Hourglass Ambient Lighting Blush Palette: First Impressions, Swatches, Review

Words, they fail me. I always find these posts, about the much coveted and hyped cosmetics, the hardest to write. Suffice to say in opening, the Hourglass Ambient Lighting Blush Palette is worth the hype. Read on for my first impressions, swatches and on the face pics.

I’m no stranger to the Hourglass Ambient Lighting range. Yes I scrambled to get the original Ambient Lighting Palette, and the individual Ambient Lighting Blushes. So when I saw that a blush palette, containing no shades I already own, was being released, I’m not ashamed to say I stalked the Space NK website daily. My vice is cosmetics, what’s yours?

And I’m glad I did. I audibly oohed and aahed when I opened this baby. Can you see why? A trio of gorgeous blushes marbled with the renowned soft-focus, face perfecting, Ambient Lighting powders. This marriage results in a blush that looks oh so natural and brightening on the skin. No chalky Aunt Sally cheeks here. Left to right we have: Luminous Flush “champagne rose blush fused with Luminous Light to evoke a candlelit glimmer”, Incandescent Electra (exclusive to the palette) “cool peach blush blended with Incandescent Light for a celestial glow”, and Mood Exposure “soft plum blush fused with Mood Light to brighten the complexion”. Certainly sounds good from the descriptions. How do they play out on the skin?

Hourglass Ambient Lighting Blush Palette Swatches

Hourglass Ambient Lighting Blush Palette – Luminous Flush

Luminous Flush is a very pretty champagne rose-pink, and would be absolutely stunning on pale complexions for that healthy-pink cheeked, just in from the cold, glow.

Hourglass Ambient Lighting Blush Palette – Incandescent Electra

Incandescent Electra disappointed me. It seems my pan doesn’t have as much of the blush shade marbled with the Ambient Lighting powder for the colour to come through. However it does make a gorgeous peach-tinted highlight. Check out Karen from Lovely Girlie Bits’s review to see a more pigmented pan.

Hourglass Ambient Lighting Blush Palette – Mood Exposure

Now THIS shade I’m excited about. I hesitated to buy the full sized Mood Exposure blush when it was released, as my complexion can be a bit yellow, and I feared the plumy shade looking dirty on me. I really shouldn’t have. This blush gives you such a natural contoured cheek effect, while still being quite luminous and blush-like. Afraid of contour but still curious? Buy this baby. Seriously. Mega love.

Because of shade and tone selection in this trio it’s actually quite possible to use all three together as a highlight, blush and contour. Ya know, if you’re mad about makeup and just can’t apply one and go, like me. Any excuse to justify spending £56/€72 on blush. I just converted the price to Euro for this post, and I now I feel a bit ill. However, I hand on heart use my original Ambient Lighting Palette every day, and haven’t come close to hitting pan in a year, so this is good value. Really. Breathe Kat.

And so ends my first impressions post. I’m planning to follow up with a YouTube video once I’ve gotten to know this baby a little better. Let me know if that’s something you’d like to watch.

Will you be rushing out to get your hands on one of the limited edition Ambient Lighting Blush Palettes in Space NK when they drop? Have you already ordered yours online? Or does the hype turn you off altogether? Let me know!