Jones Road vs. Rhode: Battle of the Gen-X and Gen-Z Highlight Drops
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Everyone — from Gen Alpha to grand millennials — wants to look sun-kissed these days. Tweens rattle off the words “glowy” and “hydrating” without a second thought, and teens are using theUV index to tan. Meanwhile, Gen-Xers and millennials are soaking in the sun more safely — whether that’s throughsunscreenorUPF clothing. So, when we noticed that Gen Z’s favorite beauty brand, Rhode, and Gen X’s favorite beauty brand, Jones Road, both recently launched glow-enhancing drops that don’t require any UV, we decided to put them head-to-head in a glow-down. Below, the thoughts from beauty writer Krista Bennett DeMaio, a longtime Jones Road fan (and a baby Gen-Xer), and Bella Druckman, our Gen-Z writer who has tried everything from Rhode’s Pocket blushes to its peptide lip tints.
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Krista Bennett DeMaio:I’ve always thought of Rhode as a young brand, mostly because my teenage daughter is obsessed with both the products and founder Hailey Bieber. Every birthday and holiday, there’s inevitably something from Rhode onher wish list. Most recently, it was theGlazing Milk, which she wears alone for a soft, lit-from-within glow.
The new Highlight Milks struck me as a more pigmented version of that same idea. After swatching all four shades on my arm, I settled on 02, a latte-colored bronze. The pink shade initially looked almost white on my skin before drying down to an iridescent pale pink, while the deeper shades felt too bronzy. I applied a thin layer of 02 over my serum and sunscreen (Prequel Multi-Quench Hydrating Plumping Serum and Tower 28 SOS Sunscreen), skipping moisturizer since the formula already contains hydrating ingredients like ceramides and glycerin.
My first thought:too shiny, not dewy but almost metallic. I suspect I used too much because the effect softened after a while. Once I applied my usualfoundation(m.ph Le Skin Serum Foundation), the finish mellowed into more of a glow, though the shade left me looking a little pale. I suspect it’s the milky undertone. I later tried shade 03, which has a warmer bronze tone. It gave my skin a subtlefauxtan, and I could see myself mixing a few drops to warm up my foundation after aspray tanor using it on the high points of my face like a liquid bronzer.
Bella Druckman:Until now, I’ve stayed away from Rhode’s skin-care products, like theBarrier Restore Cream, which includes shea butter, an ingredient that’s caused breakouts in my acne-prone skin. The new Highlight Milk includes coconut alkanes, another ingredient I’m wary of because of its reputation for clogging pores, but the glow intrigued me, and after using it on several occasions, it hasn’t broken me out.I’ve been testing the two lightest shades: Pearly Pink, which looks exactly like how it sounds, and Pearly Champagne, whose color reminds me of a sandy beach that reflects sparkles during a sunset. Rhode suggests layering the product in between your skin care and sunscreen, so I did just that and haven’t had any problems with pilling. (For context, I useCeraVe’s Facial Moisturizing Lotion PMandEltaMD UV Skin Recovery Broad Spectrum SPF 50 sunscreen.) However, I noticed the sunscreen toned down the shimmer slightly.
Even if the luminizer wasn’t called “Highlight Milk,” I’d call the formula milky. It’s lightweight, non-greasy, and makes my whole face look dewy rather than shiny. It comes out of the bottle easily — almost too easily — which means it doesn’t take long to get the four to six drops I need to use to make my cheekbones, chin, and forehead pop. When I put it on my chest, arms, and hands likeHailey Bieber recommends, I almost felt likeEdward inTwilight. That glow will die down after a few hours; when I wore Pearly Champagne during a night out with friends and on a flight from Chicago to New York, light still reflected off my face — albeit more weakly — when I got home. It was certainly the dewiest my skin has ever looked on a flight, likely a result of the combination of glycerin and ceramides (specifically, NP, AP, and EOP) in the formula. But don’t expect the glow to last long in humid, 90-plus-degree weather: On New York’s recent 93-degree day, I sweat off all of the highlight milk in a few hours, leaving only the shine of my sweat.
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K.B.D.:Full disclosure: I’ve been aJones Road fansince the brand launched. I use a Miracle Balm almost daily — Miami Beach, Golden Hour, and Chic are staples — and I’ve always appreciated the brand’s skin-first approach. The formulas are hydrating and give me a glow that looks believable on my 40-plus skin, so I was especially curious about this latest launch.
My first impression was that the drops reminded me ofCharlotte TilburyHollywood Flawless Filter. It has that same fluid texture and pearlescent quality. I was sent two of the six shades — Champagne, a soft gold, and Rose Gold, a pink champagne — and chose Champagne for allover wear. On my skin, it looked much subtler than it appeared in the bottle. Worn alone, it delivered a healthy glow, but I liked it even better underneath my foundation. My complexion looked brighter and dewier but still like skin. I dabbed Rose Gold on my brow bone, cheekbones, and the bridge of my nose, though its pearly pink finish was a bit more noticeable than I prefer, especially in natural light.
B.D.:If the Rhode drops make your skin look dewy, the Jones Road’s drops make you look sun-kissed. The formula is far more concentrated and sparkly than Rhode’s, but the result is a subtle yet slightly tinted sheen on my skin. (When I swatched both formulas on my arm, both shimmered similarly, with pearly and golden sparkles in the mix.) But when I blended the Jones Road drops on my face and décolletage, their shimmer dimmed. Jones Road’s drops are available in six shades — two more than Rhode’s — each of which “fits any skin tone with its transparency,” a brand representative told me. I tried the Champagne shade, which is described as “champagne gold.” Compared to Rhode’s Rose Gold “pearly champagne,” this one looks more bronze, and it blends out easily since you’re only supposed to use a few drops. When I wore the drops while watching the Knicks play in the NBA Finals at a bar, my cheekbones still caught the light in the dingy bar bathroom, and I looked more tan than usual. Still, the formula didn’t stand a chance against my sweat after several hours in a humid bar.
As someone whose face is sensitive and acne-prone, I appreciate that none of the ingredients in the Jones Road drops stuck out to me (or mypore-clogging checker) as comedogenic. Similar to Rhode’s Highlight Milk, these drops have a nice mix of hydrating ingredients like glycerin and aloe. Unlike Rhode’s drops, though, these are meant to be the final layer in your skin-care and makeup routines, so they can truly sparkle in the sunlight. When I layered them on top of my moisturizer and sunscreen, I didn’t experience any pilling.
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The Verdict
Krista’s pick:If I had to choose between the two, I’d go with Jones Road. For me, the difference comes down to finish. Rhode gave me more shine, while Bright Skin gave me glow. My complexion still looked like my skin, just a little fresher, brighter, and more hydrated.
Bella’s Pick:If I had to choose between the two drops, I’d compromise and use Jones Road on my face and Rhode on my body. When it comes to my face, I value acne-compatability above all else, and the lack of pore-clogging ingredients in the Jones Road formula gives me much needed peace of mind. I’m not prone to body acne, though, so I’ll take the risk with Rhode on my chest and arms to get the more pronounced shimmer. After all, the formula is so milky, it makes it easier to blend across larger areas of skin.
More Jones Road and Rhode products we like
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One of our editors uses this neutralizer before applying the concealer face pencil.
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“This is one of the best mascaras I’ve ever used,” makeup artist Michelle Spieler says.
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Teenage girls can’t get enough of Rhode’s peptide lip tint in the shade Ribbon.
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There’s a clear version for those who want a neutral lip balm.
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