Hourglass Radiant Magenta Ambient Lighting Blush Review, Photos, Swatches!

Hourglass Radiant Magenta Ambient Lighting Blush

Hourglass Radiant Magenta Ambient Lighting Blush ($35) is a lovely medium warm pink with a satiny finish. It looks like a fairly cool-toned pink in the compact, and even swatched with the finger, but on the cheeks the pink really warms up to my skin. The color has a Spring/Summer pink vibe as it pulls pinky-peach on the cheeks. The Hourglass Ambient Lighting line of blushes are still fairly new, with the initial launch this past February. These blushes combine Hourglass' Ambient Lighting Powder - which is a luminous finishing powder, swirled with a natural hue. When the two are combined, your cheeks will be left with beautiful, natural glowing color that is full of dimension. Sounds wonderful, right?

Well, I haven't tried Hourglass' Ambient Lighting Powders, but from what I've gathered is that it's a powder that won't highlight your imperfections (like those that tend to settle in or highlight the pores or look heavy, dull or powdery on the skin) but, it will give your skin a "lit-from-within" sort of glow and give the appearance of softer, younger skin. It also claims to make your skin look great in any lighting situation you are in (bright sunlight, candlelight, etc.) The powder took off pretty well, so Hourglass created a blush with the same concept.

I've had this blush for a few months now, and I've been using it regularly. As a die-hard blush lover, I'm a huge fan of baked blushes because I love the texture of them and how easy they are to blend. This blush is super soft to the touch and blending with it is so simple. Worst case scenario, if you didn't have a blush brush on hand, you can use your fingertips to apply this blush and it wouldn't look like it. It has a nice satin finish that isn't shimmery or frosty. It just gives a slight glow to the skin when the light hits your cheeks.

The lasting power is pretty average for me. I typically never re-apply blush throughout the day, but if I was planning on going out for the night, I would most likely have to reapply this blush mid-day as it fades pretty significantly by the evening.

Radiant Magenta swatched heavily (left) and lightly (right)

Hourglass Radiant Magenta Ambient Lighting Blush on my cheeks

Overall, I really like the blush, but perhaps I've tried so many blushes that it takes a lot to impress me. It's a great fool-proof and easy to work with blush, but I'm not going to be running to Sephora to pick up additional shades. Would I recommend trying it if you're looking for a new everyday blush? Sure! I really have nothing bad to say about the performance of this blush. But, if you have an arsenal of blushes like me, you probably already have something similar to it in your collection. I feel that if the price point was lower, I'd like it more, but I find it to be a little expensive for what it is. But it seems that the prices on cosmetics keep rising.. NARS Blushes are $30 a pop now. Ouch!

Hourglass Ambient Lighting Blushes can be purchased at Sephora and Hourglasscosmetics.com.

Have you tried the Hourglass Ambient Lighting Blushes? What do you think about them?

The Round-Up

Pros:

• Soft, finely milled texture - slightly powdery, but doesn't look powdery on the skin
• Blends very easily - pretty much foolproof application
• Provides very natural color to the skin
• Doesn't settle in or emphasize pores
• Doesn't turn greasy by the end of the night
• Average lasting powder

Cons:

• It's a bit pricey at $35 - making it more expensive than most of the blush brands at Sephora, yet still cheaper than luxury brands such as Chanel, YSL, Dior, etc.

Price: $35