highlight

beauty, Review

Glow GLEAM Kit, Review and Swatches

Ok so can we discuss these highlighter palettes by Anastasia Beverly Hills? I had no intention of purchasing these highlighters at IMATS and then bam! I am now the proud owner of the Gleam Glow Kit. Naturally I hovered over the “That Glow” palette for a while but for some reason the soft highlight and rosy tones in the Gleam kit called my name. These colors are meant to complement all skin tones so I had no doubt that the Gleam kit would suit my tan exterior. 

COLORS:
Hard Candy – A rosey pink highlight

Mimosa – Golden peach color

Starburst – Silvery pink highlight  

Crushed Pearl – Light champagne color 

Often times I’ll mix and match a ton of colors for a highlight that can be seen from space :)  For a more intense highlight, just apply water to your makeup brush before swiping the highlight color, this will help make the colors pop. Or you can cover your face in highlight and go running in the dark, the highlight serves as reflective running gear so cars and deer can see you from afar. I’m joking.. But that would be funny if it worked that way :) 

beauty

Hourglass Ambient Lighting Edit for Holiday 2015

For a Holiday product, Hourglass came out with a limited edition Ambient lighting palette pretty early on in the season. And I’m not mad at it :)

According to Hourglass, this palette is a, “Wardrobe of handmade powders, blushes, bronzer, and the debut of the new Ambient Strobe Lighting Powder". And it's, " Designed to give you everything you need to finish, brighten, contour and highlight your skin in a single compact.”

I’m obsessed with Hourglass, I never leave a makeup look untouched with their product. Each powder has optically transparent particles that help with seamless blending, especially when it comes to their blush and bronzer options. 

Now on to the review:

Packaging
The packaging is DIVIIIIINE! The 6 powders are protected in this chocolate/rose gold casing that includes a large mirror. Not only are the powders gorgeous, the packaging is just as beautiful and luxurious as the product itself.

Formula:
These powders have "Photoluminescent Technology” to help refine the appearance of your skin’s complexion, leaving you with a glowing finish. This basically means that the powders help to filter out the harsh lines on your face. AKA it’s like you’re walking around with the “Valencia” filter on your face all throughout the day ;)

Color:
The colors provided in the palette are:

Ambient Lighting Powder in Dim Light
Ambient Strobe Lighting Powder in Iridescent Strobe Light
Ambient Lighting Powder in Diffused Light
Ambient Lighting Blush in Luminous Flush
Ambient Lighting Blush in Mood Exposure
Ambient Lighting Bronzer in Luminous Bronze Light

The only new color in the Edit palette is the "Ambient Strobe Lighting Powder in Iridescent Strobe Light” which is meant for strobing, and I must say the product comes off very glowy and shimmery at the same time. All in all each powder also adds luminescence to every skin tone which makes it universally flattering (Which also puts this palette high on my list of faves). 

Longevity 
The day I decided to wear basically every color in the palette, it was 97 degrees in San Francisco and I forgot to set my makeup with setting spray. I was sure my makeup would melt off! Luckily for my skin, the makeup stayed in place and after 6-7 hours, the color started to dulled out just a bit. Altogether the glow lasted 11+ hours on my face in the raging heat and through date night with le boo.

Cons
The size of each of the powders in the palette is 0.049 oz. In a permanent individual lighting powder is 0.35 oz. The limited edition sizes vs the permanent sizes are drastically different. And for $80.00 per palette I would hope that Hourglass would provide more product for the price. I totally missed taking a picture of my individual lighting powder against my palette, but www.Beautzine.com had a beautiful comparison on their website, so I’ve included it below.

Image courtesy of www.Beautzine.com 

Image courtesy of www.Beautzine.com 

Overall
I'm obsessed. Although i was a bit disappointed in the product sizes, I am still very happy with the product. I love the pigment, texture, finish and most of all, the GLOW. This product is a must have in your kit because it caters to most (if not ALL) skin tones, and provides a filtered light that radiates a glow better than any powder i've seen on the market.