I was VERY astonished that Clinique released two of the most covetable Summer limited edition products this year: Solar Pop bronzer and Lunar Pop highlighter. Let’s see how they hold up – from performance to packaging to the perennial question: ‘worth it?!’ Here’s the Solar Pop and Lunar Pop review.
Let’s get one thing out of the way quickly: yes, the main allure of both products stems from the embossed flower motif. And yes, both are awfully cute in real life. (Wanna look at even more cute summer collections?!) I also find that they sit rather comfortably (price and design-wise) between a, say, prettily embossed Chanel bronzer ($62), and the awfully plain and awfully packaged MAC LE bronzers from their summer collection ($32). AND you’ll get a whopping 9gr/0,31oz. for $32/€32. While the clear plastic packaging MAY look cheap, it’s very sturdy, and tbh – you want to look at that embossing, right?!!? So clear plastic might be the way to go.
Description
Lunar Pop Powder Pop Flower Highlighter
Long-wearing, silky-smooth highlighter for a soft, luminous glow. (…) Weightless powder goes on smoothly, lasts all day. Enriched with luminescent pearls to adjust to your skin’s undertone. Leaves skin with buildable, natural-looking color and a dewy finish.
Clinique
Solar Pop Powder Pop Flower Bronzer
Silky-smooth bronzer for a natural, sun-kissed look. (…) Weightless bronzer goes on smoothly and evenly. Leaves skin with buildable, natural-looking color and a soft-matte finish.
Clinique
Clinique Lunar Pop and Solar Pop Review
Texture
Strangely, Clinique doesn’t mention it specifically, but those are indeed a gel-powder (sometimes called ‘poured’) texture. (Same to their cheek pops, MAC’s Extra Dimension products and Nars’ Dual-Intensity line.)
Lunar Pop is shimmery, while Solar Pop is matte. While Lunar Pop must be one of the most subdued highlighter I own, Solar Pop is not a ‘dead’ matte, but has a very nice skin-like finish.
Both are firmly pressed, but feel very silky when you swatch them. With continuous use, you’ll wear down the embossing faiiiiiiiiirly quickly. In comparison, the deeper embossing on my cheek pops is still going strong. I find Solar Pop’s texture both smoother and more pigmented than Lunar Pop’s.
Shade
Solar Pop is light brown with a peachy-rosy undertone that leans very warm. Lunar Pop is a light beige, again with a peachy undertone. It’s slightly warm-toned.
For me (MAC NC15-20) Solar Pop is more of a bronzing blush. I prefer my proper bronzers a smidge cooler, and also a bit more red-leaning as that’s what happens when I tan. I love those bronzing blushes during summertime, though, when I will wear them with minimal makeup for a nice flushed, bronzed look.
Comparison & Dupes
The most similar shade to Lunar Pop I own is Chanel’s Asia exclusive Plissé Lumière de Chanel. If you missed out on that, Lunar Pop is a great alternative. Plissé is actually a bit more shimmery and feels denser to the touch which translates into a more opaque application. The highlighter part of Charlotte Tilbury’s Filmstar Bronze & Glow in its lightest iteration is also similar, but more golden while Lunar Pop is definitely peachy. When it comes to the highlight-o-meter (the lowest one is a highlighter from the 1990s, the highest is the seen-from-space highlighter you see on Insta), Lunar Pop is on the lower end. It’s comparable to a rather demure shimmer like MAC’s Lightscapade that’s usually my go-to.
If there’s one bronzing powder I freaking love it’s Dior’s Diorskin Nudetan in 02, Sunlight. It’s from their Croisette collection in 2012! It’s also a very good dupe of Solar Pop. MAC’s Extra Dimension Bronzing Powder in Golden Rinse is a bit more reddish, but has a very similar not-quite-matte finish.
Application & Wear
I’d recommend a firmer brush for both ‘Pops’ that help you to both pick up colour and also buff the product into the skin. A flimsier brush like the fan brush I use for shimmery highlighters (Becca etc.) doesn’t pick up enough product. You’re left with a few random sparkles on your face (not that the formula is sparkly). Generally, both blend really nicely and mesh with other products I wear on my skin to create a lightweight look – skin-like, in fact!
I feel, though, that both highlighter and powder faded a tiny bit on my rather dry skin that I have right now, but that’s the only negative note I have right now. Both highlighter and bronzer get a thumbs up for me for their ease of use and great formula. If they’re right for your skintone and you don’t own any dupes, there’re definitely worth to become a part of your collection.
Please note that this post is not sponsored in any way. We buy products ourselves, with our own money, and don’t accept exchanging goods or money for reviews. We are completely independent, and our reviews reflect that.
