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Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powder.

Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powder
Powder & Setting
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About this product

A talc-free luminous powder palette designed to add a soft, candlelit glow to the skin while setting makeup without a heavy finish.

Full ingredients

Guru Score

83%

Yay

4 experts · Moderate agreement
4Gurus
3Yay
1Mixed
0Nay

What they liked

  • Luminous finish without looking oily
  • Sets makeup without heaviness
  • Works as bronzer and highlighter

What they flagged

  • Need multiple products for full range

What the gurus are saying

This powder earns consistent praise for its lightweight, ethereal texture and ability to create a lit-from-within radiance without looking oily or shiny. Gurus appreciate how it sets makeup gently and that the formula performs well across skin tones, though some note the price point feels steep at $90, $100 and wish Hourglass offered more inclusive shade ranges. The palettes travel beautifully and last remarkably long, which softens the cost for those who commit to them.
Synthesized from 4 expert reviews · most recent take October 2025

Type

Powder & SettingPowder

Formula notes

Fragrance-freeNo drying alcohol

Where to buy

Opens a search for this product. Some links are affiliate links and we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. It never sways a score or a verdict.

More from Hourglass 18 products · Guru Score 92% → How it works Independent by design. Every take comes from a creator we have no relationship with. We do not ask anyone to review, and affiliate links never move a score.

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
✓Yay
"The last and final step I like to do is take my Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powder and kind of swipe all the colors together and buff it over my entire face. I feel like it gives this beautiful glow to the skin without making you look oily or shiny. It also acts to sort of set things in place without having to apply a heavy powder. [...] Hourglass is so good about this. It gives you this lit from within radiance that just makes your skin look healthy."
✓Yay
"One of my favorite ambient lighting powders by Hourglass Dim Light. It comes in the deer edit this year. You get two finishing powders, and this is the one I'm going to use today in dim light."
Top Pick: pressed powder
All 8 takes from Beyond50Skin
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"I'm definitely going to be replacing this in a minisize and diffused light because I like to put it over my sunscreens that are a little bit too shiny. It just tamps down that shine and makes the sunscreen look beautiful for a no makeup makeup day."
Drugstore Dupe for Laura Mercier's Tinted Moisturizer /Better Than High End & Mature Skin Friendly!
"The ambient lights powder is my absolute favorite for either cutting the shine on a foundation or a sunscreen."
7 Fall Closet Updates | Coffee, Skincare & Minimal Makeup Over 50
"One of my favorite ambient lighting powders by Hourglass Dim Light. It comes in the deer edit this year. You get two finishing powders, and this is the one I'm going to use today in dim light."
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"The Hourglass ambient light powder, I have that on today. I'm almost reaching pan on this and it had a little bit of accident a few weeks ago, so I love this. I'm definitely repurchasing this. You can get this in a mini if you haven't tried it before and you're not quite sure you can definitely try it out in a mini size."
3 SUMMER BEACHY Makeup Looks Over 50 (ONLY 5 PRODUCTS)
"If this is too glowy a look for you, [...] you can take the Hourglass Ambient Light Powder, any translucent powder that you have, and kind of tone this glow down. I'm going to use the incandescent light again and I'm going to go over my entire face with a wash of powder and it will just cut down [...] the glow on a sunscreen or the glow on any highlighter that you've applied to your face."
Beginner's Guide To Hourglass Makeup Over 50
"The only product that I've actually used and used up and repeatedly purchased is their Ambient Lighting Powder in Diffused Light. The way I use that mostly is just to give my face a little bit of a glow."
Top Beauty Picks of 2024 Over 50: Skincare, Makeup & Hair Care
"My favorite bronzers this year were surprisingly a powdered bronzer. They're two bronzers in here and they're ambient lighting powders by Hourglass. [...] As far as bronzers go, these have been my go to for just creating a little bit of shadow and contour to my face. You also get a diffused light which I use as a highlighter, though it's not my favorite highlighter this year, I have a new one for that."
Best Beauty of 2023! Every Category SUBSCRIBERS I HAVE EXCITING NEWS🎉
"My favorite pressed powder is the Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powder in Diffused Light. I cannot find a replacement for this powder, it's perfect for setting under the eye area after concealer, for tamping down shine on sunscreen, or if your complexion product is too glowy it just takes the glow and blurs everything out, so it's still my number one pick."
✓Mixed
"It's technically a talc free powder, but it has this soft ambient powder look, which is actually my preferred from Hourglass. The Ambient Lighting Powder, I like that one. I feel like Hourglass, that's the one thing, I want one line that is for everyone because I have to do three different products to get everything. You're basically looking for a baked powder that has a soft luminous candlelit glow to it, and I like the Ambient Lighting Powder from Hourglass."
✓Yay
"The only powered exception to that rule is the Hourglass powders highlighters, which are very very expensive. So I like to just tap this on with my two fingers and it gives me a bit of a glow."

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 Powder?

A talc-free luminous powder palette designed to add a soft, candlelit glow to the skin while setting makeup without a heavy finish.

Is Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powder worth it?

Mostly yes. 3 of the 4 gurus who reviewed it give it their stamp of approval, for a Guru Score of 83%.

What is Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powder's Guru Score?

Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powder holds a Guru Score of 83%. That is our read on how warmly the experts talk about it, based on the verdicts of 4 expert reviewers we have collected. At least one expert has named it a Top Pick in its category.

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