The glow is coming from what looks like incandescent lighting and/or the photo was photo-shopped.

Granite yards have the worst lighting. Next time ask them to take a slab outside for you to see in natural light. They are usually happy to do this if you are a serious buyer.

Thank you

Are you considering soapstone? I have had 3 varieties of soapstone which I treated with enhancing sealants and have been very happy with them. Using an enhancing sealant on soapstone darkens the stone but does not change the sheen or feel and it does not flake off or any of the other rumors that float around about it. The sealant stays on the very top layer and can be sanded off fairly easily, I have done it. There are varieties of ss that are very hard and not heavily veined that look similar to abg but will not etch like abg can.

I've been shopping stone yards lately. There are more new finishes than I remember. Some slabs had a 'satin' finish which is not polished, yet more shiny than honed.

Thank you. Yes, I am considering ss now. It’s got the right look from the photos I’ve seen online. Is your ss ,when it’s not sealed , a mid grey color? It seems like a selling point that you can get 2 looks for the price of one. I was worried about the softness factor but I’m over that now. I just want a simple black countertop with a soft polish, preferably a natural material. A few thin white lines would be ok. My house is a Cape cod in the suburbs, so it has trad bones and I am doing a no frills classic white kitchen with stainless appliances.

This is my soapstone without darkening:

This is it pretty soon after I sanded it and applied 511 seal and enhance (these counters had been overly polished and I had to sand them to get them matte):

And this is it now, with time it has picked up more oils and oxidized which makes the overall appearance a little less matte but still a soft glow:

This variety is a harder one that has a slight greenish tint but generally appears soft black. When left undarkened grease and oil marks stand out and it looks dirty, oil marks do not usually stand out as much in varieties with more veining. I did try a sealant that does not enhance prior to using this sealant, it did allow water to bead on the surface but oil still left marks. I also tried using mineral oil and then a wax prior to the enhancing sealant but I did not like the need to reapply to keep the ss evenly darkened or the slightly tacky feel that they left on the surface. It is nice to have so many options as to how you want to handle ss and I am happy that I have been able to fix issues that I have had on my own- the polish level, small marks, even a chipped edge in my last variety that was softer.

Ooh, your last photo is a really nice look, that’s what I want, less the green tint which won’t work in this house.

I think the second photo is the way to go for me, for the color.

It’s definitely a win if you can refresh the whole look with a little bit of elbow grease, vs. having to replace or call in a professional.

From what I have seen online a variety like PA original soapstone might be what you are looking for. It is supposed to be pretty hard, not usually heavily veined, and gray to soft black but not greenish.

Thanks I’ll look for that