The latest craze is the elf Halo Glow Liquid Filter. You might be a bit confused on what this product actually is, how does it work, and if it is a dupe for an expensive look-a-like. I have all of the true details in an info-packed review with several wear tests.
Details & Claims
First I will start with where you can buy the liquid. As of right now, you may be able to find it in select Target, Walmart, and Ulta stores. elf has built up so much hype that they are having trouble keeping it in stock. At present, you can buy this product online on elf’s website, Amazon, Ulta and at Target. It retails for $14 and comes in eight universal sheer shades.
It is time to explain what the heck this stuff really is! It is not exactly a foundation, although you can choose to wear it that way. elf provides four (really five) uses:
- As foundation
- Over or under foundation
- As a foundation mix-in
- As a liquid highlighter
This product is a complexion booster, meaning it adds glow and enhancement to your skin. The official claims from elf is that this a skincare-makeup hybrid that provides glowing, dewy skin. Your complexion should look healthy and more radiant. This multi-purpose product should give your complexion a soft-focus filtered look in real life. It can be used by all skin types.
It features a large doe-foot applicator, with an indent in the center that holds a nice amount of product.
The key ingredients are squalane for moisture, hyaluronic acid for hydration, and finely milled powders to give you that blurred, soft-focus look.
Swatches
In the swatches below you can really tell the difference between the glowing side versus the side without elf! The swatch also exemplifies how the tint blends into the skin, which supports the low shade range of eight colors. It is sheer enough that they do not need to offer a wide range, but an expansion is never a bad thing.
Review
I have some general notes that apply to my review no matter how you use the product.
I find that it applies just a tad bit better with a sponge versus a brush. This may be up to your personal preference, but I am solely a sponge person.
This product has a very sticky and tacky finish. Even when set with powder, that feeling remains. It will go away a bit during the day, but not entirely. This is important to note when you are pairing it with another foundation as a mix-in, base, or layered over- it will make the formula sticky. You can imagine how sticky it is worn alone as a foundation! I have tried shaking the bottle, but it is of no use.
I do not see any magical blurring effects with this product in real life. It does nothing for my pores. However, it does give a filtered or blurred effect in photos and videos.
As with all illuminating or glowing products, applying powder over top will diminish a lot of the effect. You can mitigate this to a degree by using illuminating powder and setting spray. The tacky feeling makes you want to set it, but then you do not want to lose the glow. Frustrating!
Usually illuminating products have a reduced wear time by nature, but this product is pretty solid! I have worn it for around 10 hours and it holds up fine with nothing more than basic wear and tear. When you wear this along with your foundation of choice, it will not harm the wear time. It really adapts to the wear time of what you pair it with. It allows a minimal amount of oils through during the day.
Wear Tests – Wearing As Foundation
Here I am wearing product alone as foundation with two layers, and I did not set it with powder. I am surprised by the level of coverage! It evened out my skin tone and cancelled out redness, yet it allows veins and imperfections to show through in a way that looks natural, all with a skin-like finish.
As a combination skin gal, this is way too much shine for my personal preference. I felt that I was looking crazy all day! While you might like this look, I can stand to apply one light layer, then set it with powder.
Wearing Over Foundation
In wearing it over foundation, it made everything look more radiant, dewy, and fresh in a healthy way. While I did set this with elf’s Halo Glow Powder, it still knocked down the shine a lot.
Wearing Under Foundation
I find that the complexion booster makes a nice base for makeup, as an added or extra step in your routine. It has the ability to add glow and a smoothing effect to your foundation. Here I set my look with general powder, and again it knocks down the glow. Ultimately, this product is great for making any foundation more illuminating, if you so desire.
Wearing Mixed Into Foundation
Here I mixed the product into foundation and set with powder, but my thoughts are the same as those when wearing it over or under. I am extra curious about pairing this with foundations that do not sit on my skin well, especially the elf Camo CC Cream. I really wanted to love that one more, and I think this product can enhance foundations that are a bit wonky.
As Liquid Highlighter
In my ‘wearing as foundation’ photography above, I dabbed more Liquid Filter onto the high points of my face, and it makes a lovely liquid highlighter that you can build to be as stunning, or as subtle, as you want! For the most part, I have a love/hate… or a hate relationship with liquid highlighters. Most will not blend well into my skin, so I end up with harsh streaks. A lot of people struggle with makeup “sticking” on their noses, and liquid highlighter usually lifts up the coverage underneath and makes a mess for me.
Since this product is a natural skin tone tint, and has a skin-like formula, it truly melts into the skin and alleviates any issues that you may be used to with liquid highlighters. This is the best liquid highlight formula.
elf Halo Glow Complexion Booster vs. Charlotte Tilbury Flawless Filter
The major buzz about this product is that it is a dupe for Charlotte Tilbury Flawless Filter. After all, $14 versus $46 is a big deal! I have never tried the Charlotte Tilbury product, so I cannot comment on that. However, I have watched several YouTube videos from influencers that I trust, and they all conclude that elf’s is a dupe. Each creator notes that elf’s applicator is larger, so it holds and dispenses more product onto the skin than Charlotte Tilbury’s. However, the products visually look the same on the skin, and perform identically in a wear test. I have included a video below for your own research.
This is definitely a case of elf being obvious that they are trying to dupe a high-end product, which they do a lot! My list of elf dupes for high-end makeup has more items that you need to know about.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you use elf Halo Glow Liquid Filter?
You can use the elf Halo Glow Filter in four different ways. It can be used under or over foundation, as foundation, as liquid highlighter, or mixed into foundation.
Will elf Halo Glow be in stores?
At the time of this writing, elf Halo Glow is not in stores. Since elf normally brings their top performing products to major retailers, it would not be surprising to see this item in stores by the end of the year. elf is having trouble keeping the product in stock online.
Shop The Liquid
The biggest drawbacks are the sticky finish, and I personally do not like the shiny look on my skin when I wear this as foundation. For days when you feel like adding an extra step into your routine, this product will give you a healthy glow and a smoothing effect, as well as a blurred look in photography. Do you typically use complexion boosters? Until next time, continue to let your true beauty shine.
One Response
I wasn’t as impressed with this product as much as I was impressed with the NYX Blur foundation. I actually mixed the two together and liked the finish.