The Year of the Highlighter - 2016

Of all the make up products in your drawer what is the one you get most excited about? Some people love mascara, some foundation, for me it has to be highlighter. I am always swatching products and searching for the most creamy, pigmented but not too shimmery glow that I long for. 

From the top L-R Hourglass Ambient Lighting Edit, Jaclyn Hill X Becca, Charlotte Tilbury Film Star Bronze & Glow Norman Parkinson Creme, Nars Steven Klein, Charlotte Tilbury Film Star Bronze & Blow, Becca Shimmering Skin Perfector, Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powder, MAC Mineralize Skinfinish x 2, Becca Champagne Pop 

In the makeup world highlight is often pushed aside for it's cousin the contour which has taken the world by storm! (Thanks Kardashians!) But as a girl with a rather round face I have tried and tried and I have come to the conclusion that it doesn't matter how many ashy grey powders I try, I am not going to grow cheek bones any time soon! So...in comes the highlight! For me nothing beats a highlighted face. There is something so youthful and effortless about simple make up with an intense highlight. Think the boho beach babe - just rolled out of bed look!

Hourglass Ambient Lighting Edit Palette

When we were in Orlando in November we were lucky to be able to get our hands on the new (and possibly limited edition for the holidays?) Hourglass Ambient Lighting Edit Palette. To be honest, this palette has not had the best reviews. The main cause of contention has been that the amount of product in the palette is not the best value for money but lets be honest, how often do you use the entire contents of a palette anyway? Therefore the gripes did not put us off and we were excited to pick it up on one of our visits

to Sephora. 

 

It comes in beautiful gold shiny packaging and has a great size mirror that is ideal to use on the go. The palette holds three of their famous Ambient Lighting Powders, two Ambient Lighting Blushes and one Ambient Lighting Bronzer. Hourglass have included the powder shades; Dim Light, Iridescent Light and Diffused Light and the blush shades; Mood Exposure (a pinkish plum) and Luminous Flush (a coral pink). The palette is compelted with the bronzer in Luminous Bronze Light (a medium bronze powder with luminous light) 

L-R top row; Dim Light, Iridescent Light, Diffused Light
L-R bottom row; Mood Exposure, Luminous Flush, Luminous Bronze Light

After using this palette for a month now one negative is that the pans are quite small in size so it can be a little tricky for your brush to pick up just one colour. However with the Ambient Lighting Powers they also work really beautifully if swirled together so thats not so much of a problem with the powders. The blush and bronzer can be more difficult but using a slanted blush/bronzer brush means that you can target the shade you want and pick up the right amount! 

The palette has been used almost every day since we bought it making it a staple in our make up collection and one of our favourite recent purchases. Despite our initial reservations we are really pleased that we picked this up and if you are looking to treat yourself this Christmas then we would definitely recommend it and it's not too late to pick it up as a last minute Christmas present for a beauty loving friend! They will love you for it!

 

The Hourglass Ambient Lighting Edit Palette is sold in Space NK for £65 and in Sephora (currently sold out) for $80