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The brand new **NARS Light Reflecting Luminizing Powders ($42) were first released as an Ulta exclusive but are now available on the NARS website. I assume they will eventually make their way to other retailers, but for now, I’ve only seen them at Ulta. This formula comes in 5 shades (Eros, Heavenly, Electra, Ophelia, and Total Eclipse). I purchased the shade Ophelia, which I thought would work best for my NARS Tahoe/Estee Lauder 4W4 skin tone.

The packaging is in a circular compact similar to the Soft Matte Advanced Perfecting Setting Powder. But instead of a black soft-touch finish, it has a white plastic design to match the Light Reflecting Eye Brightener. This compact is also refillable, and it is easy to open and remove the pan. The refillable aspect does not interfere with the look or feel of the packaging. It was nicely designed. Even better, the **refills are already available on the NARS Website for $30. Unlike the Talc-Free Powder Blushes, the Luminizing Powder offers refills in all 5 shades.

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	$ Sale Price $ 30.00 Regular Price
NARS Light Reflecting Luminizing Powder Refill, Ophelia

Update June 13, 2025: Thanks to Lili for helping me figure this out. The ingredients for the single highlighters (Light Reflecting Luminizing Powder) are different from the highlighters in the Hot Escape Cheek Palettes. I’m not sure why they kept the names of the highlighters from three of the summer palettes when the formulas are different. As I have continued to use this highlighter, I started to wonder if the undertone or shade is just slightly off. Then, I was swatching the Hot Escape Cheek Palettes in-store this past Saturday, and the highlighters from the palettes felt a little softer and seemed less metallic. So, when I discussed it with Lili, she discovered that the ingredients were different.

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	$ Sale Price $ 42.00 Regular Price
NARS Light Reflecting Luminizing Powder, Ophelia

Luminizing Powder Ingredients: SYNTHETIC FLUORPHLOGOPITE • OCTYLDODECYL STEAROYL STEARATE • CAPRYLIC/CAPRIC TRIGLYCERIDE • MICA • SILICA • ETHYLHEXYLGLYCERIN • DEHYDROACETIC ACID • LAMINARIA OCHROLEUCA EXTRACT • LAUROYL LYSINE • TOCOPHEROL • TIN OXIDE • [+/- (MAY CONTAIN/PEUT CONTENIR): IRON OXIDES (CI 77491, CI 77499) • TITANIUM DIOXIDE (CI 77891)] •

Hot Escape Highlighter Ingredients: SYNTHETIC FLUORPHLOGOPITE · DIMETHICONE · CAPRYLIC/CAPRIC TRIGLYCERIDE · ISODODECANE · MICA · TIN OXIDE · 1,2-HEXANEDIOL · CAPRYLYL GLYCOL · [+/-(MAY CONTAIN/PEUT CONTENIR): BISMUTH OXYCHLORIDE (CI 77163) · IRON OXIDES (CI 77491, CI 77492, CI 77499) · TITANIUM DIOXIDE (CI 77891) · YELLOW 5 LAKE (CI 19140)] ·

Update June 16, 2025: I compared swatches of the palette shades and the single highlighter shades while I was at Ulta, so please forgive the differences in lighting and quality.

See the update above to understand why I’ve crossed this out: One quick note before we get into swatches and my thoughts. This formula was featured in the **Summer 2025 Hot Escape Cheek Palettes. So if you have already purchased one of those palettes, you don’t need to buy one of these highlighters. The shade Ophelia was featured in the light version of the cheek palette, but I have no idea if the colors were kept the same.

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	$ Sale Price $ 49.00 Regular Price
NARS Hot Escape Cheek Palette, Light

NARS Ophelia Swatch

This formula is nice, and it performs well, but I don’t like it that much. Highlighter is always going to accentuate texture more than if you skip using it, so keep that in mind as I’m referring to texture issues. I also have dry skin, so that always plays a part in how products sit on my skin. The NARS Light Reflecting Luminizing Powder is more metallic than I expected. The brand claims that this will offer an “ethereal, radiant sheen,” which I disagree with. I’ll be honest, I’m not sure I’ve ever worn makeup that I would describe as ethereal. But it looks more than radiant to me. If I get up close in a mirror, I can see the shimmer clearly, but it hangs together in a way. It doesn’t look like particles of shimmer are dispersed over the high point of my cheek. It looks more like a stripe of shimmer is there. That might be the reason it seems metallic to me. I prefer a thinner, more sheer formula for highlighter than this one provides.

It was easy to pick up with both synthetic and natural hair brushes. I didn’t need to be careful, but it has a good amount of base pigment (vs being sheer), so I also wouldn’t label it as buildable. The brand claims that it “builds weightlessly” from soft to intense, but I don’t think it ever appears soft (unless you use a shade that is very close to your skin tone). It can be built up without looking heavy, so maybe that is what they mean by weightless. The more I add, the more metallic it looks to me. Once applied, the finish of the Luminizing Powder vaguely reminds me of the MAC Extra Dimension formula. However, MAC has more sheerness to it, so it is more forgiving (over texture, bumps, lines) in my experience.

The brand is promising a 10-hour wear, and it does wear well throughout the day. It doesn’t migrate into lines and doesn’t fade. I did take a picture in bathroom lighting after wearing it for about 7 hours. I’m not sure how helpful the picture is, considering the lighting is so different.

Comparison Swatches (NARS Ophelia, MAC Oh Darling, MUFE H110)

The shade I have that is closest to NARS Ophelia is the MUFE Artist Highlighter in H110. The MUFE formula, however, differs from the NARS Light Reflecting Luminizing Powder. It is drier, more sheer, and has visible shimmer.

I don’t think this will be a miss for everyone, but so far, it just isn’t one of my favorites. It doesn’t look bad in person, and it’s not unflattering to wear. It is pretty and, again, performs well. There is just something about how it sits on my skin that I don’t like as much as other highlighters.

Update June 6, 2025: As I’ve continued to use the NARS Luminizing Powder, I realized that it would have been helpful if I had been more specific about the highlighters I prefer over this one. The MAC Extra Dimension Skinfinish Highlighter, Sephora Colorful Powder Luminizer, Pat McGrath Skin Fetish Divine Glow Highlighter, and the Make Up For Ever (MUFE) Artist Highlighter are all formulas I like better.

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	$ Sale Price $ 42.00 Regular Price
NARS Light Reflecting Luminizing Powder, Ophelia

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Are you going to give the new NARS Highlighters a try?

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If you’d like to check out more of my content, here are some places to start. 

• Blush Index
• Brands A-Z
• Bronzer & Highlighter Index
• Brush Index
• Concealer Ranking
• Eyeshadow Index
• Foundation Round-Up
• Lipstick Index
• Powder Round-Up

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