I don’t know for sure where I first saw a picture of this gorgeous highlighter, I believe it was on Instagram. And from that moment onward I knew I needed to get my hands on it. I’m talking about the gorgeous Nars Man Ray Overexposed Glow Highlighter in the shade Double Take. It’s part of their holiday collection which is a collaboration with Man Ray and it looks absolutely amazing. So, when I saw it in their webshop I immediately ordered it and when it arrived I went straight to testing it. It has been a while since I bought it but I hadn’t had the time yet to review it, which is why there has been a bit of a delay. But now I do have time to talk to you guys about it, which is why I’m reviewing it today. So, if you’re interested in finding out everything there is to know about this gorgeous Nars highlighter, make sure you continue reading!
Compared to other Nars products the packaging is a little different. Regular Nars highlighters come in the same compacts as their blushes do. They are made of black rubberised plastic, they have rounded edges and they are quite small. This packaging on the other hand is a lot bigger, it’s about the same size as their bronzers, and it doesn’t have rounded edges like their normal packagings do. Something that is similar is the material the packaging is made out of and the simplicity of the design. The only thing that sets this packaging apart from the regular packagings when it comes to design is the fact that this says ‘Man Roy’ on the front and has a set of golden lips on there.
Inside the packaging you’ll find the product itself as well as a big mirror. Because this packaging is quite a bit larger than their regular highlighter packagings this mirror is bigger than usual. I like that because, even though I do use a bigger mirror when I do my makeup, I do like to check things up close in a smaller more compact mirror like the one inside this compact.
Nars x Man Ray Overexposed Glow Highlighter in Double Take – €39
Aside from a bigger and differently shaped packaging, this product also has a different finish to the powder itself. The powder looks like it used to be a liquid, a very rich liquid, and it has a gorgeous sheen to it. It also has four sets of lips on it which is very pretty as well. I know these lips will fade away over time, but for now I think it’s just really nice to look at. Overall I think that the powder looks absolutely stunning. Just by looking at it I already absolutely love this highlighter. The only thing that could ruin it right now is bad quality or the glow being an overspray.
Luckily for me, and everyone else who bought this highlighter, neither of those things are true. The quality of this highlighter is actually amazing. I think it’s even better than their regular highlighters. And the glow you see on the powder isn’t an overspray. The powder really looks like that, even after using it a couple of times.
But before we get ahead of ourselves let’s start talking about the claims so we know what to look at and which points are important to discuss when it comes to this highlighter!
On the official Nars website I couldn’t find too much information about this highlighter. All I could find is this:
“Golden touch. Second-skin luminosity in a universally flattering highlighter. New. Limited edition.
ABOUT MAN RAY FOR NARS
Kiss. Play. Man Ray. Get surreal with a collection of surprising shades inspired by the electrifying art of modern master Man Ray.”
Because that clearly isn’t a lot of information and I couldn’t believe that was all there is to know about this product I searched on the internet a little more and luckily I found some more information. On the Lookfantastic website it said the following:
“Add strobe-like radiance to your skin with NARS Cosmetics Man Ray Overexposed Highlighter in ‘Double Take‘.
The pressed powder highlighter is universally flattering and delivers striking luminosity to leave the complexion with glowing, golden radiance. Inspired by the electrifying work of visual artist Man Ray, the limited edition, lip-embossed highlighter will lend your skin an ethereal glow. Add to high points of the face such as the brow bones, cheekbones and down the centre of the nose; places the light will naturally catch.
Housed in a portable compact.”
So, if we can believe what the internet says about this product this highlighter is supposed to be strobe-like, luminous and universally flattering. These claims still aren’t too outrageous or descriptive, but it’s something. And to be completely honest I do prefer it when a brand makes only few claims but realistic ones rather than a ton of claims that are just too good to be true.
Before I go into more detail about the claims and the quality of the product I first want to quickly talk about what strobe-like radiance means. It sounds like a very familiar term for me, but I don’t really know what it’s exactly supposed to mean. According to the internet a strobe-like radiance means that the highlighter is intense and has a lot of fine reflective particles in it. In other words it’s supposed to be a beaming highlight.
Knowing that let’s talk about the highlighters’ quality. Starting off with texture which is one of the most important aspects in my opinion. In my opinion all Nars products I’ve ever tried have great textures. They are all very soft and smooth and easy to use. However, this texture seemed a little different than normal. It seemed to be more or a poured powder and that could change things.
In my opinion it changed things in a positive way. Like I said I already loved the textures of Nars powders, but this powder is even richer, even smoother and even more easy to use. I also think that this highlighter is much more intense and definitely a highlighter you could strobe with. It’s very intense and full of reflective particles and I love the look and feel of that.
Another thing I really like about this highlighter is that it’s not overly intense. I do have a couple of highlighters that are so intense I can only use them on special occasions or I have to use a very, very light hand with them in order for them not to be too extreme. Even though this is a nice and intense highlighter, it’s not overly intense. At least it doesn’t have to be. If you just apply a layer like you always would this highlighter will really highlight your face, create that gorgeous glowy effect we all love and make your cheek bones stand out, but it won’t be too blinding for everyday life.
However, if you do go over it a couple of times to build it up, it can become more intense and more blinding. So it’s really up to you how intense you want it to be.
On these face swatches I applied just one layer of highlighter. Now that I’m looking at the pictures I figured that I should’ve applied a little more just so it would show up better because now it’s kind of difficult to see how intense the highlighter is, but I can’t do anything about that anymore now.
Anyway, I hope this picture shows you how this highlighter is intense and wearable at the same time. My cheek bones are highlighted gorgeously but it doesn’t look like I have about 20 grams of powder on my face. The shade of the highlighter is just perfect as well. Nars already said that it’s universally flattering and even though that’s normally not something I believe in, I do think that they are right on that front. This highlighter doesn’t necessarily add a colour to your face, it’s more like a glow which is why this shade will look so good on everybody. It’s very natural.
The staying power of this Nars x Man Ray Overexposed Glow Highlighter is pretty darn good as well. It does stay in place all day long (unless you’re actively touching it all day long), so it’s the perfect fool-proof highlighter for days where you need your highlighter to stay put or for a night out.
Overall I think that the Nars x Man Ray Overexposed Glow Highlighter in Double Take is absolutely stunning. I love that you get more product than you’d normally get if you buy a Nars highlighter and I love the design of the compact. I’m also a big fan of the fact that the shade really is universally flattering and I just think that the quality of this highlighter is amazing. It really has become one of my favourite highlighters of all time and I’ll definitely continue using it!
And that concludes today’s post. I hope you enjoyed reading it and be sure to let me know what you think of this highlighter and whether or not you’ve tried anything from the Nars x Man Ray collection!
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