The world’s gone mad for light-mimicking products: last year, the NPD Group reported a 21 percent increase in sales in the highlighting makeup category. Now, thanks to our communal obsession with highlighter and the rise of the “skincare as makeup” movement, a new star beauty product ingredient is on the rise. Alicia Yoon, founder and CEO of K-beauty e-comm site Peach & Lily, predicts that shine-enhancing diamond powder beauty products will be huge this fall: “I’ve seen lots of brands launching formulas with diamonds or diamond powder in [the formula],” Yoon told Fashionista during a recent interview.
Of course, diamond-containing beauty products are nothing new. Diamond dust serums, masks, BB creams, nail polish and shampoos and conditioners first hit the market years ago. Recall Mila Kunis’ much-discussed $7,000 ruby-and-diamond facial — that was 2011 — and Kelly Osbourse’s OTT $250,000 black diamond mani, which made its red carpet debut at the 2012 Emmys. However, as you can clearly see from those figures, diamond powder doesn’t exactly come cheap, so it’s taken a while for the trend to hit the mainstream.
Happily, the latest crop of diamond powder-infused makeup products is a bit more affordable. True, this means that their diamond content is likely low, but c’est la vie — you’re mostly buying the objectively pretty products for the bragging rights, anyhow. As the Cut pointed out back in 2013, diamond powder is a great exfoliator — and gentler than most — but when it comes to its skin-brightening and imperfection-disguising abilities, it’s no better than some of the cheaper products on the market. Yes, diamond dust reflects light and gives your skin a luminous, pearlescent finish, but it’s an inactive ingredient. It doesn’t give your skin any long-term benefits, though it does (ostensibly) open your pores and allow other ingredients to sink in. The diamond particles themselves don’t penetrate the skin — they wash down the drain when you wash your face.
Still, if you can afford it, there’s something to be said for a product that leaves you glowing and feeling fancy (if only temporarily). Click through the gallery above for 13 diamond powder-infused makeup and skin care buys that caught our eye based on more than just their carat rating. And take heart — a few ring in under $25.
[ Next: These Products Are Literally a Gold Mine for Your Skin ]
Diamond Powder Beauty Products
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Oribe
Côte d'Azur Polishing Body Scrub, $65 at Net-a-Porter
This scrub has everything: diamond powder and sugar to gently exfoliate skin without damaging it; vitamin-rich oils (including soybean, coconut and sunflower seed) to tone and nourish skin; sweet almond, meadowfoam and starflower oils to restore softness; shea butter to hold in moisture. The diamond powder helps open up pores so that the other ingredients can be adequately absorbed.
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Laura Mercier
Mineral Illuminating Powder, $36 at Sephora
This (relatively) reasonably priced illuminating powder hypes the power of its unique "Gemstone complex" (made up of diamonds, emeralds and other precious and semi-precious stones) to blur fine lines for a soft-focus effect. Brush it on your cheekbones and just under your brows; admire the sheen.
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La Mer
The Refining Facial, $90 at Neiman Marcus
Per usual, La Mer knocked it out of the park. A favorite of Imaan Hammam, this gentle, diamond-containing, clay-based scrub removes dulling surface impurities from the skin and leaves your face feeling ridiculously soft.
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Shangpree
Diamond Luminous Cream, $47 at Peach & Lily
One of Yoon's personal favorites, this diamond-dusted cream combats dark spots, uneven complexion and hyper- pigmentation. Massage it into your face (or any problem area) once in the morning and once at night as the last step in your skin care routine.
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Lancer
Eye Contour Lifting Cream With Diamond Powder, $95 at Sephora
Formulated with Dr. Lancer’s patented Multi-Dimensional Complete Pro-Youth Complex and enriched with hyaluronic acid and shea butter, this cream fulfills its promise to brighten eyes and reduce fine lines (this according to over a hundred Sephora reviewers). The diamond powder provides a welcome shimmery finish.
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La Prairie
Skin Caviar Crystalline Concentre, $450 at Nordstrom
Leave it to La Prairie, purveyor of skin care as covetable as it is unaffordable, to make a serum infused with diamonds and caviar. This pinkish serum contains diamond dust, caviar extract and the brand's storied anti-aging Cellular Complex. It feels like liquid silk and leaves your skin glowing. If Ponce de León had had a bottle, he may have stayed home.
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111SKIN
Celestial Black Diamond Eye Cream, $360 at Net-a-Porter
With 111SKIN's gentle and luxurious black diamond eye cream, it's hard to tell which star ingredient's doing the heavy lifting. Is it the arbutin (a bearberry plant extract with skin-brightening properties)? The quebracho extract (which wards off environmental damage)? Or the diamond powder (which removes dulling cells and gives your skin a hint of luminescence)? Regardless, the results are stellar.
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Banila Co.
It Radiant Diamond Brightening Essence, $41.71 at Amazon
For those unfamiliar with the K-beauty term "essence," it's essentially a lightweight serum, typically applied directly after toner, meant to add another layer of hydration to the skin. This one's more creamy and viscous than traditional essences and, unlike most, contains a sprinkling of 1 karat diamond powder. Again, this (ostensibly) helps to brighten the skin and minimize the appearance of wrinkles.
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Franck Provost
J'aime My Color Gloss & Protection Conditioner, $9.99 at Ulta Beauty
From famed French hair mogul Franck Provost, a diamond powder, goji berry and collagen-enhanced conditioner formulated specifically with the needs of color-treated hair in mind. But even those with au natural strands can benefit from its detangling, texture-improving and — this is where the diamond powder comes in — shine-adding abilities.
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Deborah Lippmann
Hard Rock Top and Base Coat, $20 at Net-a-Porter
A must-have for gel and acrylic junkies, this quick-drying polish works like a BB cream for the fingertips. Thanks to the biotin, safflower seed oil, green tea extract and pulverized diamond core inside, the formula heals, illuminates and covers up imperfections in your enamel with one coat. Use it as a top or base layer.
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Caswell Massey
Diamond Dust Nail File, $20 at Caswell-Massey
Unbeknownst to the naked eye, a typical emory board will create a lot of microscopic tears. This super-luxe nail file — crafted from polished steel and coated with tiny diamond particles — won't.
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Rodial
Pink Diamond Lifting Face Mask, $90 for 8 at Ulta Beauty
Whenever you're feeling blah about getting older, reach for a face mask with diamond powder (it'll make your skin all glowy). This one also contains a skin tightening complex and pink grapefruit-sourced vitamin C, which will help to firm up your skin and even out your complexion, respectively. Needless to say, a diamond mask selfie is an absolute must.
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Bioxidea
Mirage48 Excellence Diamond Face & Body Mask, $74 for 3 at Bioxidea
Courtney Love is a huge fan of these gel-like, serum-drenched masks. Infused with "potent anti-aging ingredients" and — you guessed it —diamonds, these will have your skin legitimately looking better than ever (at least in Courtney's experience). At nearly $25 a mask, Bioxidea's certainly not giving them away, but "after use on the face, the product may be used in the bath where it dissolves and the diamond infusion is dispersed in the hot water giving the skin its multitude of skincare benefits," so they're maybe, kind of, worth it?
