I seem to have a love and hate kind of relationship with Hourglass. In spite of the fact that all products by the brand consistently receive raving reviews, I didn't quite like a number of them. Their lip products and the famous Immaculate cream to powder foundation failed to live up to the hype. But I'm a great fan of their Ambient Lighting Powder in Diffused Light - the only one of the six that I've got. That's why, when I heard that the brand was releasing six new blushes, based on the same concept and pairing each of the original finishing powders, I instantly felt I needed these in my collection.
Initially I picked two of them, but now I know for sure that at least two more will join my collection when I have some extra funds.
The blushes come in the packaging that is very similar to that of the original powders, the only differences being that the compacts are smaller and the metalliic plastic case is more golden.
They look luxurious and please my eye a lot.
The shades I picked are Mood Exposure and Luminous Flush. The key for my selection was to pick thades that were mixed with Ambient Lighting powders other than the one I've got - to give myself the opportunity to see what the powders are like - and to get something that would be quite unique in my stash. I was immediately drawn to Mood Exposure, but I hesitated a lot whether to pick Radiant Magenta or Luminous Flush, but I finally went for the less pigmented one and I'm glad I did cause, boy, they do deliver!
The fun part about these blushes is that they are marbles, which means that if you don't buy the product personally and ask the assistant to open the compacts for you, you never know what you'll get. As you can see in case of my Mood Exposure I got more blush than powder, while it's just the other way round with Luminous Flush. This is the main reason why reviewers might have completely different impressions concerning the pigmantation and the overall shade.
Both of my blushes are of amazing quality. They are very pigmented, but when applied with a light hand can be perfectly wearable. They blend heavenly well and last as long as I wish to wear make-up. Seriously, ni need for touch-ups all day long, no symptoms of fading or migrating towards my pores.
They are supposed to offer some luminosity to your face, but they're by no means highlighters nor glitters. Both of my powders give beautiful satin finish that looks nice and fresh on the skin and makes it glow from within.
Mood Exposure - swatched below in powder, blush and all-blended sequence - is a unique rosy plum shade. It offers a nice natural blush shade, but I love it particularly much because it gives the possibility to contour and shape my cheeks using just one product. It's pigmented, but appied in the right way may look very natural and subtle. I tend to associate this shade with autumn more than with spring, but I reach for it quite regularly these days.
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| Mood Exposure |
Luminous Flush looks like bright blue-toned pink in the pan, but when mixed with the powder it becomes much warmer and leans slightly coral. It's a beautiful colour for spring and summer. It's bright and cheerful and looks lovely on sunkissed skin (fake tan and bronzer in my case). Again, it's highly pigmented, so a light hand is highly recommended, especially if your pan consists of more blush than powder. I was lucky to get the sheerer version!
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| Luminous Flush |
Now, a couple of words about Mood Exposure and its dupes. Although I have said that the brownish plum risy blush is quite unique, I noticed that it fits in a trend of blush cum bronzers or sculpting blushes or whatever you might call them. I've found a number of blushes and bronzers that represent the concept but none of these can be called a dupe. I'll compare them briefly, just in case if you're wondering whether you need Mood Exposure if you've got one of those listed below.
In the picture below, left to right:
1. Clinique Ginger Pop is actually very similar. Mood Expose is a tad browner.
2. Michael Kors Bronzer Powder in Flush is lighter and more copper.
3. Benefit Rockateur is lighter and more rose gold. It's also heavily scented.
4. Chanel Joues Contraste in Accent (LE) is very sheer,beige and contains glitter.
5. MAC mineralize Blush in Pressed Amber looks very similar in the pan, but in fact it's a brown shade with pink undertones.
6. Hourglass Mood Exposure
7. MAC blush in Harmony is a mid-tone brown shade with plum undertones.
8. NYX blush in Taupe is a sheer matte rosy taupe. The least pigmented one of the whole bunch.
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