Hourglass Ambient Strobe Lighting Powder in Brilliant Strobe Light - review and swatches

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Yesterday I reviewed Hourglass' Ambient Lighting Powder in Dim Light (see here) and I'm back today to review this highlighter in Brilliant Strobe Light.

Both products are on rotation for Project Dent at the moment, which is why they're up for review now.

I have however owned both products since not long after they were released in Australia, so I certainly knew what I thought of them before bringing them into Project Dent.


I own both Brilliant Strobe Light and Euphoric Strobe Light, but this review will centre around Brilliant and I'll come back to review Euphoric at a later date.

I love them both and you'll see why in the comparison swatches below - they're more subtle than other highlighters I own and less metallic/reflective - so they're more up my street because I prefer a natural highlight.

Having said this, I wouldn't call this my HG formula for highlighting because they do contain tiny flecks of glitter and that's not what I want from my highlighters.

Still, I wear them a lot and I can't see that changing anytime soon.


Hourglass claims/product details:
  • An innovative powder made of reflective micro pearl particles to create the perfect soft, neutral or lustrous highlight
  • Get a luminous glow with these sheer powders that emulate the way strobe lights capture and reflect light on the face
  • Photoluminescent technology works to diffuse and soften the reflection of natural light on the skin to create depth and dimension and sculpt the face
  • RRP $55 AUD for 4.6g


These highlighters are available individually in four shades: Euphoric, Brilliant, Iridescent and Incandescent Strobe Light.

I bought Euphoric first because I thought that would be the most natural colour on my skintone (it is), but it took me a while to buy it because I didn't like the amount of glitter in these highlighters when I swatched them.

Soon enough, though, I went back for Brilliant because I liked Euphoric more than I expected to. Of course I did. It's Hourglass, and Hourglass knows how to make a good powder.


There's a shot of the pan in direct sunlight:


And in natural light:


Below I've given you some swatches of Brilliant Strobe Light and then some comparison swatches so you can see how it looks alongside other popular highlighters.

Natural light, a heavy swatch and then a blended one: 


Direct sunlight:


Indirect sunlight:


Next, comparison swatches.

Direct sunlight: 


* L-R: Euphoric Strobe Light, Brilliant Strobe Light, Kevyn Aucoin Candelight, theBalm Mary-Lou, Becca Opal, Becca Champagne Pop, Laura Mercier Matte Radiance 01

Indirect sunlight:


* L-R: Euphoric Strobe Light, Brilliant Strobe Light, Kevyn Aucoin Candelight, theBalm Mary-Lou, Becca Opal, Becca Champagne Pop, Laura Mercier Matte Radiance 01

Natural light (indoors):


* L-R: Euphoric Strobe Light, Brilliant Strobe Light, Kevyn Aucoin Candelight, theBalm Mary-Lou, Becca Opal, Becca Champagne Pop, Laura Mercier Matte Radiance 01

Natural light (outdoors):


* L-R: Euphoric Strobe Light, Brilliant Strobe Light, Kevyn Aucoin Candelight, theBalm Mary-Lou, Becca Opal, Becca Champagne Pop, Laura Mercier Matte Radiance 01

Verdict

I love this highlighter but it's not perfect so that's why I haven't given it an HG tag. If it weren't for the flecks of glitter it contains, it would hands-down be my favourite formula - but I much prefer highlighters that don't contain shimmer so that's why I haven't rated it above all others.

These highlighters are soft, smooth and creamy - almost velvety - to the touch. They're finely milled and they blend and apply beautifully.

My favourite thing about them is that they don't emphasise texture (eg pores and fine lines) and they're also not too metallic, so they look very natural on the skin. Indeed if it weren't for the glitter in these, you wouldn't necessarily know that the highlighter isn't my skin: that's how natural they are. I would love to see Hourglass reformulate these without the glitter, but alas I don't think they will.

If you look at the comparison swatches above, you'll see that the Hourglass formula looks most like the Kevyn Aucoin formula on the skin. They both look more refined than the other highlighters I've swatched. This is why I prefer these two formulas: they're more my speed.

These highlighters wear well throughout the day and you can certainly build them if you want a stronger highlight (you can also apply them wet), but I personally prefer to leave them looking softer.

They also look gorgeous on the eyes and they're among my favourites for inner-corner highlighting because they're not too shimmery or reflective.

Brilliant Strobe Light is a beautiful pale gold. I don't own anything like it. There's something special about this particular gold, and I'm not the first person to have said this. Yes Euphoric is the right shade for me if I want a highlight that looks like it's my skin, but this is invariably the one I reach for when we're going out because I love the shade so much.

Overall I love this product and I recommend it. Its only fault is the visible shimmer, but it is super fine so I can live with it. I would happily take it out of the formula, though, and I would test one of these on your face before purchase just to check that you're ok with it.

Gorgeous but not perfect.


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