Every year Hourglass releases a LE palette for the Holidays featuring their Ambient Lighting powders. I have every palette they’ve released and of course when I saw that this year’s palette has marble packaging I had to get it.
Besides the very pretty marble packaging, this year they’re featuring totally new shades that are exclusive to this palette so they are never before seen shades which was not the case with the previous palettes.
The Hourglass Ambient Lighting Edit-Surreal Light palette has one face powder, two blushes, a bronzer and a highlighter, everything that you need in a palette.
I got last year’s palette which is a similar concept and that ended up being my most used palette. That’s the palette that I take with me when I travel because I get everything that I need for face powders. Also I would like to mention that this year’s palette is the same size as last year’s. The difference is that this year you get a bigger pan of the face powder vs last year you got two smaller face powders.
The shades featured in the Surreal Light palette are:
– 0.14 oz/ 4 g in Ambient Lighting Powder in Surreal Light (sheer nude)
– 0.04 oz/ 1.4 g in Ambient Lighting Bronzer in Surreal Bronze Light (neutral tan with Surreal Light)
– 2 x 0.04 oz/ 1.4 g Ambient Lighting Blush in Surreal Glow (pale peony pink with Surreal Light), Surreal Effect (cool, pink rose with soft, warm peach)
– 0.04 oz/ 1.4 g in Ambient Strobe Lighting Powder in Surreal Strobe Light (glimmering peach)
I haven’t found a powder from Hourglass that I didn’t love and that’s also the case with this palette. Every powder in the palette performs and looks beautifully on the skin. The thing that is different with the Hourglass powders is that their formula is very unique and looks super natural on the skin. The Surreal Palette is a palette for achieving a natural glowy look so the powders are all very subtle but beautiful.
The Ambient Powder in Surreal light is great for using all over the face. It doesn’t add any coverage, it just gives a beautiful glow to the skin and even blurs imperfection, giving the illusion of perfect skin.
The two blushes that come in the palette are also really nice. Surreal Glow is the neutral blush that you would wear with every makeup look and Surreal Effect adds just a subtle pop of color to the cheeks while leaving you with a beautiful glow. If you’re not familiar with the Hourglass Ambient Blushes formula, they’re subtle in color but give the most beautiful glow to your cheeks without any shimmer.
Surreal Bronze is a nice bronzer for adding natural looking warmth to the skin. It’s the perfect neutral shade that’s not too warm and not too cool. It also adds a gorgeous glow to the skin like the blushes without looking shimmery.
Surreal Strobe Light is a peachy golden highlighter that has more intense payoff than the other Hourglass highlighters. It still looks more natural than your regular powder highlighter which I really like for the daytime. The finish is more of a glow than the intense metallic finish that other powder highlighters give.
Swatches L to R: Ambient Lighting Powder in Surreal light, Surreal Glow, Surreal Effect, Surreal Bronze, Surreal Strobe Light
I didn’t doubt that I was going to like this palette. Hourglass hasn’t disappointed me with any of their releases so I was at ease with paying the pricy tag.
Since the powders in the palette are on the lighter side I would recommend it for people with fair, light up to medium skin tone. The more darker you are the more subtle the powders will be on your skin. Surreal Light is a palette for people who prefer the natural look, so if you’re like me you will end up loving it.
The Hourglass Ambient Lighting Edit-Surreal Light palette is available at Sephora, Space NK and hourglasscosmetics.com and it’s priced at $80.