I hope you are all having a wonderful week. Mine went very fast since I worked only for two days in the office and drove to a near by city to have a three-day-training after that. The second day is over today. Although I like leaning new things and connecting with new people, a training requires a constant attention so I feel a little drained. It was also a mistake on my side that I booked the training right on time for our wedding anniversary, which was yesterday *cough cough*. I made it somehow up to hubby by booking a hard-to-reserve restaurant (because of its Michelin Guide Star) three week ahead for last weekend. I can't wait for the weekend to take some rest but it won't be easy since I will be traveling to Frankfurt on Saturday for a beauty fair.
One of the items I purchased during my last travel to the States was Hourglass Ambient Lighting Bronzer in Luminous Bronze Light. Upon trying both of the bronzers out, me and a lovely SA in Sephora, we decided that the lighter version looked more natural on me. Hourglass Ambient range is growing on me lately. I am still not so much into their finishing powders but the blushes I reviewed (not all positive) some time ago (here) became recently the ones I reach for quiet often. The reason was that, I used them a few times just to wonder which lovely glowy blush it had on my cheeks when I was editing the photos afterwards. Needless to say, it often turned out to be one of the Hourglass Ambient Lighting Blushes. So I was expecting a similar quality from the bronzer too. How do I feel about it after trying it out? After the jump...
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| Hourglass Ambient Lighting Bronzer Luminous Bronze Light |
Hourglass Ambient Lighting Bronzers come in larger pans than their blushes and have 11 g of product. You can see the size difference in this photo. I believe it might be close to their Ambient Lighting Powders. I only own those in a palette so couldn't check it out for you. I really like the modern and chic looking packaging of Hourglass products although it collects a bit of finger prints but I don't care about those sort of things (do you?). The closure is not magnetic but it is one of the easiest to open and closes very safely.
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| Hourglass Ambient Lighting Bronzer Luminous Bronze Light |
If you know Hourglass Ambient Lighting Blushes, know that the strength of these is to give you a natural looking healthy glow without disco ball effect. Also since these products are mixed with their Ambient Powders, they have a bit of a mattifying effect, which can be good if you have combination skin. I am normal to dry and I don't have large pores, so it is hard for me to talk about this aspect. After trying out Luminous Bronze Light in store at Sephora and liking it, I came home to find out that it is quiet... warm...
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| Swatch: Hourglass Ambient Lighting Bronzer Luminous Bronze Light |
Now not that I can't wear warm blushes but I see this one turning orange if you have very fair skin, although it is more golden than orange so maybe fair to medium skins (like myself) can get along with it. It also has the most glow finish of all the bronzers I have on rotation at the moment. My absolute love MAC Studio Sculpt Delicates (reviewed here) is one of the warmest shades I am loving at the moment, together with Smashbox Bronze Lights Deep Matte (reviewed here). Hourglass Ambient Light is deeper and more shimmery than both. You can see that MAC Studio Finish offers something ike a satin finish whereas Hourglass Ambient Light is really shimmery. It is also light, which makes it a great product for an overall bronze & glow if you have deeper skin than mine. On me it would be too dark to use it that way.
Other comparison swatches below show that Tom Ford Gold Dust (review coming up soon) and Guerlain Terracotta 02 (reviewed here) are both deeper and less shimmery.
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| Swatch Comparison: Hourglass Ambient Lighting Bronzer Luminous Bronze Light |
I have already mentioned about the dupe alert between Chanel Lumber D'Ete and Hourglass Ambient Light Bronzer. They are very close but Hourglass is a little more shimmery. Guerlain Joli Teint 03 Natural Brunettes (reviewed here) is lighter, Guerlain 4 Seasons 03 Natural Brunettes (reviewed here) is deeper.
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| Swatch Comparison: Hourglass Ambient Lighting Bronzer Luminous Bronze Light |
Now I mentioned about eating at a starred restaurant last weekend. Here is the look I wore. You can see all the products here at Instagram. On the eyes I am wearing Tom Ford Crushed Indigo (reviewed here). On the lips I have one of RMK Glow Lipsticks, review is coming up soon.
I was rushing to the restaurant and you can see that the bronzer is not properly blended (sorry for that) so it looks a bit too warm for my liking. I like wearing a good amount of bronzer with blue eye shadows, think it makes them work better on my skin tone but this one was a bit too much somehow. Nevertheless it gives a nice glow without using highlighter. Still I prefer matte to satin bronzers and applying highlighter wherever I wish afterwards. That way I have more control where I apply it. Also since I place bronzers more like a contouring product, sheen glow doesn't always look all that natural.
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| FOTD: Hourglass Ambient Lighting Bronzer Luminous Bronze Light |
Final thoughts: Hourglass Ambient Lighting Bronzer Luminous Bronze Light is one of the lightest, warmest and most shimmery bronzers in my collection. If you are warm and fair and like a healthy glow on your cheeks, you might want to check it out. If you are deeper and you are in the market for an overall powder, you might like it too. I prefer matte bronzers because of the way I apply bronzers but remember I said I don't like them and ended up loving the Hourglass blushes too? So maybe bronzer will also grow up on me, who knows.
Do you like your bronzers matte or glowy? Why?
Disclaimer: The product in this post was purchased by me.
