hourglass ambient lighting edit unlocked - elephant

ughh.. i've written a whole post about this face palette and then i added a picture and something went wrong and it all went ppoofff. sigh.. oh well, now i have to write it all over again. so, if you didn't know already, i rarely bought high end brand because i always think there won't be much difference in the result. especially for makeup. but, hourglass face palette has been my weakness. i've been wanted to try one of their holiday special palette for years, but somehow, the color options might not be right. or i don't think i'd make much use of it. so i ended up cancelling my plan. however, when i found out that they came out with 3 palettes for this year, i'm excited since i found one that might cater my skintone. i swatched them when i was in singapore and i was hooked so i pre-ordered it and now, i finally got it! yayyy! let's see how it goes.

this is the description from their website: introducing three limited-edition ambient lighting edit unlocked palettes available exclusively for holiday 2022. featuring artwork by world-renowned illustator, katie scott, these six-pan palettes are a celebration of the natural world. including bestselling and brand-new shades of blush, bronzer, highlighter and finishing powder for a glowing complexion. as part of the unlocked collection, the limited-edition palettes support hourglass's mission to unlock the cages of wild animals in captivity. 5% of profits from unlocked support the nonhuman rights project in their efforts to secure fundamental rights for animals.

this six-pan palette includes two bestselling finishing powder shades along with four brand-new shades of bronzer, blush, and highlighter to diffuse, enhance, and add glow to the complexion. utilizing our groundbreaking photoluminescent technology, the powders filter out harsh light and enhance skin in any type of light, including flash photography. the shades can be used individually or layered together for a multi-dimensional, soft-glow finish. 

includes 6 shades: 

- ambient metallic strobe lighting powder (new): beaming strobe light (golden sun)

- ambient bronzing powder (new): lustrous bronze light (bronze heat)

- ambient lighting blush (new): iridescent coral (peony)

- ambient lighting blush (new): radiant rose (berry)

- ambient lighting powder: dim light (neutral beige)

- ambient lighting powder: soft light (pale peach)

the packaging: it comes in a peach box with the elephant pictured at front while at the back, there's a complete description of everything inside. the palette comes in tin packaging with the same peach color with elephant picture, the same one as on the box. it uses a magnetic closure and i have to say that the magnet power is quite strong. i have difficulty opening it with one hand. inside, there's a big mirror covering one side of the lid. the palette is very pretty. even though there's no marbling pattern in this one, it still looks pretty. 

the color: as described, the powders are pale peach and neutral beige. the dim light is a tad too dark for my skin, but mixed with soft light, it looks okay. the highlighter is champagne gold and it's definitely too dark for my skin. but then again, the elephant palette is for medium skin tone, so it will look great on medium skin tone. the bronzer is okay, not too dark, not too warm. the blushes are coral and berry as described. the coral is slightly iridescent.

the product and result: everything in this palette is buttery soft and it doesn't give much kickbacks when i swirl my brush in the pan. which is a good thing since the pans are quite small so if it's too powdery, then it might cause some problem. 

- both powder works well together as long as i don't use heavy hand on it.

- the highlighter is quite dark on the pan that once i mistook it for the bronzer. however, it gives golden glow that will look great on medium skin tone. on me, as long as i use it carefully, it won't look weird on me. however, it looks great as an eyeshadow.

- the bronzer is not too dark and not too orange. it does slightly warmer than my other bronzer, but it still work okay for me. it gives slight sheen, but not too shiny?

- the blushes: on the pan it looks very different, but on my face, it doesn't look that much difference. the coral one is slightly iridescent so it looks a bit glowy on my cheek but it doesn't accentuate any texture. the radiant is more pink, and it works okay for me. it doesn't look too dark nor too pink.

all colors work well. i can even do my whole face with this palette. and somehow it makes my skin look radiant. seriously. 

definitely not regretting splurging on this palette. seriously, everything works well. lately i've been using cream products more because i can feel that my skin started to feel drier than usual, but i can use this face palette just fine even though everything are powders. anyway, if you have the budget, i do recommend you trying their products. they have individual powder/blush/bronzer as well and some shades also come in minis, so if you don't feel like buying a whole palette, then you could try the minis as well. as for me, this might be the only palette that i'd buy considering how expensive this is. and i intend to use it as long as i can.