Hourglass Ambient Lighting Edit - Surreal Light

The Hourglass Ambient Lighting Edit in Surreal Light was one of those instant purchases for me. I love Hourglass powders and think that the quality is amazing. The palette is housed in a marble printed case and contains 5 pans of product. Although the marble is pretty (and, let's face it, Instagram worthy), I think I would have preferred to keep the metal packaging. To me, the metal seems more luxe than a marble printed plastic case and is also in keeping with the overall aesthetic of the brand, but that is more personal preference than anything else and does not affect the quality of the product inside.

I have to say, I think this palette is better suited to the lighter side of the skin tone spectrum. I am light-medium and the only items that show up really well on my skin are the Surreal Effect Blush and the Surreal Strobe Light. The Finishing Powder that takes up the left side of the palette is meant to blend into skin, but if you have a darker complexion, this may make you look ashy (I would definitely recommend trying in store). The middle column sort of blends into my skin and is hard to see. All of the powders blend well and are buttery soft. They each lasted all day on me when tested.

I definitely take exception to them labeling/marketing this palette as universally flattering - the bronzer is too light for my skin, and I am on the lighter side. What would someone with medium to dark skintones use it for? One thing I have noticed is that Hourglass has not seemed to put out a palette for medium-dark complexions, and I really think that they need to. Their powder products are, to me, the highest quality on the market and it is a shame that they are under-serving such a large part of the market.

As with the palette from last year, the pan sizes are really small. I wish they would go back to the trios or use this size palette and make it a quad. It is really difficult to dip a brush into this and not pickup the adjacent powders. The size would not be as much of an issue for a different product, but bronzer, blush, and highlighter fan brushes all tend to be larger. You basically have to squeeze your brush to dip it in the pans, which I am not a fan of doing.

One thing that is a bit odd to me is how they labeled/numbered the palette. I would think that normally you would start at the left, which they did, and do the top row first, then bottom. They did not do that. The far left pan is 1, which makes sense, but then 2 is actually the bottom middle shade, then it goes up to the top middle shade, over to the top right shade, and down again to the bottom right shade. See diagram below. Most people that I have seen swatch it did not do it in that order. I did not either, which is why I labeled the swatches below with the numbers. That is something they should probably think about for next time, as it can make it confusing for people who are trying to look at swatches.

Palette Swatches. All swatches in order of first photo.

Outdoors in full sunlight:



Outdoors in shade:



Indoors (no flash):

I pulled some of my other Hourglass Palettes and individual items so you can see how the new palette compares to some existing products. First, the blushes. I swatched two blushes from the new palette, an individual blush in Radiant Magenta, and two of the blushes from the Ambient Lighting Blush Palette, Luminous Flush and Incandescent Electra. In case you are looking for dupes, if Radiant Magenta and Incandescent Electra had a baby, it would be the Surreal Effect blush. 

Blush swatches. All swatches are in the order of the first photo.

Outdoors:



Indoors (no flash):

For the bronzer, I pulled the Hourglass Luminous Bronze Light (reviewed here). Surreal Bronze Light is noticeably lighter than the Luminous Bronze Light bronzer, which was already made for lighter skin tones. It really does not show up on my skin tone very well as a bronzer. For me, it acts more as a nude blush, but even then it is very hard to see. See swatches outdoors in full sunlight:

I used the Ambient Lighting Palette highlighters as comparison shades for the highlighters/finishing powder in the Ambient Lighting Edit. See swatches below:

Overall, this palette is very pretty, and the quality, as always, is incredible. I do wish the pan sizes were larger and would love to see Hourglass put out a new trio or a quad, instead of trying to cram 5-6 powders into one palette. I probably should have waited to see this in store because I most likely would not have purchased it, as a lot of the colors are really hard to see on my skin tone. If you have a lighter skin tone, run out and buy this - you will not regret it. I would absolutely love this if the colors showed up on my skin better. Medium to darker skin tones really should test in store to see how the colors work on your skin.

The palette retails for $80 and is sold at Sephora and Hourglass. What are your thoughts on this palette?

Hourglass Ambient Lighting Edit - Surreal Light - Sneak Peak

I thought I would give everyone a quick peak at the new Hourglass Palette. I just received it, so I will be testing each of the items separately to see how they wear and will provide a full review next week. I will make sure to include some comparison swatches with other Hourglass powders in the full review so you can see if you already have Hourglass items that are similar. For now, I am previewing some swatches of the palette. Initial swatches seem to be of the usual Hourglass quality, as their highlighters are on the more subtle side of the spectrum. 

Reverse of the palette:

See swatches below.

Outdoors in sunlight:

After just the initial swatching, I think that if you have more of a fair complexion, you will most likely find this very flattering. I think it may wash out or look ashy on darker skin tones. Stay tuned for the full review. 

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 Eyeshadow Palette 5 in Palette 02

As I mentioned in the Face Glow review post, I recently purchased a Natasha Denona eyshadow palette. I chose Palette 02 because Beauty Professor stated in her review that it reminded her of the Tom Ford Honeymoon palette, which is often sold out and is something I have yet to splurge on.  I have green eyes and know that purple and taupe-y colors definitely flatter my eyes, so that was another selling point for me. There are 13 palettes total, so there is something for everyone. I have had my eye on the Palette 04, as well, and may eventually cave.

A close up of the pans:

The shadows in the palette are good size pans, which I like. They are highly pigmented and the only eyeshadow I own that is even close to comparable pigment-wise is Kat Von D Metal Crush. Wear time on these is impressive. I do always wear primer because I have oily lids, but these lasted over 13 hours on me before I took my makeup off and I experienced no fading or creasing. I also really love that there is no fallout, which is remarkable considering the pigment level.

Swatches below:

Outdoors in full sun:




Outdoors in shade:




Indoors:

The only part of the palette I am not crazy about is the packaging. I feel that, while it is in sturdy packaging, it is not really up to par with the price tag or other items in the Natasha Denona line. The Face Glow palette is in a nice gold metal case. I do appreciate that you can see the colors through the plastic, which is useful if you have more than one of these, but at the same time, I would like the packaging to be more consistent. As an example, below are the ND Face Glow and Eyeshadow Palette and the Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powder and Modernist Eyeshadow Palette. Notice how the Hourglass packaging is consistent? I want the Natasha Denona items to be that way as well. I think it would look nicer and give the brand a signature look, but that is definitely just my opinion and some people may prefer the packaging that allows you to see the colors.

Another packaging item to note is that even though it appears there is space for a brush, one was not included. I am not sure why you would put that and not include a brush. I would prefer to just not have the space, as it is a waste considering most full size brushes will not fit. So unless you have a smaller one hanging around from an old palette, that space is just left there.

Outer box packaging with shadow color names and ingredients:

Overall, despite my design issues with the packaging (which are entirely personal), the quality of the product itself is phenomenal and more than makes up for it. I am definitely going to be getting another palette sometime in the future, as I have been using this palette so much and love it.  Given that these are so pigmented, they are going to last forever. I purchased the palette for $48 at Beautylish. What is your favorite brand for eyeshadow?

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?