Sephora Luminiser

RRP: $22 or 9 euros 90
# of shades available: 4 (white, light rose, apricot, golden bronze)

Available at any Sephora branch in: France, Canada, China, Czech Republic, Italy, Greece, Poland, Spain and USA. This is the bad news. You won't be able to get this in the UK, not even online (well, perhaps on ebay...), so you may be best to save hunting for this until you're on holiday somewhere nice.



--What is it?--
This is basically Benefit High Beam at half the price. As well as being just as effective, Sephora's product also has a greater range than Benefit's equivalent - in the Benefit range, you only have white (Moon Beam) or pink (High Beam) available, whereas the Sephora luminiser provides you with a slightly yellower shade and with a bronzer in addition to the pink and the white.


--Packaging--
Comes in a small opaque glass bottle c. 7-8cm high including pump. The Sephora logo and name of the product appear on the front of the bottle in a black, no-frills font, with product information on the back. The pump is black and is covered by a clear lid.


--What does the promo say?--
"Go for the glow with these versatile luminizing liquids that can be mixed into your foundation or moisturizer for a sheer luminescence ranging from subtle to sun kissed. For a more intense shimmer, dab directly onto clean, moisturized skin."


--Application--
Pull off the lid and push down the pump until the liquid appears. Apply either to cheeks or all over your face using your fingers or a brush, over makeup or on bare face. The one thing I really don't like about applying this is the fact that the pump seems quite stiff - you can't just push it down a little bit for a small amount of liquid, you have to push it down the whole way, which I find produces a slight excess of liquid. Luckily this is not an over-excess and any leftover liquid can easily be got rid of by spreading it on your décolletage.



--Texture--
Slightly runny but still stable (i.e. it's not going to drip off your fingers before you have a chance to apply it to your face).



--Appearance--
While in the bottle it appears quite matte, the luminiser is in fact quite subtle on the face. Even though it contains small particles of glitter, you don't end up looking like an Abba reject.



--Longevity--
Excellent.



--Value for money--
Beyond compare. I was considering buying High Beam before I spotted this, and then I contented myself with quiet laughter that I hasn't spend double the money on what is essentially exactly the same product - just without the in-your-face packaging. Plus, a little seems to go quite a long way, so I can anticipate that my bottle will last the distance. Just watch yourself when using the pump.