Hourglass Ambient Lighting Palette Holiday 2013 Review

Products in this post were provided by PR/the brand

Hourglass Profile

Hourglass is a fabulous beauty brand that works to develop innovative, luxury products. I previously reviewed their Veil Fluid Makeup foundation HERE. One of their cult favorites is their Ambient Lighting Powder--I've been eyeing Ethereal and Mood for some time. Ambient Lighting Powder is meant to give your face the most flattering appearance by imitating some of the most complementary lighting effects. Have you ever heard that moonlight and candlelight are a girl's best friend? It's true, and Hourglass has managed to capture it and press it into these beautiful powders!

For the holidays, Hourglass has released a limited edition set that includes a limited edition trio compact that features 2 permanent shades and 1 limited edition shade of their Ambient Lighting Powders and a small vial of their popular Veil Mineral Primer.

Price

This retails for $58 (3.3 grams x3 palette; .16 fl oz primer)

Where to Buy

This can be purchased directly through Hourglass Cosmetics' site HERE. 

Limited Edition Hourglass Ambient Lighting Palette Swatches & Review

Limited Edition Hourglass Ambient Lighting Palette

Product Type

Depending on the shade, Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powders are meant to highlight, blur imperfections and create an all-over glow. I have also been told they work well in place of setting powders and sprays--I found this to be true.

Shades

This palette includes the following shades:

• Dim Light - neutral peachy beige
• Incandescent Light - cool highlighter
• Radiant Light - warm, golden light bronze

L to R - Dim Light, Incandescent Light, Radiant Light

On the Face

These are incredibly finely milled and can be swept or patted easily onto the face. Unlike some highlighters that enlarge pores, these actually blur them both in-person and in photographs. I found that Incandescent Light made a lovely highlighter, while Dim Light (which was almost identical to my complexion) and Radiant Light work well over the rest of the face. These are so lovely both in-person and in photographs and I found they sat nicely on my foundation throughout the day without fading or flaking.

Products Used (products I've previously reviewed are linked)

• Kaia 24Hr Matte Face Cream
• Whip Hand Cosmetics Set the Stage Primer
• Graftobian HD Glamour Creme Corrector Pink Hi-Lite
• Graftobian HD Glamour Creme Aurora
• Kett Fixx Creme Blush in Morocco (contour)
• Kett Fixx Creme Blush in Daiquiri (apples of cheeks)
• Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powder Dim Light (all over face)
• Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powder Incandescent Light (highlighter)
• Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powder Radiant Light (cheeks)
• MUFE Aqua Eyes Liner in 0L
• MUFE Aqua Smoky Lash mascara
• Armour Beauty Lip Gloss in Grace

Final Re-Cap

Price

This retails for $58 (3.3 grams x3 palette; .16 fl oz primer)

Where to Buy

This can be purchased directly through Hourglass Cosmetics' site HERE. 

My Thoughts

I am a believer! You can see in the images above that my face looks as though I used a soft focus editing effect on my skin--but I didn't! I literally cropped, watermarked, then posted. It looks this amazing in person, too. I'm really, really impressed. While I don't have trouble skin, my complexion isn't quite as even as it was in my early 20s. I have some hyper pigmentation and some pink blotchiness. This makes my skin look perfect--it's crazy! While I don't know how severe an imperfection would have to be before it would stop blurring it, I can say that for me the effects are incredible. It literally looks like I'm walking around with a photoshopped face--in a good way! I've seen other pros and bloggers say and post the same thing, so I'd say the effects are somewhat universal. Also, this worked well in place of a setting powder or spray. I never use setting powders because I have dry skin, but I will often use setting sprays with full-face makeup. This lasted all day long and still looked great!

The mini Veil Mineral Primer is nice as well, especially if you've been curious about Hourglass's primer. I know many pros and makeup junkies that swear by it!

I strongly suggest putting this on your Christmas lists because it is fantastic! I definitely need to get my hands on Ethereal and Mood now. 

What do you think? Will you be trying Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powder?

Note: Products in this post were provided by PR/the brand. All opinions stated above are my own based on my personal experience and have not been influenced by PR/the brand.