Ooh, I could swoon all day just by looking at the marbling and swirls of colors of these lovely blushes!

But do they wear as beautifully as they look?

Read on to find out and see the swatches of the Hourglass Ambient Lighting Blushes for yourselves! 🙂 <3

These are certainly worth the hype (although in terms of the luminosity and glow, I much prefer the Clinique Cheek Pop Blushes but they have much less wear time). These blushes were released by Hourglass to correspond with their Ambient Lighting Powders, meaning the blush shades are actually infused with the corresponding Ambient Lighting Powder shades.

For example, the “Dim Infusion” blush means that the blush is infused with the “Dim Light” powder, hence the marble-like swirly combination of the blush color and Dim Infusion powder on the pan.

 

Shades

I got four out of six of the blushes, reason being the Ethereal Glow is a bit too pale for my light-medium complexion (they do show up on the skin but requires a few layers, and I just can’t be bothered to layer up my blush) and the ever-so-popular Dim Infusion was sold out. Boohoo!

Here are the shades that I got:

 

Mood Exposure

Described as “soft/muted plum“, it’s a warm, plummy reddish brown on the cheeks. On the pan, it looks like it would be a cool, mauve-y red but I was surprised it actually ended up being warmer when swatched and applied on the cheeks. This is great for all skin tones but definitely best suited for medium to dark tones. It might look slightly muddy, especially when overpacked, on fair skin tones.

This shade reminds me of Tarte’s “Exposed” blush.

 

Radiant Magenta

Dubbed as a “golden fuschia”, this is a gorgeous warm toned, hot pink perfect for medium to dark skin tones. This is the first one I got (got the other three after I purchased and fell in love with this one!) and is definitely one of my top favorites!

Again, this is one of the darker shades so it is best suited for medium to dark skin tones. For fairer skin, apply a thin layer very light handedly and you should be fine. This is a very bright pink so it is best applied in moderation.

 

Diffused Heat

This is another coral-infused pink, similar to Radiant Magenta and Luminous Flush but is a tinge lighter and warmer. Described as “vibrant poppy”, this translates as a warm, peachy coral on the skin and can be used on fair to dark skin, but it is aimed for medium skin. It is also the only one out of the four with slightly visible shimmer particles, but definitely not too shimmery. It’s just there to add a bit of a “diffused glow” on the skin.

 

Luminous Flush

This is another favorite of mine and is great for all skin tones! It’s a “champagne rose” that looks more like a true-pink coral. It is a favorite because it is very similar to Radiant Magenta, but this is a tad darker and more coral-y. The Radiant Magenta leans more toward “hot, magenta pink”, while this one is a coral/peach-infused true medium pink.

 

Application

I love using this with my NARS Yachiyo brush (obviously this is my favorite blush brush hehe) and very light-handedly swirl the colors in circular motions along the cheekbones. It gives a very diffused look.These two are also very similar although they swatch differently on my arm. Diffused Heat is just a tinge more vibrant.

These powders are very powdery when you swirl your brush on the pan, however they do not apply or look powdery on the skin at all. They’re so easy to smooth out!

 

Finish

These have a velvety smooth finish and gives a slight glow to the skin, but not as “glowy” or “luminous” of a sheen as the Clinique Cheek Pop though.

On a scale from fully matte to glowy/luminous, Clinique is at the very far end of the “glowy/luminous” range, while these Hourglass blushes are in the middle, some shades leaning more toward the “glowy/luminous” end. However, they still give the cheeks “life” and dimension because they’re not completely matte.

 

Longevity

These blushes lasted a bit longer than the Clinique Cheek Pop blushes, showing signs of fading only after the 8th hour mark, which is very remarkable!

 

Packaging

The packaging is just like the Hourglass Ambient Lighting powders except it’s smaller (almost half the size) and the color of the packaging is a lighter gold. It looks very sleek and elegant, but is very light, unlike higher end blushes that look so amazing but weigh a ton.

 

Overall

Although I must admit I gravitate towards the Clinique Pop Blushes more (because I’m a fan of the dewy skin look), this one deserves as much love because the overall quality and longevity is just remarkable. I lean more towards the Clinique blushes because they have more of a “glow” to it, but these blushes were not created to have as much shimmer particles as the Clinique anyway, so I can’t complain.

If I could have one complaint though, it would just be that the color range is not wide at all. As you can see above, the shades can be strikingly similar. I personally wouldn’t have purchased Luminous Flush because it’s so similar to the Radiant Magenta and I like that one a bit more, and for the pinky peach/coral shades I would just buy either one. I hope they would come out with more distinctive colors!

Update: As of 2017, Hourglass now has a total of 10 colors in this range! Yay!