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| Above: The Hourglass Ambient Lighting Blush comes in a signature sleek bronze-brown compact emblazoned with the brand’s new visual identity. |
A few weeks ago, I posted a press release on the impending debut of the Hourglass Ambient Lighting Blush. In light of my love for the Ambient Lighting Powders, I could barely contain my excitement; although the formula comes in six shades, I had my eye on the lightest version, Ethereal Glow.
Kindly scroll on for images, swatches, a video review and the Bottom Line…
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| Above: The full ingredients list…click image to enlarge. |
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| Above: Ethereal Glow is a cool, light pink blush with illuminating radiance. |
Ethereal Glow is a very pale pink blush swirled together with the Ethereal Light powder, a iridescent highlighting shade similar to the Incandescent Light shade found only in the Hourglass Lighting Palette (reviewed HERE) and also sold on its own. Swirling the powders together embodies the Italian action of “miscelare,” which means “to mix,” and guarantees a unique and custom finish every single time.
This gossamer creation is designed to:
- Blur imperfections
- Bring complex radiance to the face
- Add a delicate flush
- Contribute to a “soft focus” effect
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| Above: The Ambient Lighting Blush compact is just slightly smaller than the Ambient Lighting Powder compact…perfect to toss into a makeup bag for touchups on the go. |
I adore the delicate nature of Ethereal Glow…as a massive fan of pale pink blushes (everything tends to go dark on me so I must start with the lightest option), I appreciate the ability of this shade to give a soft pink flush and brilliant luminosity to the skin. I apply this after contour or bronzer, on the apples of the cheeks, and find the restrained flush absolutely delightful.
For fair and light skin (N/NC/NW10-25), this can work well as a subtle blush; however, medium and dark skin tones seeking a blush effect should opt for the more pigmented shade offerings (detailed HERE). That being said, Ethereal Glow would be a gorgeous highlighter/illuminator for skin in the medium to dark range.
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| Above: Swatches of similar pale pink blushes. |
As the swatches of other pale pink blushes indicate, the closest match to Ethereal Glow is Illamasqua Katie, however, it is important to note that Katie is completely matte whereas Ethereal Glow has a slight luminosity due to the integration of the white Ethereal powder. Both Tom Ford Pink Lust and Marc Jacobs Shameless blush in Obsessed are brighter, warmer and clearly more peach in nature.
VIDEO
Below: Images of Hourglass Ethereal Glow on the face in various lighting situations…
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| Above: Note the subtle glow on the apples of the cheeks. No additional highlighter was used in this look. |
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| Above: Taken in indoor lighting. |
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| Above: The delicate radiance of Ethereal Glow becomes more apparent when smiling! |
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| Above: Taken outdoors in direct sunlight, Ethereal Glow on top of a bit of bronzer, for a clean, natural look. |
Bottom Line: The Hourglass Ambient Lighting Blush in Ethereal Glow is all I knew it would be. Barely there pink and a luminous radiance work together in harmony to bring freshness and life to the face! The moment these blushes debuted, they seem to sell out instantaneously, however, prior to posting, I’ve confirmed that Barney’s NY still has this shade in stock as of publish date. If are like me and gravitate towards pale pink glowy blush options, then I highly suggest Ethereal Glow…its gossamer texture and illuminating powers are sublime!
xx,
–The Beauty Professor
**PR sample provided for review , however, as always, all of my opinions are expressly and unequivocally my own. This post contains affiliate links; my disclosure policy contains additional details on how these work.
Comments (13)
Hi Rachel. How funny; I just posted a comment on another blog about these blushes and then flipped over to your blog to see this review. I ordered two of these during the Sephora pre-sale for VIBs. I've had them a few weeks now and I have to say, for me, they are nothing special. They are very nice and I like them and will use them but I guess I was expecting some "magic" along the lines of the Ambient powders. I adore the Ambient powder; it has totally changed my finished makeup look. But I did not get the same effect in the two blushes I ordered. Not even close. I've also seen many, many comments to the same effect on some other blogs. I'm starting to wonder if the "glow" is inconsistent and maybe even shade specific. I am only writing this comment as information for those hunting for these blushes and considering purchasing. I have to say that I would highly recommend an in-person look at them before purchase. IF you can find them!
Hi Deb!
Yes, this blush has received a lot of buzz since its release. I am sorry to hear that it this formula didn't work for you…perhaps the effect is indeed shade specific. I can definitely attest to the glow-inducing powers of Ethereal Glow but it's the only one I own ; )
xoxo and have a lovely weekend,
–The Beauty Professor
Hi Rachel. Yes, I do believe it is definitely shade specific. Also, since they are all "supposedly" hand made, it's possible the ones I got have a lesser amount of the Ambient Lighting powder and more color in them. The formula did actually work for me; they are very pretty blushes and will get used a lot. I think what I was trying to convey (and didn't do so well) is that I was anticipating the "magic" so much I probably set myself up for disappointment. It's extremely rare these days for me to get excited about a cosmetic product. When you stop and think about it, how much more "magic" can we really expect? But it's not a big deal; I'm actually going to purchase 1 or 2 more. I am seeing raves about them everywhere in the blogosphere so I guess I'm just that person who isn't as wowed as I thought I would be. I'm very happy for you that they worked out as intended!
Thanks for weighing in on your experience, Deb. I love the honesty and know that fellow beauty lovers feel the same way. Ethereal Glow definitely has much more of the Ambient Lighting Powder than it has the pink blush so you may get the "magic" more readily with this particular shade…I know I did ; )
I hope you have a beautiful week…xoxo and talk soon,
–The Beauty Professor
That might really work for me even with my Rosacea! I'll have to test it once I'm back int he USA!
Excellent! I hope it does, Erin…xoxo
Oh thats gorgeous on you! I agree it may not show up on darker skintones, and on my skin it was more of a highlighter but still very pretty.
I actually just grabbed the Dim Infusion blush today and will be posting that on my blog tomorrow!
http://www.kistibelle.com
Thank you so much, Kisti! Thanks for stopping by ; )
xoxo,
–The Beauty Professor
i am an nw20 and purchased this over the weekend. i used several 'swirls' and it seemed like there was nothing on my face; it didn't look any different? my skin isn't *that* dark?
Hi Heather,
Since every product is "one of a kind" due to the unique swirling, perhaps you got one with a bit more of the Ethereal powder? To be clear, the pink effect on my cheek isn't intense, but it definitely adds a tiny bit of flush and a lot of radiance. It is subtle, but there ; )
xx,
–The Beauty Professor
Can you tell me the name of the powder brush you used..I could not understand what you said in your video presentation of the Hourglass blush..thanks 🙂
My brush is by Jenny Patinkin…her line of brushes in incredible!
xx,
–The Beauty Professor
Thanks so much 🙂