Review | Hourglass Ambient Lighting Edit Surreal Light

The holidays quickly approaching and with that being said, we have come to the time of the year that pretty much every makeup brand releases their beautiful limited-edition palettes and holiday sets. Out of the holiday palettes I've seen so far, none are more beautiful than this year's palette by Hourglass. This year's palette includes a universally-flattering powder, bronzer, two blushes, and a highlighter. Not only are the powders stunning, but so it the beautiful marbled packaging. Being the marbled obsessed blogger that I am, I nearly lost my shit when the promotional images started appearing all over my Instagram feed. I honestly wonder why a brand hadn't tapped into the marbled obsession sooner, but leave it up to Hourglass to create an elegant looking palette for the holidays.


Here's my full review on the Hourglass Ambient Lighting Edit- Surreal Light. I will be showing real-life swatches and talking through the formulas of each powder. There's a lot of mixed reviews online about the palette, so I will also be discussing the issues people have brought up.

Hourglass Ambient Lighting Edit- Surreal Light
Price: $80
Powders Included:
Ambient Lighting Powder in Surreal Light (0.14 oz/ 4 g): Sheer nude powder that evokes magic hour lighting
Ambient Lighting Bronzer in Surreal Bronze Light (0.04 oz/ 1.4 g): Neutral tan with Surreal Light
Ambient Lighting Blush in Surreal Glow (0.04 oz/ 1.4 g): Pale peony pink with Surreal Light
Ambient Lighting Blush in Surreal Effect (0.04 oz/ 1.4 g): Cool Pink with warm peach tones
Ambient Strobe Lighting Powder in Surreal Strobe Light (0.04 oz/ 1.4 g): Peach toned highlighter

The full-size Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powder retails for $46 and contains 0.35 oz/ 10 g of product. The travel-size Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powder retails for $22 and contains 0.049 oz/ 1.4 g of product (same as the smaller powders in the palette). The full-size Hourglass Ambient Lighting Blush retails for $38 and contains 0.15 oz/ 4.25 g of product. The full-size Hourglass Ambient Lighting Bronzer retails for $50 and contains 0.39 oz/ 11 g of product. The travel-size Hourglass Ambient Lighting Bronzer retails for $24 and contains 0.05 oz/ 1.4 g of product. The full-size Hourglass Ambient Strobe Lighting Powder retails for $38 and contains 0.16 oz / 4.54 g of product.

Left to right: Ambient Strobe Lighting Powder in Surreal Strobe Light, Ambient Lighting Bronzer in Surreal Bronze Light, Ambient Lighting Blush in Surreal Effect, Ambient Lighting Blush in Surreal Glow, and Ambient Lighting Powder in Surreal Light.

Swatches were done using my fingers and by swiping down my arm once. In my experience the Hourglass powder products swatch horribly, so you'll need to apply it on your face to see their full effect. It's hard to see their innovative powder formula by doing a simple finger swatch on your arm or the back of your hand.

Will you be adding the Hourglass Ambient Lighting Edit- Surreal Light to your holiday wishlist? Let me know in the comments below.