The Hourglass Ambient Lighting powders and their accompanying blushes burst on the scene in a shower of sparks and frenzy some time last year and everyone and their aunty was raving about it. Ooh rah rah! So nice! So perfect. Since we didn’t have Hourglass Cosmetics available locally (and we still don’t, so I’m sorry to burst your bubble, peeps!) I didn’t pay it a lot of thought. I mean, I knew I wanted to try it at some point, but I’d do it on my own terms.
Late last year or early this year, I forget which, I decided to take the plunge to see what was the fuss about the Hourglass Ambient Lighting Blush and decided on Radiant Magenta mostly because I loved how it looked on Karen, quite forgetting that she and I have quite different skintones! LOL!
The product comes in a gunmetal metallic case that is actually plastic, so it looks luxe and hefty but is in fact light as a feather. It is quite deceptive and I’m afraid, doesn’t quite add to the luxe factor of the product or pricetag. The Ambient Lighting Blush is actually a combination of blush colour and the popular Ambient Lighting Powder so this product promises to give you a glow to the skin and soft focus colour. Imagine therefore a soft flush of colour on your cheeks, lit from within, so you look healthy and happy and in some cases, kawaii.
Well I can tell you up front that for the first few months I was using this, I wasn’t sold on it. Nope, I didn’t quite see why it got the raves, so I pretty much abandoned it. And then, a few months down the road while making an effort to use and enjoy products I already own, I took this out again and suddenly, it worked.
Radiant Magenta is described as a golden fuchsia colour and the colour is a cool toned bright pink, paired with the golden toned Radiant Ambient Lighting Powder.
A point to note is that if you buy one yourself, you may not get the same striations of colour because Hourglass says that each blush is handmade so expect variations in pattern. It reminds me a lot of marble cake – you never get the same pattern twice and correspondingly, it never tastes the same twice either!
Similarly, if your blush has more colour, you can expect it to impart more colour. If there is more powder mixed in, the effect will be softer and more subdued.
Radiant Magenta has a decidedly cool pink tone on skin, but the golden powder of the Radiant Ambient Lighting Powder does add some warmth to the colour so it ends up looking fairly neutral. I’d use neutral in the loosest term, because it is still fairly cool toned. This is quite strongly pigmented so a light hand is quite essential.
If there’s something I realised when working with this blush is that a fluffy, loose blush brush doesn’t seem to work very well. I find that brushes like that (e.g. Lunasol blush brush) diffuse the colour too much. It is nice, when all you want is a hint of a flush, but I didn’t quite like how it looked on me.
Instead, I prefer using a slightly stiffer blush brush. I use one by Hakuhodo which I THINK is a K020 (the older ones had nothing printed on the handle so I’ve no idea what I own) and has a denser but soft brush head. Similar shapes would be the Shu Uemura 20 or any blush brush that’s dense and soft. The Wayne Goss Brush #2 works well too. These fit the contours of the face better and for some reason, I feel that the Hourglass Ambient Lighting Blush has to be well placed on cheeks for it to look at its best.
Hourglass Ambient Lighting Blush – Radiant Magenta
On left, I’ve swatched Radiant Magenta heavily with my finger. I ran my finger around the surface of the blush, which feels quite powdery and soft and then swiped it down my arm. You may see what I mean about it being a cool pink tempered with a golden miasma.
On right, I’ve blended it out somewhat but it’s still fairly strongly swatched. You may see how it has this soft, blurry edges which I didn’t really do much to smudge out, and that is something I attribute to the powder element. I haven’t tried the powder yet, but this product did have me wanting to give it a go. I just have to find the right shade right? Radiant, based on what I can tell would be far too warm for me.
And here’s how it looks when I wear Radiant Magenta. It’s quite a strong colour, so I do have to use a light hand and blend it out. This colour would work for both light and darker skins, with the latter having an easier time working with it. I’m glad I gave this a second chance, and experimented with different tools, because it’s quickly become one of my favourite blushes at this time for days when I want a nicely, naturally flushed look that looks effortless. For this purpose, I think this works very well indeed 🙂
IN A NUTSHELL
The Hourglass Ambient Lighting Blush in Radiant Magenta is a cool toned fuchsia pink blush with very fine milled golden shimmer, that gives the blush a very soft focus, seamless appearance on skin. It is very easy to pick up with a brush and to apply on cheeks and is therefore easy to overdo if you are fair skinned. This one would work very well for the medium-dark skintones because it would give a lovely glowing from within flush to the skin. For fair skinned ladies, use a light hand and buff it out well and glow!
Pros: Soft focus powder on skin, Easy to wear, Pigmented colour
Cons: Different blushes will have different effects depending on how the colour and powder combine in the pan
Who will like this: Anyone who likes bold coloured blushes with some shimmer
Unlike many products that have shimmer, the golden shimmer particles in this one aren’t so large as to be so obvious on skin so all it does is softly diffuse against your skin which works well for the strong colour that Radiant Magenta is.
Have you tried the Hourglass Ambient Lighting Blush? Do you like stronger coloured blushes or lighter ones?
Incidentally, when I first got this, I was so underwhelmed that I decided one was sufficient. Now that I’ve gotten it to work, I’ve picked up a couple more. Oops! 😛 Will tell you about those in time to come 🙂
Paris B
Hourglass Ambient Lighting Blush comes in 6 shades Price: US$35 | £28 Availability: Both SpaceNK.com or Net-A-Porter.com ship internationally. I’ve bought from both.
This looks kinda peach on you! Must be the mixture of the pink and gold ^_^
Yep, it swatches a pinky peach, which is a heck lot less scary than bright fuchsia! LOL! 😀
You’re right about the raving. It’s everywhere on my newsfeed! Still, the price tag repels me from rushing to buy it. I mean, for that price, I could get, I don’t know, 3 – 4 blushes of the same colour family. I will get 1 if they go on sale though, just to try it out. 😉 Lovely review!
LOL I know right? When it first came out, every blog in the world was going on and on about them 😛 It is pricey, I agree so definitely not for everyone and especially with all the mixed reviews, it’s worth waiting and actually seeing them in person before you decide 🙂
It’s really pretty on you! I didn’t fall for their blushers (am on a blush ban, doncha know?) but I did get an Ambient Lighting powder. By the way, the lipstick you’re wearing is gorgeous… what is it?
Haha thanks Lyn 🙂 I couldn’t put myself on a blush ban – woudln’t last 2 minutes 😛 Which Ambient Lighting Powder did you get and do you like it? I’m wearing the Chanel Matte Velvet L’Exhuberante – very pretty right? 😀
It’s pretty on you! But I’m still not sold on them. I did try the Dim one? Hated it. Gave it to Marky. SHE hated it LOL. I don’t know, I don’t get these blushes. And you know, I love blushes! But I just don’t see anything special about them.
Thanks Tracy! Yes I remember reading your review when I was doing my research but I wonder if it might be the shade that you got? I do remember that you liked the powder though (or didn’t you, I could be mistaken!)
Same effect when I mix every matte blush from my stash with a powder highlighter! Shiseido Camellia, for me, is unique!
Good tip Amalia that will work too 🙂
It looks really nice on you actually. But since its not available in Malaysia, makes it quite a hassle just to purchase it 🙂
Thanks Victoria 😀 Not a hassle, just a few clicks of the keys and voila! It’s at your doorstep LOL! The hassle would be actually finding a colour that you like and that was my biggest challenge! So definitely something I’d recommend checking out in person and not buying blind (like I’m wont to do 😛 )
Looks so magical on you – a blend of healthy pink and gold with a touch of air brushed finishing. I am lost for words in fact and only marvel with joy 🙂 Happy you got it to work and I guess this will be making a collection in your books alongside the Meteorites 🙂 Have fun and looking forward to seeing more of them!
Aww thank you Jennifer, that was so poetic! 🙂 It doesn’t take the place of my beloved Meteorites but they’re nice to own and I think, nice to wear but not perhaps for everyone 😉
Hey Paris, this one is REALLY pretty on you! I have Radiant Light, but I still haven’t tried these blushes. I am pretty sure Radiant Light would be too dark and warm-toned for you, so if you want one of those Ambient Lighting Powders, you can rule Radiant Light out!
Thank you Sunny! I was very pleasantly surprised to find that it did work, once I got the brush right 🙂 Thanks too for the tip about Radiant light. I’ll be sure to avoid that like the plague!
I got 2 of the shades, so loving them =)
Yay! Another fan 😀 Which 2 do you own, Christy?
I have Luminous Flush and Diffused Heat =)
Yay! Do you find Diffused Heat sparkly? I’m going to be testing that one out soon 😀
I love bold shades, but on my cheeks. If I’m not careful, they make me look like a clown. This one is very pretty, though, and looks great on you!
Thank you and Yes! I totally get you Gio about looking like a clown LOL! I’ve been guilty of it myself!
Oh wow I wasn’t expecting the colour to turn out like that! It looks peachy – nothing like the ink cartridge magenta that I was expecting! I do like the colour though – I’d be tempted to buy it if I didn’t have an identical looking blusher from Chantecaille :p
p.s. I wub your lipstick. Is it Guerlain?
Yep it’s a peachy pink, not too bright nor too fuchsia, which would be quite scary I think LOL Ink cartridge magenta – that’s apt 😀 Ooh and Chantecaille! I’d love to try some of their makeup some day. The lipstick is Chanel Matte Velvet L’Exhuberante 😉 Thanks!
By far my most favorite blush in my collection.great review paris b! I have this in magenta and mood exposure.bought diffused a few mons ago but the amount of shimmer was so disappointing i had to return it. . I am so impressed with the formula especially with mood exposure which i always reach for,can pair it with a red lip or a bright pink neon one too. I heard they are releasing a palette for the holidAy season,would love to hear ur thoughts about it soon!
Thank you Ayen 😀 Ooh I’m a little disappointed that you didn’t like Diffused because that’s the other one I have! I haven’t given it a go yet but I”ll be sure to look out for sparkles and adjust accordingly. They have a palette for holidays?! Oh dear, I don’t know if I’ll get them since it’s not easy for me to get hold of this brand anyway but if it catches my eye, I might 😀 Thanks for the heads up!