Even MOAR ideas!! On the off chance that you haven’t already heard, there’s a Sephora VIB sale this month! To give you some ideas, I’m highlighting some of my favorite makeup that you can find at Sephora this week.
I’ve been the proud, happy owner of this highlighting palette ever since the first time it came out in 2013, and I lurve it just as much today as I did five years ago.
The Hourglass Ambient Lighting Palette is $62 at full price, a.k.a. HELLA EXPENSIVE, but the Sephora VIB discount kicks it down to $49.60, which is a teensy bit easier on the wallet.
Whenever someone near or above 30 asks me for a highlighter recommendation, this palette, along with MAC Hush, are the first two things that come to mind.
Why?
Well, each of the three face powders in the Ambient Lighting Palette has a lovely opalescent glow…
Hmm, let me rephrase that, because I don’t know if “opalescent” is quite the right term. Basically, I think the finish is unlike anything else out there. Opal, or pearl, would indicate some obvious shine, and the Ambient powders aren’t even close to shiny. They’re a velvety pearl, if that makes any sense, because while you can can definitely see light bouncing off your skin when you wear them on your upper cheekbones or down the bridge of your nose, they’re nowhere close to shimmery or frosty or shiny.
It’s the subtlest of glows (here are some swatches). You might not even be able to tell at first that there’s something there, but when you look closely…there is!
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 skin tone, 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.What it is formulated WITHOUT:
– ParabensWhat else you need to know:
This palette includes Incandescent Light, a shade exclusive to this palette, and two existing shades, Dim Light and Radiant Light. This product is free of talc, gluten, fragrance, and nano particles.“I learned early on how different types of light can truly flatter the complexion. Growing up, my mother had pink light bulbs in all of the lamps throughout the house. She loved pink light because it was the softest and most flattering, and she always wanted to look good. I used this concept of lighting in Ambient Lighting Powder.”
— Carisa Janes, Hourglass Founder
Hourglass products are 100 percent cruelty-free.
I mostly use the Ambients as highlighters, either wearing them separately, or I mix them together, but I also occasionally use them to set under-eye concealer. Sometimes I’ll do a light dusting all over my face with a big fluffy brush *after* setting liquid foundation with MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural in Golden Tan, and I kid you not, my skin will look unreal — like there’s some kind of real-life Instagram filter following me around.
Granted, most makeup “civilians” don’t really notice it, but if I ran into you or any of my hardcore makeup peeps, you’d ask what I did with my skin that day RIGHT QUICK.
Oh! Eyeshadow — these work great for that too. Brow bone highlight. Inner corner highlight. Lid highlight! All the eye highlights… I love how the powders are easier to blend than mattes (because they do have that velvety pearl). I can totally lift brows and open up my eyes without having to use a frosty finish that would just emphasize all of the fine lines I’d rather not call attention to.
Oh, and this will last you roughly forever!
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
I thought the Sephora sale was over as of yesterday? Am I confused?
rouge is over, vib starts soon.
I love these Ambient Lighting powders. I have one palette and a couple of singles. I should be able to live with those, but the new ones are always tempting!
I love my ambient lighting palettes. I use it as a finishing powder and it is BOMB. I gotta ask though….is that your OG palette from 2013?
Ok I’m convinced. I want one of these now!
This is a great reco! I reach for mine daily. It is forgiving to my over 40 skin, and so easy to wear and blend. The hype on these finishing powders is well deserved, they actually perform as promised. But if you are looking for in-your-face Instagram blingy highlight/contour best to move along.
I love my Ambient Lighting palette it’s one of the staples in my collection. I use them with a fluffy brush as a finishing powder. Gives me a healthy skin look, a lit from within glow. I alternate between this and my Guerlain Meteorites as finishing powders. Good pick for the sale!
i had this on my radar to purchase during the rouge sale but alas it was out of stock online and even the local stand alone store an hour away ugh. (yes i drove there but i got a basket full of fun there anyway including the natasha denona gold palette – which i hope i love as much as i’ve been lusting after and everyone else does)
have you picked it up or what are your thoughts on her shadows in general? i have the camel palette which was my first purchase of hers and the mini star palette i snagged during the sale. i also picked up her cranberry palette when it first launched but it ended up going back. the mattes were a bit hard to work with and did’n’t have the color intensity payoff to match what you see in pan
but hopefully i can snag the hourglass palette on sale sometime soon – are there any other sales this year that you know of ? I had the original and loved it and just finished my single of dim so we shall see
I just bought my first ambient powder and I absolutely love it!! It makes my skin look airbrushed!
I cant wait to hear your opinion on the newest hourglass unlocked palette.
Hi Margaux,
It looks pretty, but I don’t plan to review it. Yeah, the colors are new, but pans in their 6-pan palettes are pretty small, which is an issue I’ve had with the holiday palettes in the past. There’s so many other things I wanna try, you know? I’ve read that it’s suitable for medium to dark skin tones, though.