The Fire Opal highlighter from Lady Gaga’s makeup line is one of the darker shades in the range, and although I’m pale enough to scare a ghost, I decided to get it partially because I intended to use it as a blush, but mostly because I think it’s the most beautiful product in the entire brand.
I just fell in love with the shade. That’s it. It’s a duo-chromatic coral that shifts from orange to a warm pink, with a strong gold shimmer. Anyone who can look at the swatches bellow, and tell me this is not beautiful, does not understand makeup – or colour – or life.
The formula, like the name says, is a powder-gelée: a dense, creamy texture that has no powder kick-up or fallout, and therefore needs a denser brush to pick up product. As a highlighter, this is so pigmented that a fluffy/loosely packed brush might be enough to get a decent amount product.
Even though it’s very pigmented, it’s easy to control, build up and blend out. Like expected of a gel-powder formula, once applied, the product looks one with the skin, like it’s naturally part of it and not something applied on top (even though a duochrome coral with gold shimmer isn’t exactly a “natural” cheek shade).
Because it is a highlighter, when light hits my cheek I can see an intense peachy gold shine, but in the shade the product darkens into a pink-coral colour, that works wonderfully as a blush.
It also lasts all day with no fading. After 10 hours of wear (with no setting spray!) it was about as intense as when I first applied it.
Even though Fire Opal looked quite unique to me, this type of shade didn’t feel totally unfamiliar to my collection, so I decided to pull some products that looked the most similar to reassure my husband myself that I didn’t have this already (and I didn’t!).
The closest shade is NYX’s Duo Chromatic Illuminating Powder in Synthetica, which curiously enough is less of a duochrome than Fire Opal (and more orange, and with no gold shimmer running though the powder). Fairly Precious is peachier and more reflective, and Chanel Pêche Rosée is a lot more matte and rustier.
The packaging feels luxurious – it’s a heavy, holographic plastic compact with no hard edges, considerably big and with a decent mirror on the inside. It has 8,5 grams, which is an impossible amount to use up. This product is expensive (46,95 €), but it rises up to that high end price. Just in case I wasn’t obvious enough: I highly recommend it.
