Bounce
Merit Bounce Day Glow Highlighting Balm ($30.00 for 0.14 oz.) appeared as a soft, rose gold in the tube, but it applied as a transparent wash of something faintly peachy with a glossy sheen and little visible pearl. The transparent coverage was as marketed, and for those who prefer higher coverage, it wasn’t a buildable product.
It did impact a dewy sheen that was skin-like and didn’t really add color on my skin tone. The texture was very emollient and slippery, but the product had good adhesion and didn’t have to be spread infinitely to work, which is often the issue with more emollient cream/liquid products. It did not dry down, so it always felt balmy to the touch, though not tacky.
It applied well over bare skin and fairly well over foundation, but it wasn’t as consistent about not pushing around base products a bit as other products. This shade lasted for five and a half hours before disappearing.
FURTHER READING:
Formula Overview
for details on general performance and characteristics (like scent).
- Tom Ford Beauty Intensity 2 (Highlight) (PiP, ) is darker, more pigmented (90% similar).
- Tom Ford Beauty Megeve (Highlighter) (LE, ) is more shimmery, darker, more pigmented (85% similar).
- Chanel Golden Light (P, $45.00) is darker, more pigmented (85% similar).
- Flesh Beauty Twitch (P, $18.00) is more shimmery, darker, more pigmented (85% similar).
- ColourPop Magpie (LE, $8.00) is more shimmery, darker, more pigmented (80% similar).
- Tom Ford Beauty Glacial Rose (LE, $50.00) is more shimmery, darker, more pigmented (80% similar).
These are likely to be very similar shades based on our duping algorithm.
Formula Overview
$30.00/0.14 oz. – $214.29 Per Ounce
The formula is supposed to have “translucent’ coverage that “impart[s] a dewy, balmy sheen with zero sparkle.” It’s one of the more emollient consistencies I’ve come across in a cream highlighter these days! It looks like a solid, dome-shaped balm, but as soon as I touched it, the texture had high slip and felt almost oily as a result. They delivered on the “transparent” coverage as it looked very sheer on with the two shades available looking almost the same on me as a result.
I was surprised–but in a good way–to find that it applied well over foundation and didn’t seem prone to lifting up my base products as often, very emollient textures can interact more noticeably when layered over other things in my experience. It worked well over bare skin, too, and had a dewy finish.
It didn’t dry down and remained movable hours later, so the shorter-wear time (five to six hours) wasn’t a surprise. The product didn’t feel tacky, just emollient throughout; I have more “normal” skin on my actual cheek area where I tested this formula (I’m drier near my nose and on my nose). The highlighter was oilier and had higher-slip compared to the brand’s Flush Balm Cream Blushes, though they felt more similar than not (but the ingredient lists are not that similar).
Browse all of our Merit Day Glow Highlighting Balm swatches.
Ingredients
Squalane, Olea Europaea (Olive) Fruit Oil, 2-Octyldodecanol, Mica, Polyglyceryl-10 Pentaisostearate, Hydrogenated Polyisobutene, Phytosteryl/Octyldodecyl Lauroyl Glutamate, Dibutyl Lauroyl Glutamide, Dibutyl Ethylhexanoyl Glutamide, Tocopherol, Glyceryl Dibehenate, Tribehenin, Glyceryl Behenate, Silica, Tin Oxide, CI 77891 (Titanium Dioxide), CI 77491 (Iron Oxides).
Disclaimer: Ingredient lists are as available by the brand (or retailer)
at the time of publishing. Please always check product packaging, if it exists, for the ingredient list applicable
to the product you’re purchasing, or the brand or retailer’s website for the most up-to-date ingredient list.
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