Hourglass Surreal Light Ambient Lighting Edit Review

This was one of those products that I just had to have. No reviews needed, have it regardless!:) So I pre-ordered from SpaceNK. When it finally arrived, I couldn’t help but screamed at how beautiful the palette was:)

Firstly, some packaging details:

The matte marble effect packaging is love. It is made from plastic but it is sturdy and well made. Although you would get less scratches and finger prints on it than Hourglass standard metal packaging, it could get dirty stains easily.

Here are the official claims of the palette:

• All new shades are designed to give you everything you need to finish, brighten, contour and highlight your skin in a single compact.

• Formulated with Photoluminescent Technology to capture, diffuse and soften surrounding light to refine the appearance of the skin.

• All products deliver a multidimensional luminescence to every skin tone, making it appear softer, younger and lit-from-within. Designed to be layered and work together seamlessly to imbue the entire complexion with an otherworldly glow.

Close up of the beauty:

Following are the swatches taken indoors in natural light:

The Palette is a limited edition for Holiday 2016 and contains 5 exclusive shades:

• Surreal Light (top swatch) is described as a sheer nude powder. It is a light, yellow powder with very fine gold shimmer with a matte finish. On my NC25-ish skin tone, it blends out perfectly yielding a pore-blurring, smooth and healthy-looking effect on skin. This is probably my favourite powder from the palette. It manages to make me appear a little more awake and lit-from-within (although the effect would only last for the first few hours). The shimmers are not detectable unless I shine a spot light against my skin.

• Surreal Glow (2nd swatch from top) is described as a pale peony pink blush mixed with Surreal Light. It is a very soft pinkish peach with light dusting of fine gold shimmers. It blends well but very natural looking on my skin tone. It is perfect to pair with smokey eyes or bold lips.

• Surreal Effect (3rd swatch from the top) is described as a cool, pink rose fused with a soft, warm peach. It is a cool pink with a touch of coral and light dusting with shimmers.

• Surreal Strobe Light (4th swatch from the top) is described as a glimmering peach powder. It’s a light yellowy peach powder with fine gold shimmers. The strobing property of this is much lower than the existing single strobing powders from Hourglass. Although there are more visible shimmers packed in the powder, the shimmer level is only a tad more than the other powders in the palette.  It gives you a nice luminous glow without emphasising your pores or skin texture.  It is quite hard to overdo with it.

• Surreal Bronze Light (bottom swatch) is described as a neutral tan shade fused with Surreal Light. It is cool-toned soft brown with some very fine gold shimmers embedded. The shimmers are visible under strong spot light. It is very sheer and just about showing on my skin tone. Surreal Bronze light is blendable and buildable.

All powders have very thin, finely milled and silky texture. They are a little dusty but all blends well onto my skin without being powdery. The longevity is excellent, in line with other Hourglass powders, lasting more than 7-8 hours.

Overall I adore the Hourglass Surreal Light Ambient Lighting palette.  It’s kinda perfect for this season when my skin is not as oily, dull and fatigue.  Personally I would prefer the Surreal Strobe Light to have a little more oomph. I still reach for the Ambient Lighting Edit palette to set my under-eye concealer but hey I am not complaining since I get to play with 2 goodies in one session:) If you are darker than me, I think some shades might not show. On the other hand, if you’re very pale, some shades might appear be too dark or yellow.

Hope this was helpful. Let me know if you have any questions.

Until next time beauties.

Much love always,

Sandyxo

 

This post featured a purchased item.  My opinions expressed here are honest and unbiased.