Worth the Hype ? | Hourglass Ambient Lighting Edit - Surreal Light
Right now one of the most popular items on social media is this little marble palette, the Hourglass Ambient Lighting Edit in Surreal Light. Now the Ambient Lighting Edit Palette that came out last year was such a hit in my books that I was more than excited when Hourglass gave a sneak peek of this beautiful palette. I know there was a lot of controversy over last year's palette (which I actually loved) so I kinda no-sweat bought this one. When it came I was so extremely excited to use it, but after I finally swatched it I was pretty disappointed (to say the least).
First off when I pulled this palette out of the packaging, I couldn't help but feel like the packaging was cheap - didn't help that it had a strong plastic smell. It wasn't the usual "luxe" packaging we're used to with the gold/silver finish. The marble, albeit pretty, just felt cheap in my hands and not worth the hefty price tag ($80 USD). Opening and closing the package felt a bit heartbreaking, and I only thought of how down the line there was potential in the hinges cracking. Definite thumbs down on the materials chosen.
Swatches L-R: Finishing Powder Surreal Light, Strobe Powder Surreal Strobe Light, Bronzer Surreal Bronze Light, Blush Surreal Glow, Blush Surreal Effect
I wasn't really faffed with the size of the pans as I go through products relatively slowly, and I knew what to expect owning the first Ambient Lighting Edit Palette. What really deterred me were the shades of the palette. Aside from the Surreal Effect Blush, I had to swatch hard on these to even get them to show up on my skin - I even had to go back in and reswatch to get a second layer of product to get the color to show on my skin. Applying that much product over and over was something I knew I wasn't going to do with a brush and my face every. single. day. I'm pretty light skinned (NARS Alaska, Tarte Light Medium Neutral, Bourjois Vanilla) and these were rather difficult to show up on me. I'm all for natural beauty and makeup looks, but this was a bit too nonexistent for the high price tag. I was pretty surprised as I thought as that someone with pale skin, this one would work well - but like my blogging twin Celina, it just didn't work out for either of us.
If you're keen on getting this palette, I would highly recommend that you wait until it arrives in stores so you can give these a swatch yourself to see if they'll show up well enough on your skin. Additionally, if you're on the fence and want it but don't want to shell out for it, wait until the VIB sale and snatch it up for a slight discount. *Hands up for Hourglass to bring back the trio blushes*
Have you picked up this Surreal Light palette? If so what are your thoughts on it?