Hourglass Ambient Lighting Blush in Diffused Heat

Hourglass Ambient Lighting Blush in Diffused Heat

Rumors about the release of the Hourglass Ambient Lighting Blushes had been swirling around the internet for the past couple of months, so as soon as they became available on Sephora.com a couple of weeks ago (initially available to VIB & VIB Rouge only) I ordered one. Based on descriptions alone I chose Diffused Heat, a "vibrant poppy" shade. Since these are baked products, each blush will appear a bit different in the pan. Mine has more yellow swirled throughout it than I would have liked, but I'm not sure that makes a big difference to the appearance of this blush.

I was not super in love with Diffused Heat when it first arrived. It has grown on me over the past couple of weeks, but I still wouldn't describe it as my favorite of formulations. On the one hand, the description of Diffused Heat as "vibrant poppy" is quite accurate. It gives my cheeks a warm reddish flush. In contrast, I don't think it fully lives up to its promise of "seamless, soft-focus, and multidimensional color." I find that it looks quite powdery on the skin, whether warn over liquid foundation or a powder foundation (I'm wearing it over the Tarte Amazonian Clay Airbrush mineral foundation in the photos here). Succinctly put, it's a nice blush but there are many, many others I prefer. 

L to R: Hourglass Ambient Lighting Blush in Diffused Heat, Ambient Lighting Powder in Dim

Additionally, bear in mind that it is smaller than the Ambient Lighting Powders. It still offers a generous amount of product, it is just a bit more compact. The Blushes are also less expensive than the Powders, so it seems like a fair deal. Hourglass and Sephora both push using the Hourglass No. 2 Foundation/Blush brush with these blushes, but at $58, I have no desire to rush out and buy that brush. I've found that it works perfectly well when applied with any fluffy blush brush--I like the Real Techniques one for this.

L to R: Diffused Heat swatched heavily, blended out

My only other gripe about Diffused Heat is that it contains glitter particles (if you look very closely at the swatches above, you can see some). They are quite noticeably on the pan, but less so on the cheeks. Even so, I thought that part of the point of the whole Ambient Lighting thing was to be able to obtain an ethereal glow without the need for glitter!

The Ambient Lighting Blushes are currently sold out on Sephora.com, but they will be available in stores for everyone--not just VIB/VIB Rouge--on February 21st. They retail for $35.

Have you picked any of these up yet? Which one(s) did you get?

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