Laura Mercier Sensual Reflections Cheek Melange ($42.00 for TBA oz.) is a light-medium, plummy brown with a soft sheen and neutral-to-warm undertones. Giorgio Armani Light Rose (LE) is darker, more shimmery. NYX Taupe (P, $5.00) is darker, cooler-toned, more matte. NARS Douceur (P, $29.00) is more matte. MAC Baby Don’t Go (P, $23.50) is pinker, more matte. See comparison swatches / view dupes.

Launching soon with Laura Mercier’s fall collection, this limited edition Cheek Melange is supposed to “add natural, glowing colour to cheeks … It provides natural radiance to complexion and is designed to complement all skin tones.” If you are light-medium or fairer, you may get slight color out of this, but on my medium complexion, I applied four layers–packed on–and could barely distinguish the color on me. It does, however, add a soft, luminous sheen to the skin without brightening. The powder is somewhat stiff, which contributes to needing to layer it on, though once dislodged from the pan, goes on smoothly and doesn’t look powdery. It seems to add “natural radiance” regardless of skin tone, but it doesn’t add “glowing color” to all skin tones. It doesn’t have any white base to it, so it can be applied to deeper skin tones without looking chalky, but it will be very subtle and produce mostly a soft sheen. The color/sheen lasts for almost eight hours on my skin. There are better, more finely-milled, higher performing highlighters at the $40+ price point, so this left me unimpressed. It’s too bad, because the shade itself is more unusual, so something with more color payoff and a softer texture would have been interesting.

Laura Mercier Sensual Reflections Cheek Melange

Laura Mercier Sensual Reflections Cheek Melange

Laura Mercier Sensual Reflections Cheek Melange

Laura Mercier Sensual Reflections Cheek Melange (Three layers)

Laura Mercier Sensual Reflections Cheek Melange