Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powder Wardrobe Review

This was another one of those products I just had to try after hearing about it everywhere online! I was always deterred by the hefty price tag, but, eventually caved after hearing such amazing reviews. Now I have tried it, I have to say it isn't as life changing as I thought it would be and not a must have in my books.

First of all, the packaging is absolutely stunning! This is to me what luxury beauty looks and feels like. Hourglass really hit the mark with the packaging of this product . It is sleek, feminine and quality inside and out. It has a large mirror inside which is never a bad thing and three smoothed cubes of finely milled powders.

I am impressed by the smoothness of the powders and find they really do go on the face undetectably, never cakey or powdery looking once applied.

The three powders included in the palette are:

- Dim light which is the all over setting powder, is great all over the face and especially useful for setting under eye concealer as it is finely milled so doesn't leave me with as much creasing. I do like this powder, but, In all honesty I have drugstore face powders which I find set my face just as well...maybe it's just me but I don't find this hides imperfections any more or has any special powers over other setting powders.

- Incandescent light which is a highlight shade and is my favourite of the three. This highlighter is stunning on the cheekbones (and on the lid/brow bone as a shimmery eye shadow) and leaves you with a lit from within glow. The shimmer is subtle not chunky or overdone and is exactly how I like my highlight to be.

- Radiant light is the least used powder in my palette and is a pale bronzer with a subtle shimmer. It is gorgeous too, just a product I would only use as a bronze highlight in summer on my ghostly skin.

Overall, I really like this palette, but don't think it is anything amazing (especially for the price) in comparison to other products I have tried.

This has been on my wishlist for a while now, but I was worried at such a hefty price tag that this product would be all hype. Well let me tell you now, the hype is real!

Subtle is the name of the game when it comes to the Hourglass Ambient Lighting wardrobe. Dim light is a smidge too dark for my pale skintone, but with a light hand I can get away with it. I use my usual Clarins matte powder on a small brush over concealed blemishes and then apply dim light over my entire face. At first glance you're not sure its had any effect at all, yet when you catch a glimpse of yourself in the light you can see the most gorgeous glow to your skin. This somehow imparts a perfection to your skin that was definitely not there before. Incandescent light is a lovely natural highlight, not super obvious so you can wear it in the daytime without feeling too dolled up. Radiant light is a smidge dark again but being quite sheer can be applied gently for a lovely natural glow.

The powders, like the ambient blush, are very finely milled and buttery, but also quite delicate so your brush does kick up a lot of product when you use it. I find that these have great longevity on my skin, and does last all day. I don't know that I can ever justify repurchasing, but I definitely will continue to use and enjoy this palette

This is amazing for someone who is serious about their highlighters. It is simple awesome! Highly pigmented, it gives you a finish only a few products can achieve. With some highlighters using a little too much causes a person to shine and not in a good way. Not this product as its highly buildable from subtle to awesome glow. The only downside is that it is on the expensive end but if it wasn't for that I would give this five stars.

I have struggled with my review for this product slightly because my feelings on this product have been a bit of a toss up.

I was keen to try this because of the hype and I was struggling to find highlighter and bronzer shades I liked. But it is expensive.

Finally I got one and couldn't wait to try it. I eagerly contoured my face and it felt a bit lackluster. I was expecting something more.

However the powders felt beautiful and the shades while not packing the punch I expected did seem to flatter my skin more than several brands I tried. So I kept at it and eventually found ways that worked best for me. And perhaps had also learned by this point that less could be more.

One trick I learned that I really like is mixing them together, this can create a whole new shade and can also be used as a face powder with a bit of glow.

What I love most about this product is how finely milled it is. None of my cheaper highlighter can compete with that. And it does last, which given the price is a relief. It's also in a nice compact, which I am a fan of.

All in all, I think I let the hype initially make me expect too much from this product. But it is quality.

The word subtle is splashed across a lot of the online reviews for this product and being chocolate skinned; I wasn't too sure if that would work for me because I love the sparkles in life - in a BIG way :-) But after reading BR's jessickaxnz awesome review I walked out of Mecca with $89 less in the bank (you have been warned haha).

For me this is the perfect setting and finishing powder WHEN I wear minimal makeup (i.e tinted moisturiser, bb cream). It creates a soft "subtle" (there we go haha) glow that still looks like my skin. When I wear full makeup (i.e foundation) I do find it harder to see the benefits but that's mostly due to my skintone and the ongoing drama with looking ashy as opposed to the product itself.

I use my powder brush to apply the product and notice that a bit of powder does kick up so there's some wastage. I don't tap off any excess when applying to minimal makeup because there's no danger of looking like Casper due to the light texture.

I use Radiant Light to set and finish my face while mixing Dim Light and Incandescent Light for my highlight. Dim Light alone is barely noticeable on me so I go a little crazy with it because when you spend that much money you want to use EVERY shade haha.

The reason I think this is worth the money is because I haven't come across any other setting or finishing powder that looks like skin on my skintone and doesn't scream out to the world that I have pores *covers my face*.

If you're after that soft glow from within I highly recommend going into Mecca and sporting the shades on your face for the day to help you make your final decision :-) Do I think it's worth it? $89 well spent.

If I'm honest I only bought the for the palette exclusive 'Incandescent light' as it is so gorgeous as a highlighter for the tops of the cheek bone and under the eye brow. It is the most natural highlighter for this purpose I have ever come across.

I didn't think I was going to like or use the other two shades 'dim light' and 'radiant light' but after talking to a girl at Mecca i decided to give them a shot.

Apparently dim light is good to use all of the face as a settling powder, personally I do not think it is good enough to use as a setting powder therefore I only ever use it on my cupids bow to define my lips and I do believe it does it nice job of this.

I do use radiant light over the top of my bonzer and I think it gives my skin a more natural glow which I love, it is extremely subtile so good for every day to day wear and harsh lights.

Overall I don't think i'd buy the palette again as I really only use incandescent light and I wish they would release it individually.

Imagine if you could walk around every day in the perfect lighting - it isn't going to happen, but this product can help.

I've used incandescent & dim light as subtle highlighters and the warmer radiant light as a highlighter and all over face glow giver.

These powders are super fine... super duper fine. and it doesn't take much to load up a brush.

I'm also very in love with the packaging. The mirror in this is huge. However, I am aware that the powders can break easily and for that reason, this splurge product comes with me in my carry on luggage (ok, all my powder makeup tends to end up in my carry on!)

Actually, Dim Light is another that I would recommend over other parts of the face.

I have had this palette over 6 months and only now do I feel confident in writing my thoughts on it. I have dry skin and was sick of my makeup constantly looking tired and dull so one day I went in to Mecca and had the assistant dust the powders all over my face so I could see how they wore. I honestly couldn't stop looking at my skin the entire day, it made my skin look airbrushed and glowy all day long (in a non-oily way).

Needless to say I went back the next day and purchased it. Initially I was only using Dim Light over the centre of my face and for the life of me could not recreate the effect on my skin that the assistant had created. This resulted in me putting it aside and doubting my purchase. However, I picked it up again a couple of months ago after researching how others use it, and I just adore it now. I use all 3 powders daily as follows:

Dim Light: I dust this over the centre of my face to blur the size of my pores and imperfections, and just give the skin a healthy glow. It really is great at pore blurring!

Incandescent Light: I use this on all the standard high points of my face for a gorgeous non-glittery highlight. I also love it as a brow bone and inner corner highlight as it lasts alll day!

Radiant Light: I love the effect of this dusted over my bronzer at the back of my cheekbones and on my forehead. It really does give your face a gorgeous radiant glow. I also dust this down the bridge of my nose for a healthy, sun kissed flush of colour.

The packaging is elegant, feels sturdy and is perfect for travel as it contains a good sized mirror. I do note that the Hourglass label etc is starting to wear off, but that just shows how much I use it! Do I think it's worth it? If you have dry/normal skin, absolutely! It just makes your skin look airbrushed. Not entirely sure how useful it would be if you have oily skin though.

It's a love hate relationship. I hummed and haa'd over this in the shop, many times, before buying.

I find the dark shade is a little too dark and too bronzey for me maybe? I think my main problem is finding the right brush to use with it, not too big, not too small, just the right amount of fluffiness.

I have to say I was hoping for more 'blurring of imperfection' action but alas I don't see anything blurred. It does add a nice glow to my face and the light shade provides subtle highlights. I like that it is not glittery like a lot of highlighters are.

I like the packaging and I'm happy that I bought it. I'm not sure I really needed it, but honestly I'm happy just to look at it even if I'm not using it- it is beautiful and luxurious looking, and the three different powders all have a deep glow. It's like when you see someone beautiful and you just can't stop staring!