Kaleidos Star Surfer Space Age Highlighter Review & Swatches

Star Surfer

Kaleidos Star Surfer Space Age Highlighter ($14.00 for 0.10 oz.) is an ultra-light, warmer pink base with iridescent pink-to-violet shimmer and faint sparkle. It had a more translucent base, so the “pigmentation” came in the form of shimmer/pearl.

The texture was slightly drier to the touch, but it picked up readily with a dry brush and wasn’t prone to fallout during blending. The powder had mostly opaque, buildable color payoff that adhered evenly to bare skin and diffused without too much effort. It stayed on well for eight hours before fading noticeably.

FURTHER READING: Formula Overview for details on general performance and characteristics (like scent).

Top Dupes

View Swatches View All Dupes

Sydney Grace Pink Mist (P, $9.00) is less shimmery, darker (90% similar).
MAC Get Lit (PiP, ) is more shimmery, cooler (90% similar).
ColourPop Pardon My Francais (LE, $8.00) is less shimmery, darker (90% similar).
Guerlain Holographic (Right) (LE, ) is darker, cooler (90% similar).
Laura Mercier Obsession (LE, $45.00) is darker, cooler (90% similar).
ColourPop Showtime (LE, $8.00) is more shimmery, darker, cooler (85% similar).
MAC Lights on Lavender (LE, $37.00) is less shimmery, darker, cooler (85% similar).
MAC Soft Frost (P, $37.00) is cooler (85% similar).
Wet 'n' Wild Royal Calyx (P, $4.99) is more shimmery, darker, cooler (80% similar).
ColourPop Rocket Science (P, $8.00) is darker (80% similar).

View Swatches

Formula Overview

$14.00/0.1 oz. - $140.00 Per Ounce

The formula is supposed to have "vibrant, color-shifting" shades that have an "ultra-lightweight, smooth texture that practically melts onto skin." They are described as being "translucent yet highlight reflective" with a "multi-chrome finish." I had different experiences across the range, so it was not the most consistent of ranges. They did, on average, apply a little better in practice than they appeared initially swatched.

For the most part, the regularly-priced ($14 at the time of publishing) shades were more like intense duochromes than true multi-chromes to me, and I do think the price reflects that (as their true multichromes are $36 each). They had translucent bases across the board with some shades having stronger initial coverage than others, but they produced a noticeable sheen and shift on my skin.

The texture was what varied from shade to shade with some shades feeling drier, almost crumbly, and being particularly prone to emphasizing skin texture, even though I don't have that much visible texture on my cheeks (this is not a common issue for me, it can happen but it is infrequent that I really feel a highlighter emphasizes my texture!) while other shades were firmer but applied more smoothly on my skin.

I liked the tones and shade range more so than the formula, but a couple of shades were really lovely to work with. They tended to wear around eight hours on my skin before fading visibly, though the chunkier, more sparkly shades had visible migration around the six-hour mark.

Browse all of our Kaleidos Space Age Highlighter swatches.

Ingredients

Synthetic Fluorphlogopite, Talc, Ethylhexyl Palmitate, Octyldodecanol, Calcium Aluminum Borosilicate, Calcium Sodium Borosilicate, Silica, Synthetic Wax, Boron Nitride, Phenoxyethanol, Hydrogen Dimethicone, Hydrated Silica, Tin Oxide, Decylene Glycol, PTFE, Triethoxycaprylylsilane, Titanium Dioxide (CI 77891), Red 40 Lake (CI 16035), Iron Oxides (CI 77499, CI 77492).

Disclaimer: Ingredient lists are as available by the brand (or retailer) at the time of publishing. Please always check product packaging, if it exists, for the ingredient list applicable to the product you're purchasing, or the brand or retailer's website for the most up-to-date ingredient list.