Here’s to another celebrity makeup brand, about-face, presented to you by singer Halsey, someone I’ve never listened to and couldn’t tell you anything about. Which is for the better, probably, because I’m all about, and only about, the makeup. Some items from the about-face line really intrigued me, and I decided to start out with their highlighters and the most appealing of their products (to me, a well known magpie): the Fractal Glitter Eye Paint.
I chose the Light Lock highlighter in the shade Stay in Bed, which is a light peachy-gold, and the Fractal Eye Paint in Smolder, which is a transparent mauve with multicoloured shimmer. Below there are swatches in two different angles and lighting, mainly to try to catch the glitter diversity in the Fractal Eye Paint.
Light Lock Powder in Stay in Bed
This highlighter, at least this particular shade, is one of those that has more colour than shine. It’s not super reflective nor metallic, but it’s a light peach shade with a nice sheen that adds a bit of luminosity to the face. The powder feels very creamy to the touch and it’s very pigmented and reasonably easy to blend, but it clings to texture on the skin, unfortunately. That actually was very odd, since this isn’t very shiny, and it’s usually the shine that accentuates fine lines and pores. On powdered cheeks, this fault wasn’t as obvious as it was on bare skin, but it never really looked all that smooth on the cheeks.
Longevity wise, it lasted until I decided to take it off. I did a test wearing it just over foundation, with no setting spray or primer, and regardless if I set my face with powder or not, after 9,5 hours the highlighter was still very much on my face with virtually no fading (nor travelling – it stayed put where I put it).
The highlighter comes in a see-through lilac, skewed square shaped plastic compact, with a mirror in the inside and 8 grams of product. The compact is pretty small for the amount it carries, so kudos to about-face for keeping things streamlined and storage-friendly. However, the compact edges are pretty sharp and you could hurt someone with it. Whether that’s a positive or negative feature, well, depends on what you intend to do with it.
Fractal Glitter Eye Paint in Smolder
My god, is this thing gorgeous on the lid. The glitter is stunning and it really sparkles under either direct sunlight or artificial lighting. Because this is glitter with a coloured base on a liquid shadow format, it’s easier to apply than most traditional glitter products. The applicator deposits a nice amount of product, and it was easy to spread out with my finger. I tried to add a second layer to check if this would disturb or lift the layer underneath, and had no issues – it layered fine and I had no patchiness. Throughout the whole day there was no creasing and after 10 hours I noticed some fading, but very minimal.
Even though it feels a bit gritty to the touch after dry down, the glitter doesn’t really travel anywhere once it sets, so I think it’ll be safe and comfortable to wear for people with sensitive eyes. It took about 10 hours (with no eyeshadow primer!) for me to see any glitter migration, and even then, it was just on the outer corner of my lid. Glitter never got into my eye.
Removing it though, that’s a different story. I had sparkles everywhere on my face. Not a huge bother to my disco-ball-loving-self, but I can see how it can become a nuisance for other people.
The packaging is an aluminium mimicking, Capri-Sun reminiscent packet that takes up a lot more space than it needs to but that I kind of like. And I get it, brands have to come up with something new and kitschy in order to stand out from the sea of already available similar products, so I can’t fault them for that. This has a doe foot applicator that is easy to use, and the malleable packaging will make it easy to squeeze out every last bit of product, which you’ll need since this only contains 4,5ml – not terrible, sure, but it leans on the smaller size amount.
Final Thoughts
Overall, I’m happy with this brand, and curious to try more products. Between the two I’ve tried, I’d definitely recommend the Fractal Glitter Eye Paint.
The Light Lock powder is not bad, but not particularly special or anything new, and it won’t satisfy you if you’re looking for an intense, blinding highlighter. You can find great peach highlighting shades with less expensive brands like Wet n Wild or Maybelline. The Fractal Eye, however, is an elevated version of liquid glitter: looks great without being too gaudy, and performs well throughout the day. Packaging isn’t the most practical to store, but -and you can blame it on nostalgia – I really like it.
