Hourglass Ambient Lighting & Ambient Lighting Blush Palettes

I know, I know. This post is long awaited. I do apologize for taking so long to begin my holiday gift reviews, but I've been extremely busy doing this and that. There are so many holidays, birthday celebrations, etc. bunched into this tiny space of time. It's wild! 

Let me get back to the review, though, which is what I'm sure you all are most interested in-- not my incessant rambling. 

This one is on the Hourglass Ambient Lighting Palettes. The Ambient Lighting Palette, which is basically three highlighters, is a permanent product. Sadly, though, the Ambient Lighting Blush Palette is a L.E. product for the holidays. I'd wanted the highlighting palette for quite some time, but just recently purchased it and the blush one together. And let me tell you, I was NOT disappointed.

I would also like to point out that though I referenced the Hourglass Cosmetics website, I did buy my Hourglass products from Sephora.

The packaging is sleek and smooth and shiny, which I love. The only down side to that is that the plastic shows every finger print and smudge, but I love the gold and bronze colored packaging. It makes them look so high-end.  Speaking of high-end, these palettes retail for $58 each. They are really great products for any makeup lover to own, but they do come at a bit of a steep price. In my opinion, it is worth it since you use so little at a time of the products, so they will last for ages.

With Flash

Dim Light, Incandescent Light, Radiant Light

Without Flash

Dim Light, Incandescent Light, Radiant Light

The texture of the powder is very fine and smooth. It's very easy to blend onto skin and feels so soft between my fingertips. I found that it is unlike any other highlighting powder that I own. The first time I swatched the powders (from both palettes), I was blown away by the quality of them. 

I also like how each of the colors is so different, so you have varying options for day-to-day use. The third one, "Radiant Light," is almost too dark for me, but it is beautiful all the same. And if I wanted to use it on a client or friend, it would work great! 

Below are a few photos of the highlighting powders swatched.

With Flash

Dim Light, Incandescent Light, Radiant Light

Without Flash 

Dim Light, Incandescent Light, Radiant Light

Now on to the blush palette, which is so beautiful that I probably can't do it justice by talking about it in this post, but I'll certainly try. 

With Flash

Luminous Flush, Incandescent Electra, Mood Exposure

I love each of the colors, because yet again, they offer so much diversity and are each so unique. But I have to say that my favorite one is probably "Mood Exposure," which you'll see on the far right of the palette. There's just something I find so striking about a soft mauve/plum shade, which I will say I having nothing like in my entire blush collection.

I have had time to use all of the colors with my daily makeup, so I will say that each is pigmented, looks great when applied to the cheeks, and is beautiful with the highlight colors infused in them. 

They're basically like baked blushes, but are a much greater quality than the ones I have previously used. I think the $58 price speaks for itself with these Hourglass products. You can definitely tell you're using more than a drugstore product. And that's not to say that I'm bashing drugstore products, because I use quite a few myself. But sometimes it's pays to spend the extra cash on something boasting a much greater quality. 

My second favorite color is "Incandescent Electra," which is a lovely golden coral shade. The last shade "Luminous Flush" is a basic petal pink with some golden sheen to it.

I also like how these blushes are named based on the highlight shade they have infused with them. For example, the "Incandescent Electra" is named for the "Incandescent Light" highlighter that is swirled throughout the blush to create the smooth, shimmery coral.  So, you'll notice with the highlighting palette up above, "Incandescent Light" is one of the highlights in that palette. 

Without Flash

Luminous Flush, Incandescent Electra, Mood Exposure

I took these photos after having swatched and used these blushes, but you can see that the blush colors haven't even smeared from my touching them and running a brush over them. 

I cannot express how impressed I am with this product. 

Hourglass also sells their blushes separately (since this is a holiday steal), but the individual shades retail at $35, so it is well worth the $58 for the price of three.  That comes out at around $19 a blush instead of the $35! So, maybe the price is a little steep.. but the money you're saving purchasing this palette makes it so worth buying. 

Below are some swatches of the blushes.

With Flash 

Luminous Flush, Incandescent Electra, Mood Exposure

Without Flash

Luminous Flush, Incandescent Electra, Mood Exposure

Overall, if I had to rate first impression, use and quality, I'd have to say that Hourglass deserves an A for effort with any of the Ambient Lighting products. And I would DEFINITELY repurchase them! 

Thanks for checking out my blog. Stay tuned for more informative posts coming soon. I hope to have more posted this week! 

xx