Hourglass Ambient Lighting Edit Palette Swatches & Review

Purchased Myself

Hello readers,
When the 2015 Holiday Hourglass Edit Palette was announced I knew that I was going to have to try it out.  Highlighter and blush are on my face pretty much every day and I'd heard such good things about the Hourglass ambient light powders in the past so I figured this was a great way to try out a variety of shades at once.

This palette features a shiny bronze plastic case.  It feels quite sturdy and well made.  The inside of the lid is mirrored which is a nice touch.  The only thing I dislike about this case is that due the high shine, it gets covered in obvious fingerprints and smudges almost instantly.

The palette cotains 3 powders, 2 blushes and 1 bronzer.  Each shade contains 0.049oz.  The shades are describes as follows.

Dim Light: A neutral peach beige powder that blurs imperfections and highlights the complexion.

Strobe Lighting Powder in Iridescent Strobe Light: A rose pearl powder that gives a refined glow to the complexion.

Diffused Light: A soft, warm, pale yellow powder that conceals redness and gives skin clarity.

Mood Exposure: A soft plum blush fused with mood light to brighten the complexion.

Luminous Flush: A champagne rose blush fused with luminous light to evoke a candlelit glimmer.

Luminous Bronze Light: A medium tan shade fused with luminous light for a softer, candlelit warmth.

Priced at $80USD ($95CAD) the value of this palette isn't great.  When compared to the singles shades packages of the same products, this palette costs significantly more per ounce of product.

Dim Light:
Individual price $45/0.35oz = $128.57/oz
Edit palette price: $13.33/0.049oz = $272.04/oz

Strobe Lighting Powder in Iridescent Strobe Light:
Not available on it's own - assume comparable to other Ambient Lighting Powders -  $45/0.35oz = $128.57/oz
Edit palette price: $13.33/0.049oz = $272.04/oz

Diffused Light:
Individual price $45/0.35oz = $128.57/oz
Edit palette price: $13.33/0.049oz = $272.04/oz

Mood Exposure:
Individual price $35/0.15oz = $233.33/oz
Edit palette price: $13.33/0.049oz = $272.04/oz
 
Luminous Flush:
Individual price $35/0.15oz = $233.33/oz
Edit palette price: $13.33/0.049oz = $272.04/oz 

Luminous Bronze Light:
Individual price $50/0.39oz = $128.21/oz
Edit palette price: $13.33/0.049oz = $272.04/oz

Still interested? Let's take a look at some swatches.

Hourglass Ambient Light Edit Palette - Top Row

Swatch: Applied with finger over bare skin

Hourglass Ambient Light Edit Palette - Bottom Row

Swatch: Applied with finger over bare skin

Dim Light

Swatch: Applied with finger over bare skin

Dim light is a buttery neutral beige with a soft sheen.  This shade pretty much matches my skin tone.  Getting a swatch photo that showed it at all was not easy.  For me, this adds a very subtle dewy glow.

Iridescent Light

Swatch: Applied with finger over bare skin

Iridescent Light is a pale pink with a soft shimmer.  This is definitely has the most shimmer of the top row highlighter shades, but it is a soft shimmer, not overly sparkly.  It would make a great top of cheekbone or browbone highlight.

Diffused Light

Swatch: Applied with finger over bare skin

Diffused light is a pale yellow leaning beige with minimal sheen.  I found when swatched the yellow was not nearly as evident as in the pan.  For my medium skin tone this is best used as a highlight, for those with lighter skin it could be used all over.

Mood Exposure

Swatch: Applied with finger over bare skin

Mood exposure is a cool toned pink and plum bush with a soft sheen.  This was the blush I was most excited for out of the palette.  It is fairly sheer when blended out but can be built up.

Luminous Flush

Swatch: Applied with finger over bare skin

Luminous flush is a mix of rose pink and champagne with a subtle sheen.  Though it looks much brighter than Mood Exposure in the palette, it ended up being quite similar once swatched.  It does have some brighter pink undertones but not nearly as bright as in the pan.  Also like Mood Exposure, this blush is quite sheer but can be built up.

Luminous Bronze Light

Swatch: Applied with finger over bare skin

Luminous Bronze Light is a copper and muted pink bronzer with a strong shimmer.  This had the most shimmer out of all shades in the palette.  The copper definitely overtakes the pink in this shade once swatched.  This bronzer was more pigmented than the blushes.  If a strong shimmer isn't your thing you'll want to use a light hand with this one.

Conclusion

It really comes down to value vs. convenience for this palette.  The formulas on the powders were great and there's a great variety of shades.  However, if you don't see yourself using all the shades in the palette then you're probably better off buying the individual shades you see yourself using on their own.  If the Iridescent Light powder is a must have or you thing the convenience of having all these shades in one place is worth it to you, then this palette is definitely an option.  The Hourglass Ambient Lighting Edit Palette is available at Hourglass and Sephora.

Happy polishing,

Michelle