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Hourglass

Ambient Lighting Edit Unlocked Palette.

Hourglass Ambient Lighting Edit Unlocked Palette
Eye Makeup

About this product

A pressed powder palette featuring luminous finishing powder, blush, bronzer, and highlighter in multiple shades for various skin tones.

Full ingredients

Guru Score

71%

Mixed

7 experts · Strong agreement
7Gurus
5Yay
1Mixed
1Nay
#16 in Eye MakeupSee the ranking →

What they liked

  • Luminous finish without glitter
  • Lasts for years
  • Skin-like finish

What they flagged

  • Ashy on deeper skin tones
  • Dry powder
  • Pricey

What the gurus are saying

This finishing powder's luminous effect splits reviewers: most say it looks like skin with a delicate glow and lasts years as an investment piece, while some find it ashy and powdery, especially on deeper skin tones. The shade range is limited, as the palette was designed with lighter skin tones in mind. Apply a light dusting, since this finishing powder is powerful enough on its own.
Synthesized from 7 expert reviews · most recent take April 2026

What the gurus are saying.

Every take we've logged from this product's reviews across YouTube. Click any row to watch the moment they said it.

All takes Yay takes Nay takes Mixed takes Hide sponsored
~Nay
"It's like someone lay down a white powder in each pan and then coughed the color into it. This on deeper skin tones, even the ones made for deeper skin tones, terrible. Ashy, dusty, volcanic mess. I do not like it. I think these palettes are awful. Even the powders themselves. When I bought them and I was like, I'm not going to use these on people. I tried to use one on myself. Dry. The dryness of them. People love it, but I just think it looks ashy on people. It looks like powder, which I know is a crazy thing to say. You can almost see the powder particles on the skin. I do not like these. I don't know why they're so expensive and I don't know why they are so loved. Horrible, horrible."
~Yay
"The Hourglass Ambient Lighting Edit Unlocked Palette really quick, I still have my palette from a few years ago. I love these palettes, they're so handy. They're expensive, but what I love about them is when I travel, it basically has everything you need if you're not too picky on what your favorites are. It's got an all over powder, it's got a blush, a [...] bronzer, then it's got a highlighter in there. So literally if you're traveling and you bring this one compact, this is all you need for your face. It's really handy. It's expensive, but [...] these last me a lot longer than a year. The last one I actually had to toss or recycle just because it was starting to get not as good as it was before. [...] They have three different shades now, I think light, medium, and deep, which is also nice."
All 2 takes from No BS Beauty
Sephora Fall Sale Picks ✔🎀💚 What Skincare & Beauty Products I'm Buying & Recommendations for 2024
"The Hourglass Ambient Lighting Edit Unlocked Palette really quick, I still have my palette from a few years ago. I love these palettes, they're so handy. They're expensive, but what I love about them is when I travel, it basically has everything you need if you're not too picky on what your favorites are. It's got an all over powder, it's got a blush, a [...] bronzer, then it's got a highlighter in there. So literally if you're traveling and you bring this one compact, this is all you need for your face. It's really handy. It's expensive, but [...] these last me a lot longer than a year. The last one I actually had to toss or recycle just because it was starting to get not as good as it was before. [...] They have three different shades now, I think light, medium, and deep, which is also nice."
May Empties - What Skincare & Beauty Product Empties I've Finished This Month
"This is the Hourglass Ambient Lighting Palette from a few years ago that I've still been using. I opened it up a couple weeks ago and there was a bug in it. It's almost pan, but it didn't make me want to use it again. It's kind of old, so I'm moving on to one from like two or three years ago now to finish that one up. I don't know how I still can't finish it, but yeah, there you go."
~Yay
"It's the Hourglass Ambient Lighting Edit Unlocked Palette. This powder is so beautiful on the skin, I use it as my kind of finishing powder, almost like a setting powder, and it just adds a nice luminosity to the skin, but it's not glittery. I feel like whenever I use this I get compliments on my skin, and I know in my heart of hearts that I haven't done anything new to my skincare except put on that very nice makeup setting powder. I don't think they really advertise it as a setting powder, and you wouldn't want to use a heavy hand with this, just a little light dusting over the top of your makeup, but everywhere on your face looks really nice. There are three different colors and I just sort of blend them all together and apply broadly. I remember when I was first going to purchase this palette, it came at the recommendation of one of my makeup artist friends, and I was like, oh my gosh, this is kind of expensive, but I've also had that palette for multiple years and it's still going and I use it a lot, so it's been a very nice investment."
All 2 takes from Dr. Sam Ellis
Dermatologist's Ultimate Beauty Hacks for Glowing Skin | Dr. Sam Ellis
"It's the Hourglass Ambient Lighting Edit Unlocked Palette. This powder is so beautiful on the skin, I use it as my kind of finishing powder, almost like a setting powder, and it just adds a nice luminosity to the skin, but it's not glittery. I feel like whenever I use this I get compliments on my skin, and I know in my heart of hearts that I haven't done anything new to my skincare except put on that very nice makeup setting powder. I don't think they really advertise it as a setting powder, and you wouldn't want to use a heavy hand with this, just a little light dusting over the top of your makeup, but everywhere on your face looks really nice. There are three different colors and I just sort of blend them all together and apply broadly. I remember when I was first going to purchase this palette, it came at the recommendation of one of my makeup artist friends, and I was like, oh my gosh, this is kind of expensive, but I've also had that palette for multiple years and it's still going and I use it a lot, so it's been a very nice investment."
Dermatologist's "No Makeup" Makeup Routine to Even Skin Tone & Enhance Features | Dr. Sam Ellis
"I love this Hourglass Ambient Lighting Palette. This is an investment, it's not cheap, but I love it. It has these three colors, and what I do most often is I swirl all three of these and use it over my entire face just to give it this really pretty glow. I love it because it doesn't make your face look shimmery or glittery, but it just helps the light reflect nicely off your skin."
~Yay
"The Hourglass Ambient Light Editing Unlocked Palette was the number one pick for pressed powders, and I'm not surprised. I love my Ambient Light -- it's one of my favorite powders of all time. I'm just getting ready to hit pan and will be repurchasing. There's something special about the Hourglass Ambient Light blushes that just look so gorgeous even on mature skin."
~Mixed
"This is the Ambient Lighting Edit Unlocked, I'm glad it's unlocked so I can use whatever carrier I want with it. It already had some of my favorites in it, the Diffused Light yellow shade is so nice to use in the center of your face for a different ambience, and if that warmer tone doesn't work as well on you there's also the Ethereal Light, a solid white finishing powder that smooths out your skin without adding color. It's got a soft highlighter, two different blushes, and a bronzer, I do like the curation, I think it's actually an excellent finishing powder, blush, bronzer, highlighter palette. The only thing is this palette was designed for lighter skin tones, so I'm bummed that not everybody will be able to find their shade."
~Yay
"You get some blushes, you get a bronzer, you get a highlighter, a finishing powder. I have used a lot of hourglass powders in the past and I have nothing negative to say about it other than yes it's pretty expensive, but the quality of the powder, the way that it gives your skin this skin-like finish, it doesn't look like you're wearing powder, it just looks like your skin. It's beautiful. The formulations of these types of powders are so good. I'm going to pick up this because I'm going to be using this on my eyes as well. I'm all about using my face products on my eyes, so a lot of the times I will use my highlighters and my bronzers on my eyes instead of an eyeshadow, and I plan on doing that with this palette as well."
~Yay
"I like these palettes because you can literally just combine the colors and make something custom, and it leaves the most gorgeous finish on the skin. [...] These are such beautiful powders. I just want an ethereal glow today, and that's what we are getting. [...] I think that Hourglass Ambient Lighting Edit Unlocked Palette really amped things up. I can't believe it's been sitting on my desk and I literally haven't even tried it. I've been waiting for the right video and then I keep forgetting, so this was perfect to finally use."
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All 6 takes from Allie Glines
I NEEDED This Makeup Day 🤩
"I like these palettes because you can literally just combine the colors and make something custom, and it leaves the most gorgeous finish on the skin. [...] These are such beautiful powders. I just want an ethereal glow today, and that's what we are getting. [...] I think that Hourglass Ambient Lighting Edit Unlocked Palette really amped things up. I can't believe it's been sitting on my desk and I literally haven't even tried it. I've been waiting for the right video and then I keep forgetting, so this was perfect to finally use."
I Tried YOUR Holiday Wishlist! 🎁
"This is the Ambient Lighting Edit Unlocked Palette from this year, this is the jellyfish one. These are not the cheapest, which is why they really would make a great gift for yourself or somebody else. You get a bunch of shades and they're just to die for, they're so beautiful. This would make a very very thoughtful gift to anyone who loves makeup. If they received it I think they'd be very very happy. They're so beautiful, definitely a splurge."
The #1 Makeup from October 2023 😍
"Hourglass launched their holiday palettes this month and this one's been sitting on my desk, I haven't put it down. This is the jellyfish palette. It's geared toward lighter skin tones, so I feel like that's why I've been reaching for this one the most. I really enjoy the highlighter this year. It's so beautiful, very iridescent, very beaming but in a good way. Both blush shades are something that I've been using non-stop. I'm wearing the pink one today on the apples of the cheeks and it gives such a healthy little flush of color. The bronzer I've got all over as well. It's just a really nice setup this year. Plus I love the jellyfish packaging anyway, really enjoying that."
If I Took You to Sephora, Here's What I'd Buy You! 😍
"This time of year is always my favorite for hourglass face palettes. These palettes launch every year and they're just something so special. I will say I still love the ones from last year a little bit better, that elephant palette is like everything to me. However this one right here, the jellyfish one, is from this year's launch. These are limited edition. They did bump up the price actually versus last year. These are now $90, I think they used to be like 85 or 80 something, so they are a little more expensive than they used to be. This one is the one that I get the most use out of because this one's geared toward more light skin tones. I really love using these obviously on the face but you can use them anywhere. I love creating eye looks with these as well. So they're amazing."
VERY EXCITING NEW MAKEUP 😍😍😍
"I think it's gorgeous, especially the highlighter. This is going to be a really glowy, beaming highlight even for super fair skin. I'm so happy about this. Hourglass just always does a good job with the holiday palettes, I must say."
Nikki La Rose Does My Makeup!!! 😱
"The Hourglass Ambient Lighting Edit Unlocked Palette, this is the original one, it's the lightest one out of the three. I like to just swirl into the two light shades over here to start, and add a touch of Soft Airbrush Glow. We love a Soft Airbrush Glow, the powder is so good. Then using a deeper shade now, just sitting those really close to Allie's bottom lash line. I love how these really elevate my eyes, they're so stunning."

What the evidence says.

Independent of what the gurus think, this is what the published research supports about the main active ingredients here.

Sunscreen filters

Sun protection is the best evidenced way to slow visible ageing, and the filters are what does the work. Mineral and chemical filters both protect when a product is applied thickly enough and often enough, which is where most people fall short rather than on the choice of filter.

Source: DermNet

Frequently asked.

What is Hourglass Ambient Lighting Edit Unlocked Palette?

A pressed powder palette featuring luminous finishing powder, blush, bronzer, and highlighter in multiple shades for various skin tones.

Is Hourglass Ambient Lighting Edit Unlocked Palette worth it?

The gurus mostly approve it, but with enough reservations to keep it in the middle at a Guru Score of 71%.

What is Hourglass Ambient Lighting Edit Unlocked Palette's Guru Score?

Hourglass Ambient Lighting Edit Unlocked Palette holds a Guru Score of 71%. That is our read on how warmly the experts talk about it, based on the verdicts of 7 expert reviewers we have collected.

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