Hourglass Luminous Bronze Light Bronzer

The Hourglass Luminous Bronze Light bronzer is something that I have had on my wishlist for quite some time. I purchased the mini size bronzer, as the full size is really large and Hourglass powders last forever. There are two bronze shades offered: Luminous Bronze Light and Radiant Bronze Light. I chose Luminous Bronze Light - partially because I thought the lighter color would suit me better and also because the other shade is not yet available in the mini size. 

Luminous Bronze Light is described as a medium tan shade fused with Luminous Light, a champagne pearl powder, for a softer, candlelit warmth that is for fair/light complexions. Radiant Bronze Light is a warm bronze shade fused with Radiant Light, a golden beige powder, to mimic a summer glow that is suited for medium/deep complexions.

I really love Hourglass highlighters and had high hopes for the bronzer. Let me start by saying that it does not disappoint. The packaging is consistent with other Hourglass powders and comes in a great gold case. The marbling effect in the pan is similar to the blushes and is always so pretty to look at. The powder is extremely blendable and gives a very nice soft finish. Below is an extreme close up of the pan so you can see the beautiful shimmer and marbling:

I pulled a few other bronzers from my collection to see how it compared color-wise. It seems to be one of the lightest bronzers I own, which I think will be ideal for giving a bit of glow, especially during the winter when I lose my tan.

Comparison swatches below. All swatches are in the order of the first photo.

Outdoors in full sunlight:



Outdoors in shade:



Indoors (no flash):



I am really happy with this purchase and have yet to meet an Hourglass powder that I don't like. I may eventually get the darker shade if they come out with a mini size of that, as I think it would be a nice, more dramatic summer bronze for me. The mini size retails for $24 (0.05oz/1.4g) and the full size retails for $50 (0.39 oz/11g). They are sold at all Hourglass stockists. What is your favorite bronzer?

Natasha Denona All Over Glow Face and Body Shimmer Powder in Light

I have heard so many good things about the Natasha Denona line and decided to try something out for myself. I chose the All Over Glow Face and Body Shimmer Powder in the shade 01 Light. The powder comes in a gold metal case that is a decent size for a highlighter. My case did come with a small imperfection on the front that you can see above, but since I will probably scratch it anyway, I decided it was not a big deal for me.

A couple things that I always look for in a highlighter are that I can wear it to work and that it looks natural in the day. I love a good highlight, but many are so shimmery that it looks unprofessional or, in my opinion, a little much for daytime (as pretty as they are, I find the Becca highlighters to be too much most of the time). The Natasha Denona is one of the prettiest, subtle highlighters I have seen and I really love the finish. Will it replace the Hourglass Ambient Lighting powders as my holy grail highlighter? Most likely not, but it is a really close second and I do love that it is the most understated highlighter that I have next to Hourglass. The powder lasted all day for me with no migration. I find that it is not frosty and does not overemphasize pores (for me all highlighters emphasize them slightly because I tend to have larger pores).

Here is an extreme close up so you can see all of the different shimmer colors:

I pulled a few other highlighters out to see how the Natasha Denona compares. Below clockwise from left: Natasha Denona in Light, Benefit Watt's Up, Cover FX Custom Enhancer Drops in Moonlight, Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powder in Dim Light, and the Hourglass Ambient Lighting Palette.

Below are some comparison swatches so you can see the difference. The most subtle are the Hourglass powders, the Natasha Denona is more in the middle, and the Benefit and Cover FX have a higher shimmer. The swatches are all in the order of the first photo.

Outdoors:




Direct Sun:




Indoors (no flash):




Below is a list of ingredients:

Talc, Mica, Octyldodecyl Stearoyl Stearate, Aluminum Starch Octenylsuccinate, Isopropyl Lanolate, Cetyl Acetate, Caprylyl Glycol, C12-15 Alkyl Benzoate, Acetylated Lanolin Alcohol, Dimethicone, Lauroyl Lysine, Parfum [Fragrance] (+/-) May Contain: CI 77491 [Iron Oxides], CI 77891 [Titanium Dioxide], CI 77492 [Iron Oxides], CI 77499 [Iron Oxides]

I have to say I am really happy with this purchase and am glad that I decided to get into the Natasha Denona line. I also bought an eyeshadow palette to be reviewed soon. This is one of the prettiest highlighters I own and I am most likely going to get the Medium shade to possibly use as a blush or bronzer. The ND blushes look beautiful as well. I purchased the powder from Beautylish and it retails for $38 for 10g/0.35 oz. Have you tried anything from Natasha Denona? Any recommendations for other products/colors from her line?

COVER FX Custom Enhancer Drops - Moonlight and Sunkissed

The Cover FX Custom Enhancer Drops were launched recently and I purchased one of the highlight shades, Moonlight, and one of the bronzers, Sunkissed. The Drops work much like other products from Cover FX, wherein you can use them to customize to your liking. You can use the drops on their own or you can mix them into existing products that you have.

I have used the bronzer shade to add depth to some of my winter foundation colors that are now too light and have also used the highlight shade to add some shimmer to matte foundation formulas. They also work wonderfully on their own as a highlighter or bronzer. Lisa Eldridge did a beautiful video recently that used the Moonlight shade as a highlight and I highly recommend you check it out (mostly because I am obsessed with her and think she is fab). See swatches below of the Moonlight shade:

See swatches below of the Sunkissed shade:

These drops have been such a great purchase and I have used them a lot since I got them a month ago. I love that the bronzer has enabled me to use some of the foundations that would normally be sitting in a drawer for the next few months since I do tan significantly in the summer (despite using sunscreen). The highlight shade blends so nicely over foundation and concealer without removing or budging what is underneath, which I feel that is often a problem with other liquid highlighters. If you would like to see swatches on a variety of skin tones, head over to Beauty Editer.

The drops retail for $42 for .5oz and are available at Sephora and Cover FX. Have you tried these yet? Which shade is your favorite?