Hourglass Ambient Lighting Palette/Powders Review and Swatches!

Hourglass has taken the beauty world by storm. I'm sure that all of you have at least heard of the coveted and well sought after Ambient Lighting Powders. I swear by these, and though I tend to stick with a reasonable budget, these are worth every single penny. The palette itself runs around $58.00 and the single powders run around $45.00. Let me just say that if you want beautifully glowing skin with a subtle radiant finish, these are a must have! These are similar to MAC's Mineral Skinfinishes but BETTER. The tiny light reflecting particles are more fine and evenly distributed throughout the product--the powder reflects just the right amount of light and makes any skin tone appear more radient, even and youthful. I love these so much that I actually have a total of 2 palettes now as well as 2 single powders in Luminous Light. I also have the brush that you can purchase for smooth and even application. (I will be reviewing it soon) These powders are the Holy Makeup Grail in my kit. I use these daily on myself, my clients,  and I could not be happier with how much of a difference they make! There's only subtle highlight pearl shimmer, no glitter. It's more fine than "micro fine" and is the best and most finely milled powder I've EVER used in my entire life. They work wonderful with high flash photography, studio lighting, outdoor lighting, even florescent lighting.

Packaging: Super simple and sleek. Luminous Light on the left, Palette on the right.

I absolutely LOVE the compact design!

The actual compact design has a mirror-like finish. Bad for leaving fingerprints and smudges, but it's still so beautiful, and they curve on the sides. Very comfortable to hold in your hand.

The palette is a bit over 5 inches long and around 2 inches wide.

The single Ambient Lighting Powder compacts are about 2.5-3 inches long/wide.

Isn't it just gorgeous!? these colors are suitable for EVERY skin tone and color imaginable. Perfect for anyone to even use all three! I use the lightest as a highlight, and the darkest on the contour of my cheeks as well as on the sides of my nose. I also use these as a highlight for my brow bone when barely wearing any makeup just for a nice natural hint of light. I do apply this all over my fave as well for videos and pictures.

This palette comes with three lighting powders.

DIM LIGHT (Left): A neutral peach beige powder that blurs imperfections and highlights a radiant complexion with the perfect balance of warm and cool tones.

INCANDESCENT LIGHT (EXCLUSIVE TO THE PALETTE In The Middle): An opalescent pearl powder that brightens the complexion with a celestial glow.

RADIANT LIGHT (Right): A sun-kissed golden beige that enhances the overall complexion with believable, subtle warmth, and also extends a summer glow.

Create your perfect light with this palette featuring three shades of Ambient Lighting Powder. Each of the high-tech, soft-focus finishing powders recreates an exquisitely flattering light source. The powders can be applied individually or layered to imbue skin with a multidimensional glow.  

What it is:A palette featuring three shades of Ambient Lighting Powder, the high-tech, soft-focus finishing powder that recreates the most exquisitely flattering types of light.What it does:Ambient Lighting Powder is a groundbreaking collection of finishing powders that capture, diffuse, and soften the way light reflects on skin. Unlike traditional powders, which merely cloak imperfections, Ambient Lighting Powder utilizes photoluminescent technology to filter out harsh light and refine the appearance of the complexion. The powders deliver a multidimensional luminescence to every skintone, making it appear softer and lit from within. The finishing powders enhance skin in any type of light, including flash photography. With three universal shades available in the Ambient palette, you can create any desired effect. 

Here is the Ambient Lighting Powder in Luminous Light.

On to the Swatches:

The Ambient Lighting Palette has 3 shades, Dim Light which is on the bottom, Incandescent Light which is in the middle and Radiant Light which is the top swatch.

Hourglass Luminous Light Swatches

REVIEW! OCC Lip Tar in Electric Grandma!

For those of you who haven't read my previous post, I have fallen head over heels for these guys. I went from having zero of these to 11 in just one week! I will be reviewing all of the ones that I have and I'm always looking for more of course, so please subscribe for swatches, reviews and all that glitters!


I can totally understand why they call this color "Electric Grandma." It's such a bright vintage Coral shade similar to the colors that were popular in the 50's and 60's. This is a beautiful bright coral that's somewhat shimmery. It applies nicely and the best thing about this product is that it's going to last so freaking loooong! You only need a very tiny amount to get a nice full opaque coat on your lips with a brush.

What I've noticed about the lip tars is that they feather off of the lips terribly! I actually use a lip primer or the Elf Lip Lock Pencil and it has made an incredible difference for me. So with that being said, I do love these tars but not by themselves...


The product formula is nice and smooth, it's opaque and it's vegan and cruelty free. The price point on these seems a bit extreme, until you actually use the product--a tiny teeny amount is needed, so this is an amazing value considering how much you get in that tube!


If you are unsure if the product is worth the hype, I would suggest finding someone to sell you a sample or two. I ended up getting a sample of a deep metallic blue one called Technopagan, and while I loved the product, it's not a shade I'd wear out in public often...meaning that spending the money on that particular shade would have been a waste for me personally.




On to the beautiful beautiful swatches!:

Would you wear OCC's Electric Grandma? Have you tried any of the OCC products?

Urban Decay's Vice 3 Review and Swatches!

 I was very lucky to have the chance to own the new Urban Decay Vice 3 palette! I like it, however I feel that the formula of the shadows this time around aren't as pigmented as the previous Vice palettes. I feel weird saying that, because it's Urban Decay and they have such a name for themselves, you know? With primer and patience though, this palette is a nice gem in my collection. In fact, I've used this one more in the past few weeks than I have any of the other Vice palettes that I own. I am in LOVE with the nude shades in this one! I feel this one has more natural/nude look possibilities than the previous ones, and for those of you who prefer a bit of color and wear more natural looks daily, this one will work out very well for you!

Let's get to the Nitty Gritty, shall we?

PACKAGING:

Cute. So freaking adorable. However, I HATE how I leave fingerprints all over it. It attracts smudges like moths to a flame and looks dirty because of the amount of fingerprints. That I'm not fond of.

This actually comes with a bag. IT'S AWESOME. This is an amazing idea, and I feel that they should keep doing this from now on. You've set our standards very high, Urban Decay. You've won us over with this extra gift of amazingness. YOU CAN NEVER GO BACK.

BOX:

Previews the shades of course, reminds you that this is "Urban Decay, Beauty with an Edge."

SWATCHES:

TOP (FIRST) ROW:

Truth, Dragon, Vanity, Alien, Last Sin

SECOND ROW:

Undone, Freeze, Lucky, Alchemy, Angel

THIRD ROW:

Downfall, Heroine, Reign, Bondage, Defy

FOURTH ROW:

DTF, Brokedown, Bobby  Dazzle, Sonic, Revolver

Overall I love this palette. There's enough nude/light shades for those who are comfortable not rubbing a shit-ton of color on their face, then there's enough colors for those of us who wear brights on a daily basis. They changed the color of Bobby Dazzle, which used to be a pale nude with glitter...at least in the full sized one that I own from the Stardust Collection. This one is white, with glitter. That kinda broke my heart. I do find myself mixing Bobby Dazzle with Truth to give it a more nude beige-ish/pink color instead of just white. I enjoy the amount of nudes in this one paired with the red, blues and green shade quite a bit. I use Defy on a daily basis as a crease shade, and Last Sin is my go to lid color now. What do you guys think of the palette? Is it a go or a pass?

Review: OCC Lip Tar in Zhora!

First of all--I'm a total noob when it comes to these lip tar thingies. I went from owning none to 11 in one week flat...they are THAT awesome! Being an olive skinned gal has it's downsides though--most of the colors that I own are not exactly great on me. However, I have fallen head over heels for Zhora! It's a beautiful muted peach shade with tiny micro glitters that are peach and pink. When applied heavily, I feel the glitters are lost though, so I barely use any of this product at all because I really do enjoy a peek-a-boo of tiny coral and pink shimmer. The staying power is rediculous. I totally love the fact that I hardly have to reapply it throughout my shift at work, and it's a nice lightweight product that isn't heavy or tacky. I'm just not a gloss kinda gal, but these feel different than your typical gloss. When they color does begin to fade, it leaves behind super cute sparkles. I then apply a clear balm on top of my lips to hydrate and it looks adorable. OCC is also vegan and cruelty free, which is a pretty nice thing. Seriously, these have to be good if I end up going from 0-to-11 in 7 days flat. On to the swatches!

I can't wait to swatch the rest of the shades!!!