This product was sent to me by StyleKorean for review purposes. I was not paid for this post but please note that affiliate links are used on my blog. These go towards supporting Oh My Stellar and future content.
With all of the new releases that have been coming out in Western brands, I admit that I’ve been a bit lax with following kbeauty news – I know about the bigger collections of course, but some of the smaller brands have fallen off my radar. Luckily though, I have some awesome friends who are totally on the ball and when StyleKorean posted about this new Mochi Pact highlighter from 16 Brand, my friend Liz (from @lizlamloves – please give her some love, she’s the sweetest) messaged me right away!
I wasn’t sure if I wanted to try it at first, because I generally don’t use cream blushers or highlighters, but with the super pretty promotional photos and videos – I just really wanted to try it!
StyleKorean sent me through one of these to review and I’m glad that they did because I discovered that this is more of a soft, cream-to-powder formula that definitely picks up with a brush! The product comes in three shades, but I decided to go for Peach Light which is their pink highlight (and the one in the promo videos that got my attention).
If you want to get your hands on these, head over to StyleKorean where they are currently on sale for USD$14.08 (on sale from USD$17.60) – and without further ado, let’s get into the review!
Product Description
This product is sometimes described as a multi-use compact, though the primary use of this would be as highlighter (unless you want it as an eyeshadow too). It is water and sweat proof and has a high shimmer glitter reflect to create a beautiful highlight – it is quite blinding for kbeauty standards, meaning that its very bright on the skin but still somewhat natural.
As you can tell from the name, this product has a soft, ‘bouncy’ mochi texture which looks to have a cream-like consistency but applies for a velvety finish. It actually reminds me a little of the Kat Von D Metal Crush formula or the Fenty Beauty Diamond Bomb (although not as glittery).
As previously mentioned, this product comes in three different shades – two more suited for paler skin tones and the third which will suit someone with a medium skin tone or as a blush topper. The descriptions are below but please note that, for the latter two, I am just describing according to what I see:
- Peach Light: A pink highlight
- Cream Light: A softer, pale pink/cream highlight
- Orange Light: A warm, orange-coral highlight
Packaging
The packaging of this product is kind of standard for 16 Brand – the product comes in an uncoated matte black cardboard box with bold, white text and a sticker on the top that lists the shade name, as well as with a colour coded star. The star isn’t 100% accurate to the actual shade so serves more as a guide to discern the three than anything. As usual, I like the approach that they have to packaging and I’m pretty happy with it.
Moving on to the actual compact, this product is quite small and easy to carry around (which I personally like, as no one needs a massive highlighter). The compact is made of plastic, which doesn’t feel cheap nor luxurious – it actually reminds me a bit of the Innisfree No Sebum Powder Compact. It also has that same clicking closure.
The compact also comes with a small sponge, which has a silicon like material and makes it suitable for applying this sort of formula – though I personally prefer to just use a brush. It would be good to carry around for touch ups or travel though, especially since the overall packaging is very simple and light.It’s light and suitable for travel so, overall, not bad.
My only complaint perhaps is the design of the actual compact. I find it a bit too basic and unconsidered. I would have liked to see them doing some super simple (without the heart) or very bold – maybe with a shimmering finish to reflect the product.
Formula & Application
This product has a mochi-like texture which is very soft to the touch. You can see in promotional videos that it’s possible actually squish the product down but it is actually not a full cream highlighter. In fact, it has a slight velvet texture and applies on the skin like powder. I was also really excepted to find that this product picked up perfectly with a brush, but can also be applied with the sponge or fingertips. I do prefer the former and I found that the velvet finish meant the highlighter blended well onto base make up and did not cause any patchiness.
Hypothetically, this product should be super blinding and compared to other kbeauty highlighters it is. However, since I’m used to very, very bright highlights, I would personally consider this to be a more subtle shimmer. The application can also be built up to a certain degree, though I wouldn’t recommend over application as it can make the skin look too glittery.
The highlighter doesn’t have much of a base colour, just a very, very subtle cream tone, so it really relies on the shimmer to create that dimension.
For Peach Light, it definitely has a peach-pink reflect but I’m having a lot of trouble capturing that in photos – so hopefully the below is a good example of how it can look on skin. The intensity of it will definitely rely on your skin tone and how you apply it too.
Personal Experiences
This is a highlighter that is a little bit different to what I’m used to using (which is generally super bright, blinding to the heavens highlight) but I like to use it on days when I want something that is a little bit more natural but still fun and glowing. I also really like the pink reflect so I find myself reaching for it as a highlight topper as well – because this girl can’t get enough.
Personally though, this isn’t a highlight that I would be rushing to repurchase. It just isn’t my usual style and, while I will continue to use it, I know that I won’t get heaps of use from it. If you like a more subtle, dewy glow (somewhere between the natural glow of kbeauty and the beaming brightness of western beauty products) then I would recommend to check this out. It would also be good as a travel compact, as it’s small and light, with the sponge to apply.
It is a nice highlighter, glittery but not too chunky and doesn’t emphasise texture. It find that it also wears nicely with no caking or adverse effects on base makeup, but does fade after a while and needs to be touched up.
So, here’s the verdict!
THE GOOD
- Affordable
- Light compact and travel friendly (includes the sponge)
- Soft and blendable texture
- Picks up well on the brush
- Natural glow but can also be built up
- Beautiful pink reflect
- Glittery, but not too sparse
- Minimal base colour (will work on varying skin tones)
THE BAD
- Compact design can be improved
- Not super blinding
RATINGS
- PACKAGING | 4/5
- SHADE RANGE | 4/5
- REFLECT | 4/5
- FINISH/WEAR TIME | 4/5
OVERALL RATING? 8/10
WOULD I RECOMMEND?
Although this product will not become a HG highlighter for me (because my personal style doesn’t really suit this), I still think that it is a nice product and it has a place in my make up routine. I will mostly be using it for casual, day time make up, especially on days when I want to look naturally glowy (and pink – very pink).
That all being said, I do recommend to check out this product! It is one of the better ‘creamy’ highlighters that I’ve used and I’m especially impressed by the reflectiveness given that it is a kbeauty product (as we all know that most kbeauty brands prefer very, very natural looks). This is a 16 Brand product though, so I am not at all surprised that the formula sits somewhere between Asian and Western trend.
WHERE TO GET IT FROM
If you want to get your hands on the Mochi Pact Highlighter, or even check out the Mochi Pact Contour or Mochi Pact Base, then hop and skip over to StyleKorean – alternatively you can also check out all of the other 16 Brand products that they carry.
