Kevyn Aucoin The Celestial Powder in Candlelight and Starlight

Kevyn Aucoin Beauty has been around for about 15 years now (and remains an independent company!), but it's been relatively under the radar until the last year or so. The brand was carried almost exclusively at upscale department stores and boutiques until it was picked up by Sephora, and with the help of social media (of course), it's gotten more and more attention and hype. I've never really been that intrigued by any of its products until The Celestial Powders, which are beloved by both industry darlings and consumers alike — it has consistently high ratings and virtually every review of these powders are raves — so I obviously needed to get both of the shades that it comes in. The Celestial Powder is described as "a sheer, opalescent highlighting powder that works to illuminate features with a subtle glow. [It] blurs imperfections, highlights cheekbones, and illuminates any areas that light naturally hits with an illuminating gleam. Sweep this highlighting powder over foundation, bare skin, or dust it all over the face for a soft, ethereal glow that is lightweight and leaves a flawless, sheer finish." They are housed in a rectangular dark burgundy gradient mirrored compact with gold accents, and come with a complementary velvet pouch. Each Celestial Powder contains a total of 3.1 grams of product, and retails for $53. 

Candlelight and Starlight

Candlelight is a light muted warm champagne beige with a soft shimmer-sheen in a satin finish. This is a permanent shade. It has a soft, silky, finely-milled texture, and goes on smoothly and evenly. It has high pigmentation and opaque colour pay-off. It can be layered and blended out easily. It is darker and more gold than MAC Lightscapade, darker and less metallic than Becca Moonstone, less peach and less metallic than Becca Champagne Pop, lighter and more golden than Hourglass Luminous Light, and less metallic than TheBalm Mary Lou-Manizer.

Starlight is a light-medium warm muted peachy champagne with a gold shimmer-sheen in a frosted finish. This is a permanent shade. It has a soft, silky, finely-milled texture, and goes on smoothly and evenly. It has high pigmentation and opaque colour pay-off. It can be layered and blended out easily. It is darker and more peach than MAC Soft and Gentle, lighter and less metallic than Becca Rose Gold, darker and less metallic than Becca Opal, more pink and more metallic than Hourglass Luminous Light, and more pigmented and less sparkly than Urban Decay Aura.

There are hundreds of highlighters on the market right now, but what sets Kevyn Aucoin's The Celestial Powder apart is in the texture. It's not that liquid-powder hybrid type, or that super-buttery, almost cream-like type, or that baked, super-shimmery type. It's just a really high quality, soft, finely-milled, velvety powder. Neither shade is too bright or too sparkly, but they aren't too subtle, either. Like, they impart gorgeous soft highlights that makes the skin look glowy and illuminated and gently sculpted, but not glittery or wet-looking. Candlelight is the perfect warm beige shade that isn't too light, too dark, or too gold that works flawlessly on fair to medium-dark skintones. Starlight is darker and warmer but doesn't veer too orange or too pink, and makes an ideal highlighting shade medium to deep-dark skintones. Both shades layer and blend out like a dream, and leave the most beautiful luminous glow without emphasizing pores or being too metallic, making them perfect for all skin types and all ages. Basically, if Goldilocks were looking for highlighting powders, she'd end her search with these.