Hourglass Ambient Lighting Blush: Review

I can hear the chorus of "Ooh's" and "Aah's" as I type this. Yes, I am finally reviewing the Hourglass Ambient Lighting Blushes. I have three of them, whoops. These blushes are some of the most talked about products to be released in 2014 and to be honest I hesitated for a while to purchase one. They're pricey, about $35, and they are available only at places that sell Hourglass, aka Sephora. I figured, Kylie, you have enough blush. But then, I saw them.

I mean come on, right? They're too pretty to walk past too many times. The shiny rose gold packaging, beautiful mirrors, and gorgeous veining were all calling my name so I treated myself. 

First I picked up Luminous Flush, a beautiful pink color infused with the prettiest gold shimmer that just gives a sheen to the cheeks. Now, when purchasing these, I recommend looking at them in person. And by that I mean open up the packaging in the store and make sure you're getting good veining. Every blush is different so if you want more color or more highlight then buy accordingly. After purchasing this bad boy I was hooked, and began to plan when I could afford to buy the others I wanted. 

Dim Infusion was my next purchase. It's a corally orange shade laced with the same gold shimmer. I'm telling you, that shimmer is like crack. 

Lastly and most recently I purchased Mood Exposure. This is a gorgeous neutral shade and mine has a lot more pigmented color instead of the shimmer. It's still gloriously sheen-inducing however. And I'm really looking forward to using this all fall.

Here are the three swatched in order from left to right. 

Overall, as you can tell this is a rave review. The blushes are gorgeous. I've seen a few reviews saying they weren't that pigmented but honestly I don't think you can understand how pretty they are simply swatched on the skin. You need to put them on your cheeks and wear them in the sunlight because that's where their true glory is seen. Yeah, they're just blushes, but they perk up any makeup look in my opinion. And that's worth a lot.

Until next time!

Summer FOTD!

Tonight I was going out to dinner and drinks with my friends from high school. I had plenty of time to get ready because Mondays are my day off and I had little else to do other than apply for writing jobs and hope someone hires me. So I figured, let's apply a ton of makeup and see how it turns out.

And here it is! As you can see I went for a golden, bronze eye with a bright orange-red lip. It's my go to look in the summer and I think it's season-appropriate while staying true to my makeup taste.

Here are all the products I used:

For my eyes I started off with a recent purchase, MAC's Pro Longwear Paint Pot in Rubenesque. It's a beautiful peachy bronze champagne hybrid color that works well with my brown eyes and also the summery look that I was going for. 

For my eyeshadow I used my new Lorac Pro Palette. I resisted the temptation to buy this palette for months but I finally caved. I'm so glad I did. The shadows are creamy and blendable. They're also all wearable and I find that I can get just about any look out of this collection of shadows. I used Light Bronze all over my lid then put Gold over the outer 3/4 of my eye. I worked Taupe into my crease, a beautiful warm brown shade. I then packed a little bit of Sable onto the outer third of my eye and blended like my life depended on it to create a bronzed, golden eye look.

I used my the deluxe sample of the Too Faced Chocolate Soleil Bronzer that I have to warm up my face. I placed it primarily under my cheekbones, on my temple, and along my jawline. I then dusted a light amount of it over my entire face just to give my translucent skin a little bit of color. Ya know, so I don't glow. Then I added my new baby, the Hourglass Ambient Lighting Blush in Dim Infusion. A rave post about these blushes is definitely forthcoming. For an even better highlight I added The Balm's Mary Lou Manizer highlighter to my cheekbones, cupid's bow, and brow bone. 

For my signature red lip I used MAC"s Proenza Schouler special edition lipstick in Mangrove. It's a matte red-orange that I'm completely obsessed with. I mean am atte red, come on. It had my name written all over it.

And here's the complete finished look complete with a smile and awkward hand gesture. 


I really enjoy making my skin appear glowy and tanned (for me) in the summer so this is the kind of look I do every day, obviously switching up the colors. I hope everyone's summers are starting off well, I know mine is a bit of a bummer so far. The boy is far away in our college town and work is boring at best. Oh well, it's time to find a pool on my days off, save up money, and keep applying for jobs using my degrees.

Until next time!

Ok I Have a Problem: Lip Product Addict Tag

Recently I watched Essiebutton and Amelia Liana's collaboration video where they created the Lip Product Addict Tag. Once I watched it I knew I had to put my own red lipstick obsessed stamp on it. So, here we go. The tag post where I admit my addiction and own it. Also, most of these are red lipsticks and you need to just accept that now.


So here are the questions:

TAG QUESTIONS
1. Favourite balm/treatment?
2. Best eye-catching red?
3. Best luxury & best drugstore?
4. Best MAC lipstick?
5. The most disappointing?
6. Liner - yes or no?
7. Best gloss?
8. Something extra!

And here are my answers!

1. Favourite balm/treatment?

The Vaseline Lip Therapy in Cocoa Butter is my favorite lip balm, especially for night. It is super moisturizing, stays on, and is only $1.79. You really can't beat it.

2. Best eye-catching red?

MAC's Ruby Woo lipstick is my favorite eye-catching red. I wear a lot of red lipsticks, as you know and as you will see in this post, but this is my go to classic red. It's matte, long wearing, just blue toned enough to pop against my pale skin, and is wearable all year round. It's well loved as you can tell and I'll always have this in my collection.

3. Best luxury & best drugstore?

For my best luxury brand lipstick I chose the Hourglass Opaque Rouge Lipstick in Icon. This happened a bit by default because it's my only luxury lipstick brand and I do think it's a little bit overhyped, but  I really like it on days I want a super dark red that will stay on all day or night. My only issue with it is that I can't reapply after it sets without causing creasing and bunching; not cute on the lips. Overall it's very long lasting and that is worth the price itself.

My favorite drugstore lipstick brand is Revlon and specifically their Revlon Colorburst matte balms are amazing. They're matte, easy to apply, and relatively long lasting for a balm. I can reapply without thinking twice about it and the color range is wonderful. I have many, this one is in Striking.

4. Best MAC lipstick?

By far most of my lipsticks are MAC but this was still shockingly easy. Diva is the perfect dark red matte that I wore most days this autumn and winter. With a red lip liner it's much more red and with more of a currant colored lip liner it evolves into a fantastic deep cognac color. It's just...ugh. So great.

5. The most disappointing?

I didn't take an individual picture of this but it's pictured in the top image and also swatched in the last image. It is MAC's Creme Cup. This lipstick turns grey/pink on me and was a disappointing second or so MAC lipstick purchase. I have tried to make it work so many times because it is so hyped up but it just never works for me.

6. Liner - yes or no?

With the amount of dark lipsticks I wear, liners are key. This is my favorite because of its versatility, MAC's Brick. I have many though. Let me tell you, I have many.

7. Best Lip Gloss?

I'm the opposite of a lip gloss girl usually, opting most often for crayola-esque dark matte shades, but this benefit gloss is just gorgeous. It's their Ultra Shine gloss in Wild Child. I got this in a set and it's just a gorgeous pink with a purple duo chrome. I put it on its own or over a pink lipstick for a multidimensional, very pretty lip look for the summer or spring.

8. Something Extra!

For my extra I chose the one nude I have found that works on me. This picture makes it look more rosy than it is. It is Benefit's Full Finish Lipstick in Lady's Choice. I wrote an entire blog post about this baby. Just know, it's awesome. 

The lipsticks pictured go from right to left in order of the questions, annoyingly I did it backwards. It's obvious the kinds of colors I gravitate more toward, aka reds. It's what I wear on a daily basis so it's only fitting that it is the backbone of this post.

I tag everyone and anyone who loves lip products. I know I'm addicted, what are your favorites?