Monday, June 9, 2014

Hourglass Ambient Lighting Palette Pictures and Review: NOW Permanent!

Press Sample (Affiliate Links)

The wild popularity and rave reviews of the Hourglass Ambient Lighting Palette prompted the company to repromote this superb product, and if you missed it the first time you can take a long sigh of relief that one can now be yours. All I can say is that I haven't been able to put mine down since receiving it, and will definitely be hitting the pan on this palette!
According to Hourglass,

Create your perfect light with this palette featuring three shades of Ambient Lighting Powder. Each of the high-tech, soft-focus finishing powders recreates an exquisitely flattering light source. The powders can be applied individually or layered to imbue skin with a multidimensional glow.

This palette contains:

Dim Light: A neutral peach beige powder that blurs imperfections and highlights a radiant complexion with a balance of warm and cool tones.

Incandescent Light: An opalescent pearl powder that highlights the cheekbones and brightens the complexion with a celestial glow (Exclusive to this palette).

Radiant Light: A sun-kissed golden beige powder that enhances the overall complexion with believable, subtle warmth, and also extends a summer glow.

Dust powders over the face using the Ambient Powder Brush to create an illuminated complexion.

Product Claims:

• A trio of our best-selling Ambient Lighting Powders.
• Powders capture, diffuse and soften the way light is reflected on skin, brighten the appearance, and conceal imperfections, pores and wrinkles.
• Unlike traditional finishing powders that use opaque pigments, Ambient utilizes Photoluminescent Technology—micron-size, soft-focus particles that refract light and create transparent coverage.
• The powders can be applied individually or layered to imbue skin with a multidimensional glow.
• Universal powders make them suitable for every skin tone, and they can be worn for day and night.
• Free of parabens, talc, fragrance, nano-particles and gluten.
The Hourglass Ambient Lighting Palette comes in a sleek and very portable compact that is easy to stow in your travel bag. Each individual Ambient Lighting Powder weighs 0.116 (x 3) whereas the full size Ambient Lighting Powders each weigh 0.35. Their Ambient Lighting Blushes each weigh 0.15, and I have included all three in order to contextualize the size of the palette.
Left to Right Clockwise: Hourglass Ambient Lighting Palette, Ambient Lighting Powder in Radiant Light (reviewed here) and Ambient Lighting Blush in Ethereal Glow (reviewed here).
Dim Light: "A neutral peach beige powder that blurs imperfections and highlights a radiant complexion with a balance of warm and cool tones."

Dim Light is a pale neutral to warm leaning light beige with a very subtle luminescent sheen. I love to lightly dust it all over my face, and the result is that it imparts a lovely ethereal glow that is quite natural looking. It works wonders in its ability to blur imperfections, and never settles into pores or fine lines.
Incandescent Light: "An opalescent pearl powder that highlights the cheekbones and brightens the complexion with a celestial glow" (Exclusive to this palette).

Incandescent Light is a lovely very light pale beige shade that is a gorgeously glowing shimmery powder that really does offer a celestial glow as Hourglass suggests. However, the increased shimmer most assuredly does not translate to unrefined glitter that settles into pores or fine lines. Instead, this gorgeous luminous powder captures the light beautifully as in enhances cheekbones and generally brightens and illuminates the complexion. I hope that Hourglass decides to launch Incandescent Light in the full size because it it a spectacular addition to their beautiful Ambient Lighting range of products.
Radiant Light: "A sun-kissed golden beige powder that enhances the overall complexion with believable, subtle warmth, and also extends a summer glow."

Radiant Light is aptly described as "a sun-kissed golden beige powder that enhances the overall complexion with believable, subtle warmth, and also extends a summer glow." While you could certainly lightly brush Radiant Light all of your face, or anywhere you want to create the illusion of a sun-kissed complexion, I prefer to inscribe a "3" and a "reverse 3" on my face. By beginning with a sweep in the shape of a three from my temples, to just below my cheekbones, and then terminating at my jawline- I am able to achieve the perfect lightly bronzed effect. This method, particularly when applied with a light-hand, offers an ethereal sun-kissed glow that appears natural and believable. Therefore, I find Radiant Light to function perfectly as a bronzer, and unlike most bronzers this one does not oxidize on my skin leaving me with an orange cast. Radiant Light is ultra-finely milled, blends beautifully on the skin, and leaves behind a praiseworthy and gorgeous sun-kissed glow.
The first three swatch photographs were applied heavily.

Left to Right: Dim Light,  Incandescent Light and Radiant Light
All three powders boast gorgeous soft textures, are extraordinarily finely milled, and they melt into the skin and impart a gorgeous luminescent glow while never looking dry or chalky. Furthermore,  they effortlessly spread across the skin with even color and each impart gorgeous luminosity.
While the formula can be built up or sheered out, for the most natural appearance and natural glow-- I would suggest blending them out to perfection.
Pictures above and below are blended.
Ingredients: Mica, Synthetic Fluorphlogopite, Boron Nitride, Hdi/Trimethylol Hexyllactone Crosspolymer, Polymethyl Methacrylate, Silica, Octyldodecanol, Benzimidazole Diamond Amidoethyl Urea Carbamoyl Propyl Polymethylsilsesquioxane, Sorbitan Sesquioleate,Magnesium Aluminum Silicate, Phenoxyethanol, Dimethicone, Sodium Dehydroacetate, Sorbic Acid, Polyacrylamide, Benzoic Acid, C13-14 Isoparaffin, Potassium Sorbate, Dehydroacetic Acid, Laureth-7, Ethylhexylglycerin, Trimethylsiloxysilicate. May Contain: Titanium Dioxide (CI 77891), Bismuth Oxychloride (CI 77163), Iron Oxide (CI 77491), Iron Oxide (CI 77492), Iron Oxide (CI 77499), Red 7 Lake (CI 15850).
Overall assessment: Utterly extraordinary! Ambient Lighting Palette might just be the only illuminating palette that you will ever need! It unequivocally and unquestionably earns an A+!

$58.00 from Hourglass Cosmetics, Sephora, Space NK US, SpaceNK UK, Barneys New York & Bergdorf Goodman (Affiliate Links).

About Hourglass Luxury Performance Makeup: Hourglass exists at the revolutionary intersection of science, beauty and luxury. The brand is acclaimed for its breakthrough formulations, technological innovations and unwavering commitment to reinvention. Complexion products are infused with the most groundbreaking active ingredients available to create virtually surreal skin. Distinguished by sensorial textures, modern color collections, and sleek custom packaging—Hourglass puts the art in state-of-the-art.

Hourglass is a cruelty-free company.

Press Samples provided by Hourglass Cosmetics. All views expressed are categorically my own.
Copyright © www.lolassecretbeautyblog.com All Rights Reserved.

6 comments:

  1. Gorgeous H,
    How are you! I miss you and your lovely posts. I m still here in my country and all I can say is that I have caught every single little winter bug under the rainbow. Now I lie in bed with a fever and decided to escape into your world of beauty to forget about this unhealthy body.
    Incandescent light looks so gorgeous! Lately I have been using various Nars Multiples to achieve both a blushed cheek and a highlighted non-existent cheek bone and they are working wonders but this incandescent light tickles my desire to consume gorgeous things.
    How are the furry ones? How is life in sunny LA?
    many hugs
    xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I miss you too!!!!!!!!! I'm sorry to hear that you have been sick! I'm actually not at all surprised that you got sick after all of the stress waiting to hear about the post-doc and the extended cold winter in NYC caused you. I think that going home allowed you to relax enough that your body was able to take a big sigh of relief, and your exhaustion and stress likely made you more susceptible to catching a bug. Rest up and let your family pamper you! :-)

      Incandescent Light is definitely stunning! The NARS Multiples are gorgeous-- your application sounds beautiful!

      Things are going well, and the furry ones are happy and healthy! It's a bit overcast, but it should burn off by the afternoon to reveal a pretty LA day!

      Feel better! xoxoxoxox

      Delete
  2. You sound VERY enthusiastic! :-) I agree that it's a fabulous trio. I personally like to avoid shimmer and sheen though. But like you said, these colors have quite a natural glow.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I am very enthusiastic-- this palette make me VERY happy! I just hope that Incandescent ends up being turned into a single-- because I will definitely be hitting the pan on that one! I definitely love the natural glow that this palette offers the skin. I tend not to be too enthusiastic about too much shimmer, but for me this palette isn't over the top. :-)

      Delete
  3. I am utterly in love with the Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powder. At the moment, I have it in Luminous Light and I find it so gorgeous to use as a highlight and on my drier days, I actually use it as a light setting powder all over and it looks BEAUTIFUL! I'm definitely eyeing this palette just because of the middle shade ;)

    Eat. Live. Love. Repeat.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Mw too, Phoebe! Luminous Light is GORGEOUS-- it is on my list! I know just what you mean-- Incandescent Light is definitely my favorite shade in this palette! I hope that Hourglass decides to launch it as a single-- because it is so gorgeous, and I know that I will hit the pan on that one! :-)

      Delete

I love reading all of your comments and interacting with you- so please do not hesitate to share your thoughts, and to ask questions. Remember that what you have to say is of interest to all of us! Always feel free to email me directly as well. SPAM and advertising links will not be published.

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...