| Review | Hourglass Ambient Lighting Edit - Mini Sculpture Unlocked

| Review | Hourglass Ambient Lighting Edit - Mini Sculpture Unlocked 

The Unlocked Palette is by the most popular Ambient Lighting Palette ever released. Proof by the fact that it was a limited edition palette and actually re-released another time due to popular demand, Hourglass has come out with a "mini unlocked" for the 2020 holiday season. These mini palettes are popular because they contain everything you need to complete your complexion look but they are compact and easy to carry about. Head here to read my review of the original full-sized Ambient Unlocked Palette. 

The Hourglass Ambient Lighting Edit - Mini Sculpture Unlocked retails for $58.00 USD and is available at Hourglass Cosmetics. This mini palette is housed in a square compact with a geometric design on the top of the compact. The packaging is made of lightweight plastic but it looks incredibly luxurious because of its reflective finish and the geometric details. The compact is small and sleek enough to fit easily into a small travel bag or even purse.

SHADES 

None of these shades are unique or new, they are four shades from the original Unlocked palette and are all limited edition. As I have touted in my original review of the Unlocked palette, this is the perfect palette for medium to deep skin tones. The shades all suit and flatter more medium to tan complexions, whereas, previous palettes often flatter only fair skin tones. The shades available in this palette are: 

Filtered Light (top left) - This light warm beige shade with a subtle yellow tone is ideal for setting the skin for a medium to deep skin tone. It evens out and brightens medium to deep skin tones. For fairer skin tones. it will warm up the skin tone, almost like a light bronzer. 

Golden Bronze (top right) - This shade is a soft warm golden bronze shade with a very subtle gold shimmer that adds a beautiful warmth to many skin tones. This is a lovely bronzer for fair to tan skin tones but deeper skin tones can use it as a brightening complexion powder. 

Mood Flush (bottom left) - This shade is a warm mauve shade with a bit of a pink undertone. This shade has no shimmers and offers a very natural flush to many skin tones. This shade is universally flattering because it doesn't lean too cool or too warm, suiting most skin tones. 

Champagne Strobe (bottom right) - This shade is a true champagne beige shade with a subtle golden undertone. This shade has a much stronger shine than the other powders and it even has some tiny flecks of silvery pearl throughout. 

Swatches from left to right: Filtered Light, Golden Bronze, Mood Flush, Champagne Strobe

Swatches from left to right: Filtered Light, Golden Bronze, Mood Flush, Champagne Strobe

Swatches from left to right: Filtered Light, Golden Bronze, Mood Flush, Champagne Strobe

COMPARISON SWATCHES

In my original review of the larger palette, I have some comparison swatches to other ambient powders, if you're curious as to how they compare to the permanent powders. 

FORMULA 

I don't see a difference in the formulation of this mini palette compared to the original Unlocked palette. All the shades and powders are of exceptional quality. They are all very smooth, silky, and blendable powders with buildable pigmentation. You will often notice that these powders do not swatch well and often look powdery but when applied to the skin with a brush, they blend into the skin seamlessly! They leave skin with a luminous and natural glow but you will not be able to detect or see the powder on the skin. These powders have incredible technology that allows them to disappear into the skin and just look incredibly natural. 

These powders are silky smooth and blur out any texture or pores on the skin, making them ideal for all skin types and ages! This soft blurring technology is what makes these powders so incredibly unique and universally flattering. Since they are so sheer, many of the shades available can work for a very wide skin tone range. To achieve the swatches I have in this post, I had to layer the powders many times to achieve a heavy enough swatch to be seen on the skin. 

The cheek powders such as, the highlighter, blush, and bronzer are all pigmented but they can also easily be built to create more intensity. They also blend flawlessly into the skin and create a very seamless look with very little effort, making it ideal for even the most inexperienced makeup applicator to achieve a beautiful complexion. 

FINAL THOUGHTS 

I have always been a HUGE fan of the Ambient Powder range and of this particular shade range. I cannot recommend this palette enough! If you were unable to get your hands on the large palette or you love it just as much as I do, you'll need to pick the mini version up! It will become a staple in your makeup routine! The smaller quad of shades makes it easy to travel with or carry around for application to touch-ups. It has all the shades you need for a fresh everyday complexion look. I can't recommend this palette enough, especially if you have a medium to deeper skin tone. It isn't often these face palettes work so perfectly for a deeper skin tone. The formula is as exceptional as ever! It's a must-have for any makeup collection! 

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