Review: Strobing Skin Palette (3CE)

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.

Following up from my last review of a foundation from the Easy Touch-Up Base Make-Up Edition, I also tested out the Strobing Skin Palette from this release. I have always loved 3CE for their colour cosmetics products and actually have one of their baked highlighters (which I used to love but don’t reach for much anymore as it’s too ‘natural’ for my current style), so I wanted to give this one a try too.

This is a three pan ‘strobing’ palette which contains three highlighters (though one is more like a hybrid highlighting blush). It is all about achieving a flawless base with minimal effort – so this product is definitely intended to be easy and quick to use.

This is currently selling on the StyleKorean website for USD$31.90 – which is a bit expensive for a k-beauty brand but isn’t too bad when compared with other high end Western brands (because 3CE is more of a boutique brand than road shop, in my opinion). Pop on their website if you’re keen to pick up the Strobing Skin Palette as I’m not sure if this is a permanent item.

Before you do that you, let’s get into this review!

Product Description

As previously mentioned, this is a three pan cheek palette that claims to “cultivate(s) a beautiful face shape with clear, shimmery shades that deliver a sheer glow to any skin tone.” The main selling points are:

• Natural and sheer luminosity: Three shimmering highlighting shades give a beautiful sheen and sheer finish to your face with subtle glitters for a natural look
• A beautiful iridescent glow: This features fine shimmer powders that seamlessly adhere to skin and create a chic and natural look with an iridescent glow
• Three highlighting shades for all skin tones: Three highlighting shades allow any skin tone to have beautiful luminosity with a different vibe

All three of these points are quite accurate but I would have to disagree with the last one. While there is good variation in the palette for different ‘looks’, it only comes in one variation. These shades work well for my lighter skin tone (for reference, I wear a shade 21), but I just don’t believe that this would suit anyone who is tanned or darker.

The three shades (along with my personal description of them) is as follows:

• Subtle Highlight: This is described as a ‘white gold’ and, in my opinion, is actually more of a soft champagne colour. It’s an easy every day shade.
• Bold Highlight: This is described as a ‘champagne satin’ but I would consider this more metallic. It’s bold and bright so, while it can still be worn every day, it isn’t for the faint hearted. This is also the shade that can give me a bit of a gray cast if I build it up.
• Highlight Blush: I would personally consider this a blush-highlight hybrid as it isn’t as ‘pink’ as a regular blush, but also has a pretty peachiness to the shade. This has a distinctively warm golden shade and is perfect as a blush topper!

Packaging

This Strobing Skin Palette comes in a nude-peach coloured unit carton (with the black 3CE logo) as well as a matching coloured case. This is all consistent with the rest of this collection and, as I mentioned in my review of the Foundation Stick, I am loving that they are experimenting more with bold colour ranges now. Although the packaging design is simple, it still has a modern aesthetic and is actually very visible when it’s stacked with other products (that is, it stands out so you won’t need to search around for it).

I think that this would look great as a gift too. Aside from the aesthetic value, the actual quality of the case is pretty good too. It’s made of a good quality plastic with a soft matte finish – it feels substantial to the touch and has a high end feel too. I also like that it has a large full-size mirror inside and the three large pans are designed so that there’s no wasted space. In general, it’s all very simple but works well and looks great!

The only downside to this packaging would be the closure. This clicks closed and it is very sturdy (so no issues with travelling) but I actually find it difficult to open. The closure has a gap that you push into to open it up but it’s pretty tight so I open get worried about breaking a nail. I haven’t yet though! So maybe it isn’t that much of an issue.

Formula & Application

This palette has three powder highlighters with different tones and varying intensities. In general, the formula is very soft and gives a skin-like finish that adheres well. It’s high quality and finely milled, so there’s no kick back or fall out and it isn’t powdery on application either. I also find that the first two shades are intense almost immediately, but can also be built up further if you really want it to shine. The blush-highlight shade is more subtle so is hard to use alone as a blusher – hence why I recommend it more as a topper.

In general, these highlighting shades are easy to use and very wearable. The first shade, which is a bit more natural, is suitable for every day looks whilst the second metallic highlighting shade is a great party choice. However, I do find that these have a tendency to emphasise texture, maybe because they are so intensely shimmery, so that’s something to keep in mind.

Longevity wise, this highlighter is quite average. It’s very bold and fun when I first apply it but tends to dim out within a few hours. Since I have combination-oily skin, it just seems that the oils are just over powering it. It would probably last better on someone with normal or dry skin type. Still, the application is smooth and it fades naturally (with no patchiness) so I don’t mind this.

Personal Experiences

Out of the three shades, I have to say that my favourite is the first (the more subtle champagne shade); it’s so beautiful on skin and gives a radiant glow that is bright but not too much. It can also be built up to a stronger intensity.

I actually liked the metallic shade more at first though, because it’s super blinding (and my philosophy is to the more blinding, the better). However, once someone pointed out the gray cast to me – it was something I didn’t notice at first but was actually visible to others – I just can’t unsee it. When I do use it, I tend to stay more light handed to minimise that effect. I also sometimes use a bit of this to ‘build up’ other highlighters.

The one that I use the least out of the three has to be the blush-highlight (the last one), but this is mostly due to personal preference. I don’t wear blush toppers very often and I actually prefer a lighter reflect (that is, champagne-ish opposed to a warm gold), so I mostly chose to use a different blusher and then add in one of the other two highlighters instead. I feel like this shade could be better if they made the pink pigment stronger so that it could be used more like a glowy blush (similar to NARS’ Orgasm).

Overall though, I think that this Strobing Skin Palette is a great quality! There aren’t many Korean highlights that really fulfil my personal tastes (since I find that they’re usually too subtle) so I was very surprised with now bright this is! They could definitely benefit from some more development and fine-tuning, but I am happy so far!

Here’s the verdict!

SO WHAT IS IT?

A three fan pace highlighting palette

THE GOOD

• Simple and aesthetic packaging design
• Great quality and sturdy case
• Full mirror and large pans with no wasted space
• Finely milled and high quality power highlights
• Bright reflect in wearable daily shades
• Easy to use and doesn’t need to be built up (but can)
• Fades naturally

THE BAD

• Case can be hard to open
• Middle shade can leave a gray cast
• Limited shades (only one variation available)

RATINGS

• PRICE POINT | 3/5
• PACKAGING | 4/5
• PIGMENTATION | 4/5
• SHADE RANGE | 2/5
• REFLECT | 5/5
• LONGEVITY | 3/5

OVERALL RATING? 7/10

WOULD I RECOMMEND?

If you like blinding highlights in wearable, daily shades then this is a palette that I would be recommending. It has both it’s strengths and weaknesses but I’m overall happy with this palette and will be continuing to use it often! The only thing is that I would only be recommending this to people with lighter skin tone (not above a Korean shade 23) and who aren’t concerned about textured skin, since these are the two weaknesses in this formula.

WHERE TO GET IT FROM

I received the Strobing Skin Palette from StyleKorean to review, so check out their website where this is currently selling for USD$31.90. You can also see the rest of their 3CE offerings here!

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