Clé de Peau Beauté Luminizing Face Enhancer for Spring 2012

Available in two color mosaics, Clé de Peau Beauté Luminizing Face Enhancer ($95) for Spring 2012 left me with a dilemma. Gold or pastel? Both shades of this exquisite highlighting powder work for me. Both sing the renewal of spring.

This new luminizing skin enhancer uses an innovative light-diffusing technology to define the contours of the face and illuminate the complexion. The colors were inspired by shells with never-ending spirals that radiate a pearly light. After testing both shades in the store - something I'd recommend - I selected Pastel, sadly leaving Gold behind. What's a gal to do when she has enough illuminators to light up the sky and she's trying to economize? I'm still nagged by a desire to have Gold.

Clé de Peau Beauté launched its first brightening essence in Japan nearly 30 years ago. Now, empowered by its exclusive "Neuro Skin" theory, the visionary research of Clé de Peau Beauté Laboratories boasts an exquisite spectrum of brightening beauty products, not only skin care, but also cosmetics.

Look at the sparkles in the compact, which itself is elegant! They reflect light beautifully - in the pan and on the skin. Clé de Peau Beauté Luminizing Face Enhancer does not add much color to the skin. Rather, it brightens, leaving behind a slightly shimmering glow that's gorgeous.

As you might imagine with an illuminator that adds radiance, not color, it was extremely hard to photograph. I toyed with the idea of skipping the swatch photos, but I tried so hard to make Luminizing Face Enhancer show up on my pale arm, I wanted to share my photos. If anything they reinforce the primary characteristic of this finishing powder: stunning radiance.

I applied Pastel very heavily at the top of my arm with a sponge-tipped applicator. The band of white-toned powder is more visible than the brush-blended swatch below. The Gold shade has the same effect on my arm, although it's slightly warming. Pastel is the powder shade for cool-toned skins (or to add a cool glow). Gold is best for warm-toned skins (or to warm cool skin). Those who can wear both cool and warm tones will have a difficult decision because they are both gorgeous.

Fortunately, my face doesn't share the prominent veins of my skinny arms. Nurses have always loved me; it has never been hard to draw samples. Hopefully, you can see that the powder lights up my skin.

Two views, two different backgrounds, and I couldn't do better than these photos. My failure to photograph "color" illustrates the nature of Clé de Peau Beauté Luminizing Face Enhancer, so perhaps these shots are instructive. This luminizer is a finishing powder, meant to be applied all over the face, but certainly useful for drawing attention to your best features or lifting your cheekbones.

Intrigued? I purchased my Clé de Peau Beauté Luminizing Face Enhancer at Nordstrom. It's available now at all Clé de Peau Beauté counters.

Photos at top courtesy of Clé de Peau Beauté; other photos by Best Things in Beauty