Three examples, on a denim background.
The top on is plain white text with blend mode set to Overlay.
The second and third were both given a glass look using Alien Skin Eye Candy 7, with blend modes set to Hard Light and Pin light respectively.
For what it is worth, the background is 100% Photoshop, and was done by way of a test after someone asked how to make a denim seam in Photoshop (on this forum). I was pretty pleased with the Illustration until I saw how Bert Monroy illustrates denim jeans.
You could simulate the Alien Skin effect by adding a Bevel & Emboss layer style, setting the Blend mode accordingly, and reducing layer 'Fill' for best effect. (Lowering layer Fill causes reduces the layer's content opacity, without affecting any layer styles used on the layer.)
The image below is a tiny section of Bert Monroy's famous Times Square illustration, and is entirely produced with Photoshop (no photography anywhere in the picture. In case anyone has not recognized them, the foreground subjects are John, (on the left) and Thomas Knoll, who created Photoshop back in 1988.
You can view the full image HERE and zoom in to marvel at the detail :-)