Philosophy The Color of Grace Coloring Book ($37.50) is a springtime palette that works if you’re looking for something soft, elegant, and delightfully feminine. It contains two sheer lipglosses (Be Sweet and In Love), two neutral eyeshadows (Angel and Dream), cream highlighter (7th Heaven), powder blush (Pure Joy), and powder highlighter (Amazing Grace).

• Be Sweet Lip Gloss is a sheer, pale pink with a little bit of milkiness and subtle white shimmer.
• In Love Lip Gloss is a sheer, medium pink with lots of shimmer.
• Angel Eyeshadow is a soft, whitish pink with just a little bit of shimmer and a very satin smooth feel.
• Dream Eyeshadow is a darkened brown with reddish undertones that goes on rather sheerly.
• 7th Heaven All-Over Illuminator is a pink-tinged champagne cream highlighter that can be applied heavily or sheered out for a subtle glow.
• Pure Joy Powder Blush is a semi-sheer brightened blue-based pink with subtle gold shimmer.
• Amazing Grace Shimmering Face Powder is a brightened soft white-pink with white shimmer.

I don’t think Philosophy is re-inventing anything here, but it’s a very girly palette that will appeal to those who want subtle color, whether it’s on their eyes or cheeks or lips. I wish Dream eyeshadow was more pigmented, because then I’d like the palette more. It’s a bit of a sheer wash when I tested it out, so it’s hard to get the amount of darkness out of it that I want.

The palette itself is packaged in a “leather-bound” book style, with white stitching on the edges. It’s cute and slim, and it’s also lightweight, so it’s great for traveling.  It’s nice but not quite Amazing (ha).

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• Product: 25/30
• Value: 8/10
• Ease of Use: 4/5
• Packaging: 4/5

Recommendation:

Availability: Nordstrom

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Be Sweet, In Love, Angel, Dream

7th Heaven, Pure Joy, Amazing Grace

Laura Mercier Polished Collection:  Radiant Creme Colour — Cream Highlighter

Laura Mercier Polished Radiant Creme Colour ($35.00 for 0.28 oz.) is a gorgeous cream highlighter that goes on champagne-pink. Even though it looks like there are three separate shades, it’s hard to just get one, and so I’d say it’s really designed to be used swirled together. I really love the way all of the shades come together and create something that’s subtle and incredibly illuminating. It’s soft, lightweight, and it wears well. I didn’t find it faded or migrated during the eight hour test I put it to!

I wore it a few days ago in this look, and it really does make cheekbones pop! I applied the cream highlighter by tapping a stippling brush and lightly swirling and blending out towards my temples.   I will caution you if you’re going to be photographed a ton–go lightly and be sure to dust and set with a translucent powder.  It’s a beautiful sheen, but in flash photography, it can come off a little oily if you don’t use it subtly.

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• Product: 28/30
• Value: 8/10
• Ease of Use: 4/5
• Packaging: 4/5

Recommendation:  If you love creamy highlighters, Laura Mercier’s new, limited edition version is fun for spring!

Availability: Blue Mercury

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Laura Mercier Polished Radiant Creme Blush

NARS Luxor Multiple ($37.00 for 0.50 oz.) is the newest Multiple to debut as part of NARS’ Holiday Collection. NARS describes it as, “[a]n iridescent pink to be used on eyes, cheeks, lips and body.”

Luxor is an icy pink that almost runs a little lilac on me because it is definite cool undertones. It has a slight iridescence that’s noticeable without being over the top; it’s about the right about of shimmer I’d expect from a product best used as a highlighter. It’s surprisingly pigmented and can definitely be layered for a more opaque look. It does blend easily once warmed against the skin.

I personally prefer to use Luxor in a way that might be considered a little unconventional. I like to pat a little on the areas I want to highlight just before I apply my moisturizer. Once I’ve done that, then I apply my facial moisturizer as usual (which I do apply with my hands and slather all over). I find that it gives the highlighted areas this very soft, refined highlight and lends a certain glow to my face overall (because some, of course, does get mixed up in the moisturizer). It’s an interesting effect, nonetheless. I was inspired to try it this way because of how I use MAC’s Strobe Cream. Luxor reminds me a bit of it, only amped up–like if you took the Cream part out of Strobe Cream and just left the Strobe!

You can also take a fluffy brush and lightly dab on Luxor onto lids to give eyes a more awake look, or you can lightly dust it on your lips before layering on a gloss for some extra sparkle. The more traditional use of this as a highlighter would be to dot it along the areas you’d want to highlight, blend with a stippling brush, and then set with loose/translucent powder. You can definitely do this with Luxor, so have at it — after all, it isn’t called The Multiple for nothing!

My only big issue with The Multiples, in general, is that they’re pretty pricey. I don’t actually feel like you get a ton of product for your money, because I think these can be used up quicker than you’d think. They can be very emollient, so you may end up wearing more than you necessarily need (if you use a brush to apply, it helps to mitigate any potential over-use). I don’t think they’re a rip-off, but they do feel a little overpriced.

My secondary issue is I do find I need to use a translucent powder to set these in place to prevent them from fading too much throughout the day (I then get about four to six hours of good wear before it starts to fade).  Since I’ve found a way to combat fading, it’s not a biggie, and I tend to set my makeup anyway, so it’s not adding an extra, otherwise unnecessary step either.

Bottom Line: I think Multiple fans will enjoy Luxor. I still haven’t found a Multiple that really turns my head as others have, but I am eagerly awaiting the day it happens!

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• Product: 26/30
• Value: 7/10
• Ease of Use: 4/5
• Packaging: 4/5

Recommendation: If you’ve been looking for a cream-to-powder cool-toned highlighter, Luxor may be your new best friend.

Availability: NARS

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NARS Luxor Multiple