glow. I'm always afraid of the really cool blues/purples in highlighters they look terrible on my warmer skin tone.
Crushed Bloom is described as a dusty rose with pink and light blue duo chromatic pearls. That's somewhat accurate. It's more of a medium peachy pink base with a strong pink shift, the blue pearls make it pull more purple than blue. Overall, the shift is mostly pink. However, the blue pearls give it a touch of depth. It's a unique shade. This one will be best for medium skin tones and darker. It will be a blush on lighter/fairer skin tones. No glitter, only shimmer.
Snow Rose is described as a white base with pink and lilac duo chromatic pearls. It looks like most white based highlighters with a strong pink shift. It's more shimmery than Lavender Steel and Crushed Bloom but no glitter still. It's the most pigmented of the bunch. The base in this one is very noticeable and will be too light for darker skin tones. It works OK on me as a light medium skin tone.
Top to Bottom: Makeup Geek Psychedelic, Anastasia Starlight, NYX Snow Rose, NYX Lavender Steel, NYX Crushed Bloom, Urban Decay Fireball:
For the price you can't beat checking them out. Ulta has them, as well as NYX's website. If you're a first time user sign up for emails and get a discount on your first order.