HOLY GRAIL: Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powder

When I hear the word Holy Grail beauty product, I think of Hourglass Ambient Lighting powders. No product has been more of a mainstay in my beauty routine. 

I have been using the Hourglass Ambient Lighting powder for years now - since around 2013 or 2014 and it has been a favorite of mine ever since. I first tried the three powder palette one and LOVED it, and as I loved the color Dim Light so much I purchased a full sized one. I have since given the palette to my mom as I thought she'd enjoy it more. 

First of all, I'm sure you are all aware of what these are. After all they have been so hyped up a few years ago in the online community. But in case you are unfamiliar, they are Finishing Powders (not setting powders, I'll get into that) that use photoluminescent technology to filter out harsh light. The various shades correspond to different lighting effects on the skin and each shade is supposed to mimic that effect. For example Dim Light is great at blurring imperfections. Hourglass has since launched some other products in the ambient range, such as blushes, bronzers and strobe powders. 

I love these a lot as a final step in my makeup routine either when I'm wearing minimal makeup (just some light foundation and mascara) or when I have a full face on. When I'm wearing minimal makeup it just makes my complexion healthier and makes my skin glow. When I have more on, it also makes my skin look more radiant. And the best part is that it doesn't accentuate my dry patches whatsoever. It also never looks powdery, even if I've accidentally put way too much on. 

All the colors I have tried are great and I use them for different purposes kind of:

• Dim Light: probably the best one - I use this as a last step to really blur out imperfections and makes my skin glow, but in the most subtle way. I use this all over the face with a Hakuhodo J104 powder brush (as pictured) by recommendation of the sweetest beauty counter SA ever from Hakuhodo. Because this color is closest to my skin tone, I do think it's best used with a large, medium to dense brush like this because it will pick up and deposit a good amount of the product (at least for me). You could just use the brush they sell from Hourglass or any large, fluffy powder brush. 
• Radiant Light: it's a bit dark compared to my skin tone so I'd personally use this as a topper for bronzer or when I feel like my foundation is too pale I'll use this all over because it gives minimal color but the difference is there. 
• Incandescent Light: amazing as a highlighter. They've recently released this color as an individual strobe powder. $38 for 0.16 oz. Honestly probably the best highlighter I've ever had. It's subtle without a lot of shimmer like most highlighters have and the effect is an amped-up version of the original powders. Highly recommend the palette for this color alone. 

For makeup beginners, this is such a great one to get because it's hard to mess up. I'd suggest getting the palette which contains radiant light (a darker bronze-y shade), incandescent light (I'd call this a highlighter) and dim light (neutral beige-y skintone color). Comparing the palette vs individual powders the individual powders are actually cheaper per oz. 

I took these prices from sephora.com:

• powders: $46 for 0.35 oz works out to $131 per oz 
• strobe: $38 for 0.16 oz or $238 per oz
• palette: $62 for 0.33 oz (0.11x3) or $187 per oz

so for two powders and one strobe powder: (0.11*2*$131)+(0.11*$238) this works out to $55. Not much of a difference compared to $62, but if you're nitpicky like me and don't see yourself using more than one or two colors it might be something to consider, especially since all the colors are now available individually. 

I also went to the hourglass website and saw that there is now an option to customize the three pan palettes for $70 with three Ambient powders of your choice. Obviously, value wise it's worse than getting three of the individual powders, but again it presents a less capital intensive choice to satisfy your addiction or if you truly want more than one shade. 

However I don't really reasonably see anyone hitting pan on even the smaller palette's pans within 1-2 years so I say the palette is still worth it IF you are a beginner and do not know what you want. Or, maybe you are an addict and want more than one powder then go ahead as it is less total cost.

There have been a couple of new alternatives to these in the past couple of years - and one that really caught my eye is the Laura Mercier Candleglow (I think I'll be purchasing this in the next couple of months or so and will try to do a comparison). Alternatively, Burberry Nude Powder and Chanel Les Beiges might be interesting to look at too.

Overall, a holy grail item for me and I definitely want to get more shades in the future - I'm eyeing mood and diffused light!