Hourglass Ambient Lighting Palette & Seamless Foundation

What to start with?! Boy, do I love Hourglass Cosmetics! I was recently introduced to Hourglass when I was visiting Space NK and wanted to put it in my last haul post. After thinking about it, I thought it deserved its own proper review. I picked up two products from their range and neither disappoints: the Hourglass Ambient Lighting Edit and the Hourglass Vanish Seamless Finish Foundation Stick.

I’m not usually one to give into all these limited edition or palette buys, but the Hourglass Ambient Lighting Edit in Surreal Light looked way too appealing to say “no.” Reasons why I wouldn’t purchase: I just don’t normally find it practical to carry around large palettes for everything that they come in now-a-days. Reasons why I would buy: it looks gorgeous and theres a load to choose from inside while staying on the compact side. Plus it’s got a marble case, c’mon. Dreamy. So I clearly chose the BUY option on this. (They obviously had me in mind when designing it.) The palette contains five exclusive shades:

• Surreal Light: a sheer nude powder
• Surreal Bronze Light: a neutral tan shade fused with the Surreal Light powder
• Surreal Glow: a pale peony pink blush mixed with the Surreal Light powder
• Surreal Effect: a cool, pink rose fused with a soft, warm peach
• Surreal Strobe Light: a glimmering peach powder

All of the shades were designed to make this palette a one-stop-shop. It’s everything you need to finish, brighten, contour and highlight your skin. The pigments are very subtle, so if you’re looking for something with a bit more WOW HIGHLIGHTER, I’d look into something a bit more dramatic. The Ambient Lighting Palette also is designed with a double ended brush for purchase. It’s called the Ambient Lighting Edit Brush. I did not pick up this brush because of the double ends, I find that I store my brushes in a glass jar and it would only damage one side significantly. I have heard positive things about it though, in case you’re wondering.

The Hourglass Vanish Seamless Finish Foundation Stick. That’s a mouthful. I’ve heard nothing but good things about it, but I’ll be honest I was a bit of a skeptic. I never wore foundation until a few years back when I moved to Dublin. Honestly I cannot believe how much my skin has changed with the climate. The sunshine in Florida always gave my face a glowy-finish and hid all of the redness, eh, the majority of it anyway. I started using the liquid foundations and found a few pricy ones that work the best for my skin just to give a non-blotchy base. It wasn’t until last year at Christmas when my mom introduced me to a Bobbi Brown foundation stick that I started to shift from liquid products to stick products.

Hourglass is new on the scene and their shade range is huge for foundations. I purchased the shade Alabaster and I’m actually surprised with its results. It’s a long-wearing foundation stick which is supposed to be medium/full coverage. It is meant to hide whatever you need to cover up – like the name “Vanish” suggests. The foundation blends in really nicely and is a creamy consistency. I was a bit nervous that it would make my face feel a little bit like tar or waxy but after it was set this was not the case. Hourglass does offer a buffer brush, but I didn’t purchase it. I wanted to see how my beauty blender did first and then maybe I’ll go back to pick it up.