New: Laura Mercier Face Illuminator Powder in Devotion

New this spring, Laura Mercier's Face Illuminator Powder ($44) caught my eye on Sephora instantly. It comes in four shades, three of which are new, but Devotion called to me. I was not disappointed. This gleaming powder adds an instant touch of radiance. Plus, I read at Allure that she designed the Devotion shade for fair skin tones!

Laura Mercier said, "I developed this product to help women create a radiant look for themselves using a performance makeup artist tool that allows a buildable layer of shine - from subtle illumination to extreme radiance." That's exactly how it works.

This long-wearing, buildable, and versatile highlighting powder can be used anywhere on your face or body. It provides a natural-looking, radiant, allover glow. I'm not sure how the red algae ingredient in it adds to the radiance or texture, but that's certainly a popular ingredient these days.

Laura Mercier Face Illuminator Powder highlights the skin with pure light-reflecting pigments for a color-true, multidimensional, and luminous finish that complements all skin tones. Its non-dusting texture allows for excellent color payoff and applies smoothly and evenly onto the skin without dragging across dry areas. The unique formula brings a stunning gleam to the complexion for an instant glow that is said to last up to eight hours.

I took my compact photo in full sun. As is normally the case, my photo is more true than the online photo. I had a feeling that the pink would be stupendous, and it is. There's nothing wrong with the color shown at the top of this feature, but it's not true.

I applied a swatch with moderate intensity with a sponge-tipped applicator and took my photo immediately below in the same bright sun in which I photographed my Devotion compact. As you can see in the swatch photos, Devotion is fairly sheer, and it gleams - no glitter or sparkle - it adds a sheen to my skin. It's brighter in full sun, but it still gleams in indirect light or indoors.

I took a shade photo to prove it. See the glow below. Same swatch, two vastly different lighting exposures.

I think the shade photo shows how the powder gleams evenly on my fair skin, even without direct light.

I think you will like Devotion if you can wear pale pink. If you can't, there are two other new shades you can consider, both warm gold: Seduction and Addiction.

You can find Laura Mercier's new Face Illuminator shades at Sephora, where I purchased mine, at Laura Mercier's Web site, and at Laura Mercier counters. There is a new shade for everyone.

Photo at top courtesy of Sephora; other photos by Best Things in Beauty