** Not Tested On Animals **

My friend went to the States for a couple of weeks, and he kindly consented to finding a Sephora to purchase something for me. After much pondering, I decided on this as it got great reviews from Goss & Temptalia. Often when someone writes a bad review, a bunch of people will jump in to say that the reviewer isn't applying it correctly. OK, so this is powder. I've been using make up for 25 years and I'm pretty sure I've got the hang of powder application by now.

Maybe I wouldn't be so disappointed if this only cost $20 or $30 instead of fifty-f*cking-dollars. Or if there weren't numerous reviews gushing about how great it is. It's glittery. There were little specks of glitter all over my face. I most definitely would not have bought this if I was in store.

If any Australian reviewers want to swap this for anything, PM me. Other reviewers seem to think it's great!
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For reference I'm NC40 and after trying each and every one of the Hourglass Ambient Lighting powders, I felt Luminous Light was the most perfect of the lot. I use a fluffy brush to apply this silky powder across my forehead, over my cheekbones and down the bridge of my nose and I just look luminous. I don't know how else to describe it. I've seen countless swatches and photos on different blogs and websites and none can do justice to the effect this powder has. I love bronzers and highlighters in general... and own quite a few... and still can't imagine any other product producing such a subtle, but no doubt THERE, glowing effect. Love this, wouldn't hesitate to repurchase and I highly recommend.

This gives me a luminous glow. I dust a light amount over the high planes of my face with my Mac 138 brush and then mist with fix plus. I also tried dim, which was too dark for my NC25 skin and looked too flat. Luminous is a great addition to my collection.

In the pan it's a pale champagne color with a very fine shimmer (not glitter). On my NC20-25 leaning towards neutral skin tone this powder appears to have pearly white, pearly champagne and a hint of a very pale pink to it. It's beautiful as a highlighter and I thought I would try it out as an all over face powder...love it! An extremely light dusting all over my face gave me a nice glow that didn't emphasize my pores. It's a very beautiful and natural highlighter that doesn't come off as frosty or too yellow or white. This is a really pretty multi-dimensional highlighter. Love it!

Update:2/20/13
I ended up having to return this. The effect it gave was beautiful but I noticed it settled into fine lines I didn't even know I had and made me look old. Now I am using Nars Pressed Reflecting Light Powder as a setting powder for my dry skin and I am really liking it.



So I jumped the gun and bought one of these. I picked Luminous because I thought it would look the best with my skin. As I was waiting for my package I started getting nervous as I saw people saying this particular color was more like a highlighter. Lucky for me I can wear this all over as a setting powder. I have dry skin so the sheen it gives off does not look greasy it just gives this beautiful glow. It does add a llittle color to my face which is probably a good thing since I am very pale. It is not cakey at all for me. I have been searching high and low for a setting powder that does not look cakey on my dry skin. I use SS, then a moisturizer, then a TM in my routine so my face stays pretty sticky all day. I have to use all this to keep my dryness at bay. This powder works perfectly to soak up the stickiness without emphasizing my dryness. I love this stuff! If I ever run out I would buy again.

Ambient Lighting Powders are supposed to mimic its corresponding light in its shade name.
Luminous Light, according to Hourglass, is described as a "champagne pearl". It gives a lovely luminosity that's more like a healthy glow, versus a sun-kissed or surreal, angelic glow. Compared to Dim Light, it's less peachy and more champagne in color, and gives a more prominent glow than Dim does.
There is minimal blurring of pores and lines.
I don't recommend these for oily skin unless you wear a mattifying primer as these don't control oil.
There is also a separate brush that was created specifically for this powder, which you can purchase for $35, however I don't particularly feel the need to purchase it, as I simply use a fluffy powder brush (MAC 150) to apply this, which works perfectly fine.
It's definitely pricey at $45 for 0.35 oz., but I can imagine that one compact will last a long time.
Would I repurchase? Yes.