Best Things in Beauty : Physicians Formula Happy Booster Glow & Mood-Boosting Illuminating Bronzing Veil

Enticed by the cute candy hearts, I recently purchased Physicians Formula Glow & Mood-Boosting Illuminating Bronzing Veil in Light Bronze from Drugstore.com, during a buy-one-get-one-half off promotion. Drugstore.com is offering 30% off its entire makeup department until 22 February.

The cheery pink plastic packaging reminded me of a yoyo. There are two shades available (Light Bronzer and Bronzer) but based on other online reviews, there is hardly any difference between them.

These violet-scented hearts are supposed to provide a warm luminous glow and also boost your mood by using a blend of natural plant extracts that mimic the effect of endorphins. Made in Taiwan, they are paraben-free.

The hearts come in two bronze hues with a soft glowy finish.

Also included is a brush and a powder puff. Both were not great at picking up the product, so I switched to using a Body Shop powder brush instead which is more efficient at swirling across the hearts.

Compared to the Etude House Princess Etoinette Hearts Blusher which has only 10 hearts (12g), the PF version is more generous with 18 hearts (20g).

The PF hearts are more compact and tightly packed, without the visible fissures in the side of the Etude House hearts.

I swatched the hearts directly on my skin without primer underneath. These are extremely sheer and it took quite a bit of layering to show up.

As adorable as the packaging is, ultimately these were a disappointment due to the lack of pigment. While these are designed to be used all over the face for a glowy veil, the effect was almost too subtle to be distinguishable. They do add a light glowy sheen. In the pic below, I applied it with a large powder brush to my cheeks. This usually retails for US$13.95. It's not a wallet-breaker but I think PF makes better bronzers and glowy powders than this.