Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powder: Ethereal Light Review

Today I thought I’d review a product that I’ve had for quite some time. Probably before Christmas?!? I picked up the Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powder in Ethereal Light because I had heard so many beauty bloggers and makeup artists talk about these powders and I couldn’t stand not knowing what all the hype was about.  Since I’ve been using this product, I can fully understand why everyone loves them.

 

 

 

The Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powder collection has 6 “colors” to choose from. When I think of these powders, the easiest way I can think of to describe them is to think about what lighting does to the skin. Lighting can really make the skin glow and just become more luminescent. That’s why Makeup Artists and Photographers always have the best lighting available to them. The Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powders do just that. They are basically mimicking what light does to the skin. With six colors to choose from, you can be assured there is a correct and best “lighting” for you to choose from.

I didn’t do as much research on these powders as I should have, before I purchased mine.  I was wanting a fantastic highlighting powder, but instead, the Ethereal Light (on my skin tone at least) is more of a “white” setting powder. What I really wanted was a color that was going to give me a fantastic “glow” to my skin. Ethereal Light was more of a matte color on me. It’s described as a “Cool White Powder” and that’s exactly what it is.  It’s a powder unlike any powder I’ve used before. It’s velvety and applies gorgeous on my skin.  Have you had trouble with setting powders being to chalky and possibly too white? You won’t have that problem with this one.  Anyone who has issues with oily skin or just wants to make sure their makeup stays in place will love this powder

The price tag on these powders are high at $45.00.  It’s what I consider a splurge product.  Yes, it’s a fantastic product, but if that doesn’t work for your budget, there are other products out there that will give you SIMILAR results. I’m not going to say exact because I haven’t used enough of the line to know all of the colors. However, I’m a big fan of MAC Mineralize Skin Finish. You can get this product in a variety of shades (read here or here) and it really gives a fantastic dimension to the skin tone. I use the Light Plus to set my makeup and for touch up’s throughout the day. These have a price tag of $30.00. If you needed to go a little bit lower, I’ve heard fantastic things about some of the Milani Blushes being dupes for the Hourglass Powders (I haven’t tried this yet, but am going to pick up a couple) and these are about $7.99.

I didn’t pick up the Ambient Powder Brush that Hourglass sells,  but I was able to see it at Sephora and it looked gorgeous. It has a price tag of $35.00.  I just had an issue spending $80.00 on a powder and a brush, so I went with just the powder. I have PLENTY of brushes at home and I’ve had no issues with using those. Now, this brush might be amazing and apply this product even better, but at the time, I didn’t feel I needed another brush. Just use a brush that will really pack in the product onto the skin, don’t sweep this all over the face. Gently pat this on areas you want to either set the makeup or highlight.

Would I recommend purchasing this product?  I think it all really depends on your budget. If the price tag doesn’t scare you off, I say pick up one and give it a try! They are really some of the best powders I’ve seen and used. The fact that they blend so nicely into the skin and are so soft is a huge plus for me. However, if you are in need a budget friendly option, I think that there are other products out there that will give you similar results. I always say that you don’t have to spend a fortune on makeup because there will always be companies out there trying to re-create the popular makeup items that are out there. I’ll try to pick up some of the “dupes” people are saying are very similar and come back with an updated review.

Now, it was totally my fault that I didn’t get the correct shade. Since I was wanting a shade that has more a glow to it, I think I’ll pick up either the Luminous or Diffused Light instead. I haven’t been in a giant hurry to do this, but I will eventually get around to it. I hope that if you’ve been on the fence about buying this product that this review helped! Make sure you do your research before you purchase! Especially with this line because, you want to make sure you are getting the correct shade for the result you are wanting.  I’d also suggest swatching them maybe on your hands (if you can visit a store that sells them) and go out into an area where there is natural light. You’ll get a better result of what it will look like on your complexion.

I’m sure you’ve heard about the Hourglass Ambient Lighting Blushes by now.  I haven’t tried them yet, BUT they are on my list of items to pick up. I’ll have a review of one soon! Have you used either any of the Hourglass powders or blushes? If so, which one did you pick up? I’d love to know!