FIRST IMPRESSIONS ┊ Holiday 2014: ☃ Hourglass Cosmetics Ambient Lighting Blush Palette ☃

 ⇥ AT A GLANCE ⇤

Housed in an elegant light gold case, the limited edition Hourglass Cosmetics Ambient Lighting Blush Palette features three shades of Ambient Light Blush, the groundbreaking blush that creates seamless, soft-focus multidimensional color. Exclusive, to this palette is Incandescent Electra. Luminous Flush and Mood Exposure are already a part of the permanent line-up.

⇥ THE BREAKDOWN ⇤

Each blush contains 0.116oz/3.3g each for a total of 0.348oz/9.9g. This palette retails for $58 usd ($166.67 usd per oz). 

A regular blush contains 0.15 oz for $35 usd ($233.33 usd per oz). Already, the palette is a good value for your money when thinking about price per oz!

⇥ INGREDIENTS ⇤

⇥ PACKAGING ⇤

The packaging is very similar to the original Ambient Lighting Palette. The gold case is similar to the ones used for their individually sold blushes. It feels very sturdy and lightweight, perfect for travelling. I like having options so three colors is enough variety without overdoing it. The nice and solid click when you shut the palette is satisfying (does anybody else find that oddly satisfying? Knowing that your makeup is secure? Just me?). This attracts fingerprints like crazy but nothing a wipe down with a tissue wouldn't clear. The reflective gold surface adds a very luxurious and holiday feel to this blush palette. 

⇥ FORMULA & FEEL ⇤

These blushes feel very silky and smooth. I could rub these babies all day...but I have better ideas on how to spend my days! There is a bit of a powder kick up if you dab too roughly with these so tap gently. Since these blushes are very soft, I would treat them gently. Try not to drop these babies because putting them back together would probably be a pain in the rear!

⇥ SCENT ⇤

I have not sniffed these babies but I don't think there's an offensive scent at all. I'm currently sick with a very congested nose so I couldn't even smell the wonderful, homemade chocolate chip cookies my roommates baked. Food woes aside, rest assured that during normal application pre-cold days, I did not detect a scent from these blushes.

 ⇥ APPLICATION & PIGMENTATION ⇤

As I mentioned before, these can be a bit powdery. They aren't the most pigmented blushes in one go, which is good for those looking for that softly lit-from-within glow that these provide. I recommend using a soft, densely packed blush for best color payoff. On my light-medium skin tone, I find 2 to 3 layers of this shows up well on my skin tone.

The thing with these blushes is that they're not matte but they're not quite satin. There's just a very subtle glow from them that is practically undetectable but adds a very barely noticeable healthy sheen to the skin. In real life, these are quite natural looking but adds just that bit of glow to your face to keep the winter dullness away. In pictures, they lose a bit of their magic but nevertheless, they are very natural and seamlessly blend into your skin.

Luminous Flush is described as a champagne rose blush fused with Luminous Light to evoke a candlelit glimmer day or night. This is the most pigmented on my skin tone and shows up with the most contrast. It has a semi-matte finish on my skin tone with just the slightest bit of a sheen. If I want to amp up the glow factor, I'll add some highlighter but most days, this is just perfect for a "I was just outside" rosy flush. This blush looks very natural with just one layer but I usually go for 2 on days that I don't wear too much makeup to just add a nice pop of color on my face.

If I didn't make it clear before, Incandescent Electra is exclusive to this palette. It is described as a cool peach blush blended with Incandescent Light for a celestial glow. That's quite an apt description, as you can tell from my swatch. Since it's quite light for my skin tone, I can even use this as a very natural looking highlight. If I go overboard with my blush, I add this on top to tone it down and add a peachy tint to the blush. Worn alone, it adds a very slight peachy color to my face to tone down the natural pink flush of my face.

I thought this would be more of a purple-y plum on my cheeks but it sort of leans pink on my skin tone. Mood Exposure is described as a soft plum blush fused with Mood Light to brighten the complexion. This one was a bit disappointing because the color wasn't what I expected but the pinkish lean makes it more wearable, I guess. 

⇥ WEAR TIME ⇤

Longevity on these are quite good. They last throughout the entire day without needing touch ups, which is 6 to 8 hours for me. I don't have a problem with blush fading or needing touch ups throughout the day but since these are so natural looking to begin with, it was a bit difficult to determine if any was still there--until I took off my makeup and noticed the difference in cheek color. 

⇥ OTHER THOUGHTS ⇤

As I mentioned before, price-wise, this palette is a very good value. You save approximately $67 usd per oz when you buy this palette, even if you have to pay a bit more for it than an individual blush. The colors are varied enough and don't look the same on my face, even though they all give a very seamlessly natural look to my cheeks (Side note: how many times can I say "seamless" in this post?! #BrokenRecord). It's quite hard to overdo the color so it's great for those with a heavy hand (like myself) or makeup beginners. My only con is that I don't think it's good for those with darker skin than mine (around a MUFE 120/MAC NC30-ish). Incandescent Electra barely shows up on my skin and the swatch below was done quite heavily to show the color. Mood Exposure is quite light on my skintone (but I can build it up to get decent pigmentation on my skin tone). The only one that shows up well without much effort is Luminous Flush so I would recommend that one if you're a tiny bit darker than me. If you have a deep skin tone, I highly recommend the Tarte Amazonian Clay 12 Hr Blushes. The pigmentation on those are insane and densely packed but they are very blendable. Color selection is also considerably wider than the Hourglass Ambient Lighting Blushes so you're sure to find something that tickles your fancy :D

⇥ BOTTOM LINE ⇤

I highly recommend this palette if you can afford it! As I mentioned before, it's a great value considering the price per ounce, especially if you were curious about the Hourglass formula. I also have their Ambient Lighting Palette and love that one as well for an all over glow that looks very natural. I think I'll be taking this along with me when I go home as I like to wear more minimal makeup when I'm with family--I prefer the naturally gorgeous look rather than the made-up look anyway, not that there's anything wrong with a glamourous face! I'll probably be taking some Tarte blushes along anyway to do my birthday makeup as there will be lots of pictures taken and I want my blush to show up in them. xD

I'm definitely going to check out some of the other Ambient Lighting Blushes! 

If you have any, which ones are your favorites?

⇥ WHERE TO BUY ⇤

BLUSH PALETTE || Hourglass | Sephora | SpaceNK

BLUSH || Hourglass | Sephora | SpaceNK

MWAH Musings ♥

Sorry for being missing for so long! I've been feeling a bit blah lately and didn't want to blog. I got the cold (again) last weekend so that put me out of commission for several days. I'm starting to feel like myself again today so I decided to post something to break out of this uneasy spell. I'm glad to be back and blogging in full force again! Look forward to more holiday posts soon! Stay warm and hydrated out there :D

XOXO,

MWAH ♥

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Disclosure Statement: All products mentioned were purchased with my own money. I am not sponsored by any of the companies mentioned above and was not compensated for this post. All opinions are my own. Links are not affiliate links and are provided for the readers' convenience. I cannot guarantee that the product(s) will work for you. I do not approve or endorse the products or information available on these sites. Proceed at your own risk.