The HOURGLASS Thread

[Mcakes]

This thread is dedicated to all things Hourglass! One of my all time favorite brands  

Direct Link to Hourglass Product Page: https://www.sephora.com/brand/hourglass 

New

Velvet Story Lip Cream: Hourglass Velvet Story Lip Cream 

[gingerleigh]

The quad would have been much more of a temptation @ashacroo 

[Taradise15]

Absolutely love Film Noir, there is no better mascara out there. The same cannot be said for their other mascaras. I really hoped to love the new tubing mascara but that was a huge let down 😞 

Also love the ambient highlighter and mineral veil but who doesn't 😉 

[MCSSavvy]

New Hourglass Holiday Collection - I believe it arrives at Sephora on 9/25.

[Harobedb]

I was looking for swatches, and came across a lady who does a good job (including comps from previous HG palettes.) Nice video! HTH someone. 🙂

[MCSSavvy]

@Harobedb  -- I like some of her videos.  She is thorough.  Also "Hey It's Jacqueline" and Kinkysweat just put up their video's.  Jacqueline has 2 up about the collection.  I'm almost tempted by the swatches on the 6 pan but again, I don't wear bronzer so that brings me down to 2 new shades.  Definitely going to grab the lipstick duo though.

[Sunnysmom]

Thanks @Harobedb that is a very helpful video especially where she shows all the comparison swatches! 🥰

[WinglessOne]

@MCSSavvy  Now that I know the quad contains no new shades, I can easily pass on it. I'm still not convinced Mood Flush will work on my skin tone, and I'm very annoyed that Hourglass isn't showing new swatches or a full look on a model with a deep skin tone. I've complained about Hourglass's swatches many times before, mainly for the unrealistic portrayal on deeper skin tones. (A few other brands commit the same crime.) I mean, I don't expect the finishing powders to be very pigmented, but bronzers and blushes should pack some pigment. I've looked for people's swatches of Mood Flush many times and gosh, you'd be surprised (or maybe not) how few there are on deep/dark skin. One year, I almost bought the Unlocked palette just so I could get some accurate swatches out onto the internet, to help other folks with my skin tone. 🙄 

Anyway... yeah, that's money I'll be saving. 

I already wasn't interested in the 6-pan because there's nothing in there I want or can use on my skin tone. I kinda hate Mood Exposure: it's too pale and chalky on my face. I don't need the other 5 shades: either already have 'em or know they won't work for me. Again, more money for me, yay! 😂 

[MCSSavvy]

@WinglessOne  I don't think Hourglass has put out any swatches yet.  I know kinkysweat has a lighter skintone than you do but she did put up a review on both the quad and the 6 pan as well as a recent review of the At Night blush release.  I like her videos b/c she's informative.  I don't watch a lot of beauty youtube but with the exception of Mel (and sometimes Morgan) no one else comes close to my skin tone - Kelsee Briana Jai, kinkysweat, Michelle Wang - those are the ones I gravitate to b/c they tend to be fun and informative.   

I wonder how much they touch up the videos or adjust the lighting not only for Rosie's videos/stills but also for the beautiful black model (I don't recall her name). She has a deep skin tone and she seems to pull off several ABLs and strobe lights.  It seems par for the course now of days that most companies photoshop their swatches or uses that stupid fake color palette that multiple companies use and heaven help us to know what that looks like in the real world.

Mood exposure looks "ruddy" on me if that makes sense.  Rather than a nice plum shade as people describe it just looks reddish-brown as if I have a mild case of hives.  I'm so glad I just bought a mini and can eventually foist it off on someone.  I never reach for it.  

I still like the lipstick duo though the At dusk shade is a red and I stopped wearing years ago when Chanel and I broke up.  They had one of my favorite lip formulas but I branched out to MAC and found MLBB with Lancome so... I also did a major downsize of my collection.  If they didn't put fragrance in their makeup line I'd go back and grab some of their new shadows and lippies.  Sigh.

Back to Hourglass, I imagine they already had the holiday palettes designed and in production when they released At Night but it seems they are trying to move in the right direction with their powders, albeit it very slowly.   Key word - very slowly.  

Knowing you money saved is a new brush or more lippies....

[WinglessOne]

@MCSSavvy  I have the At Night blush and it works well with my skin tone. I was ecstatic to see Hourglass finally release a brick red blush—FINALLY, an Hourglass blush that'll actually work for many folks in the medium-deep tone range and deeper! Interestingly, 2 or 3 other blush shades do work for me, including Vivid Flush (2019 Lunar New Year single) if built up a bit and not fully blended out. But I know that shade doesn't work on many folks with deeper skin tones than mine, so I hope Hourglass releases more deep-skin-friendly shades. 

The finishing powders (Ambient Lighting and Ambient Strobe Lighting) aren't as big an issue, though I do think Hourglass should add one that mimics deep sunset lighting. That would look amazing on deep rich skin tones! One of the current powders comes kinda close, and now I don't recall which one... and one of the bronzers might have that effect. But no one should have to buy a product marketed as "bronzer" to use as a lighting powder. A workable shade should simply be included in the AL range. I do also think most of the existing powder shades work well on deeper skin tones, though. I've seen them in action (in person) on friends with deeper skin than mine, and they look fantastic. So, I'm less up-in-arms about the powders. The blushes, though... Hourglass needs to address that. 

Adjusting the lighting and temperature of photos is fine, especially if it's done to make colors look more realistic. But yeah, several brands—including Hourglass—seem to go far beyond that. Unrealistic swatches have been a problem for years, but it's gotten worse. Natasha Denona is also guilty of this, and that sucks because many of her shadows are gorgeous; she (well, her brand) has no reason to fake those swatches. At least some of her latest swatches have looked slightly more realistic with digital color adjustment, rather than making one shade of eyeshadow look exactly the same on 3 different skin tones. Anyway, Hourglass should rethink the way they swatch their powders and blushes in general. I don't wanna see how they'd look built up as 10+ layers (who the heck uses an Ambient Lighting Powder on their face built up like that? 🤣). I wanna see 'em blended out in addition to a true finger or dense brush swatch. Truth in advertising, Hourglass! 

About beauty "influencer" videos: the only time I look at beauty (makeup) videos is to see swatches, and I always skip through those videos to find just the info I'm after. I've done that with several Kinkysweat videos (thank goodness she includes timestamps) since she often does good comparison swatches. But I don't follow her or any other makeup influencers. When it comes to honest makeup reviews/feedback, I trust BICers much more than those youtube videos—especially considering how much beauty lighting and video filtering are used in those videos, let alone the sponsored reviews issue. Of course, now there are a few folks on BIC participating only to recruit an audience for their IG/Youtube accounts... sigh. 

And omg, Chanel and their fragranced makeup... YSL and By Terry are also big offenders. Lots of Lancome makeup is fragranced, but not to a YSL or Chanel degree. I can't wear much YSL because of their overwhelming fragrance. Some By Terry and Lancome products are very tolerable to me—and thank goodness, because those 2 brands make some of my favorite makeup items ever. But I've always passed on Chanel products after smelling them in person. Not everyone wants to smaste (smell-taste) their lipstick all day. I have to give Hourglass major kudos for keeping their powders and blushes fragrance-free. 👍

EDIT, because this post clearly isn't long enough already 🤣: Haha, "money saved" will definitely find its way into a lipstick or brush maker's hands by end of year, if there are some stellar releases coming! 

[MCSSavvy]

@WinglessOne  - Oops...I said powders as all inclusive including their blushes which I agree seem to be the most problematic in a sense.  I love Vivid Flush though I have the opposite problem... I must use a light hand and blend it out.  😄

Lancome, Lancome, Lancome...I had a love-hate relationship with that line which is why I switched to Chanel.  They kept discontinuing a beloved foundation or face cream/gel without warning.   They love to add fragrance as well so I moved on. At the time, I regularly wore perfume though you wouldn't know it now since I am allergic to fragrance. A bit nose blind but not taste blind - smell-taste is definitely a thing.  Sadly, I've yet to come across a fashion house release that doesn't have their fragrance added.  Thus, frag free Hourglass has reached OG status for me.  

I typically watch for the swatches and may continue to watch for an inspiration on eye shadow looks / application technique but I recognize all "content creator" accounts are monetized to some extent so I take that into account.  I love time stamps particularly since some post ridiculously long vids.  I miss You Tube in its early days when it was basically just music uploads.   By far, I place more weight in discussions and information here on the BT/BIC  and some information on r / muacjdiscussion or r / fude.  

[spadersgirl]

I feel you 100% on this. I've only found one video with someone swatching it who is of a deep skintone. She's several shades darker than me, but I figured if it shows up on her then it's bound to work on me, right? Well... she said it took her three layers to show up and she loved it (which I'm happy for her having something she likes) but honestly, I could barely see it on her cheeks. Like... I feel my eyes were tricking me into seeing it. 😅 So, I still have no clue if it'll work for me except the comparison swatches between the blush with At Night. I know At Night works for me, so I think this one would too? But it's quite frustrating having to play detective. I don't think I should have to work so hard to ensure I buy a product that will work for me that I won't have to return. But I need to save money anyway, so I'm looking at it from the perspective of Hourglass saving me money by making it so difficult.

[WinglessOne]

@spadersgirl  I think I saw that video you're talking about. I remember wishing she'd show how it looks on her face in natural sunlight, because I also had a hard time seeing it in her video. Eh, some things just don't appear well (or at all) on video. But it didn't give me confidence in Mood Flush either. Once upon a time, Hourglass did have swatches of Mood Flush on 3 different skin tones for an earlier Unlocked palette release. Unfortunately, those swatches looked fake or oversaturated, so I didn't (and still don't) trust them. 

I'm glad At Night works for you! I think we should contact Hourglass to let them know we want and need more blush shades like this. 🙂 If they can sell a fairly inclusive range of foundation, surely they can do the same with blush. 

[Sunnysmom]

That is maddening for you @WinglessOne I don’t blame you. How strange they don’t. 
I don’t get Mood E either. Blah and muddy kind of.  I am happy to swatch Mood Flush from LY Ghost Unlocked tomorrow ,not that it’ll help much with my skin tone,  but maybe? Is that the one you are referring to? Just holler if so.😊

[WinglessOne]

@Sunnysmom Aw, that's sweet of you to offer. Yeah, it's the same Mood Flush that's been in multiple Unlocked palettes. Temptalia has a nice set of swatches of one of the Unlocked palettes that contains that blush, so I've already seen it on someone with a medium skin tone. But even that doesn't help me much. 😂 I mean, her skin tone's nowhere near mine. And I'm in the "medium-deep" category of most brands... I imagine for anyone wish a skin tone deeper than mine, Hourglass blushes in general are very frustrating. 

Hourglass has a bad habit of using obviously fake or oversaturated swatches on deep skin tones. They've either digitally placed swatches on a model's arm and kinda sorta tried to digitally adjust for color (again, they're not the only well-known brand that's done this), or they've used 5-10+ layers of a product per swatch. I wish Hourglass would just show their products as truly appear on various skin tones. I especially wish they'd show each shade of their finishing powders in 2 swatches: one bolder (hard finger swatch) and one softly diffused, so folks can see how these powders would actually look on their faces. I love their finishing powders, and I think many people are confused about how to use them. Better swatches might help. 

And now I'll get off my "double-u tee eff, Hourglass" soapbox. Thanks for coming to my TED talk. 🤣 

[Sunnysmom]

😊 @WinglessOne I loved your TED talk! 🤣

That has to be very frustrating. I think a few lines are guilty of this also. I get upset w CT colors often as they are never as bright as she shows I think. 😡There has to be a better way to show the colors , grrr. I forgot Temptalia’s , of course yes. Hers are tricky sometimes even for me. Ugg. Well just buy the d*#m thing I guess and see what happens. And return it if not happy! 🤗

[tjffc]

@MCSSavvy Nice palette from Hourglass.

[MCSSavvy]

Palette and lippie shades were announced this morning by Hourglass. 

Ambient Lighting Edit - Sculpture:
Ambient Lighting Finishing Powder - Dim Light
Ambient Lighting Finishing Powder - Diffused Light
Ambient Strobe Lighting Powder - Glistening Strobe Light (Exclusive Shade)
Ambient Lighting Bronzer - Natural Bronze Light (Exclusive Shade)
Ambient Strobe Lighting Blush - Vibrant Flush (Exclusive Shade)
Ambient Lighting Blush - Mood Exposure

Ambient Lighting Edit Mini - Sculpture Unlocked:
Ambient Lighting Finishing Powder - Soft Light (Exclusive shade)
Ambient Lighting Bronzer - Golden Bronze Light (Exclusive shade)
Ambient Lighting Blush - Mood Flush (Exclusive shade)
Ambient Metallic Strobe Lighting Powder - Champagne Strobe Light (Exclusive shade)

Confession Refillable Lipstick Duo - Sculpture in At Dawn and At Dusk

FYI -- will be available at Sephora on 9/25 (includes you too Canada!)

[itsfi]

Helpful to know the shades that will be included in the palettes @MCSSavvy. Thank you for posting. Do you think you’ll pick up anything from this holiday collection?

[MCSSavvy]

@itsfi  - You're welcome.  I can't believe I'm going to say this but I may actually pass on the holiday palettes this year.  Really, mind blown.  The quad is a mini version of the Unlocked palette.  I love the shades but I haven't hit pan on any yet. The 6 pan has 3  new shades.  If those swatch really well on pale, cool toned skin I may reconsider. However, I do think I might pick up their lip duo.  I like the shade "At Dawn."   Do you think you may pick up something from their holiday collection this year?

[itsfi]

I’m in the same boat as you @MCSSavvy. I usually pick up a new holiday palette from Hourglass every other year, but I’m not certain that I’ll pick up this one. I’m leaning towards not buying it. Maybe seeing the shades and swatches might help, but I still have last year’s palette so I don’t have an urge to pick up another one, especially if they’re similar. The “At Dawn” lip color looks nice but to say I have plenty of lippies is an understatement. I’m sure I’ll pick up more lip products before the end of the year but I’m being more picky about what I pick up, so we’ll see.

[MCSSavvy]

@itsfi  - I like the shade - it would be somewhat unique since I tend to lean toward more muted tones of late but the "At Dusk" isn't really my cup of tea so if I pick the duo up (really I wish they'd sell them as singles) it would be during a sale.  I'm fairly particular as well when it comes to lippies and so Hourglass is one of the few brands I'll wear due to ingredient concerns and lack of fragrance.  In all likelihood I will pick-up the Infinity Powder in lieu of the holiday palette.  I like Sublime Flush but I haven't hit pan in the Ghost palette.