Hourglass Ambient Lighting Edit Unlocked Palette

The following content contains referral links. Read my disclosure policy for more info.

Hourglass Ambient Lighting Edit Unlocked Palette

October 2019 edit: It looks like Hourglass listened to what people wanted! :) They’re re-releasing last year’s Unlocked palette as Ambient Lighting Edit Unlocked-Ghost on World Vegan Day, Friday, November 1, 2019. So, it’s the same palette as last year but housed in new packaging. As was the case with last year’s release, 5% of the profits from this palette will go to support the Nonhuman Rights Project, nonprofit animal rights organization.

November 10, 2019 edit: Right now it looks like the Hourglass Ambient Lighting Edit Unlocked Ghost is out of stock at Sephora, but you can find it at Nordstrom right here. 

If you’re deciding between the Hourglass Ambient Lighting Edit Ghost Palette (review + swatches here) and the Hourglass Ambient Lighting Edit Unlocked-Ghost, I would suggest getting the Unlocked (as long as the colors work with your skin tone, of course). The reason is that the Unlocked palette features six, all-new, exclusive shades of powder, bronzer, blush, and metallic strobe powder.

Every year, I always look forward to Hourglass releasing their Ambient Lighting palettes. While last year left me feeling a bit disappointed, this year I was SO pleased to see that they decided to release two palettes. As you probably saw in my recent WIMMB post, I went with the Unlocked palette.

Hourglass powders are very unique in the way they blur and soften the skin, and are very much worth the splurge.

Here’s what Hourglass say about their Ambient Lighting Edit Unlocked Palette:

What it is:

“A multitasking, vegan palette featuring six all-new, exclusive shades of Ambient Lighting Powder, Bronzer, Blush, and Metallic Strobe Lighting Powder.”

What it does:

“All six powders in this set are formulated with pure Photoluminescent Technology to capture, diffuse, and soften surrounding light for skin that appears softer, younger, and lit from within. Five percent of profits from this 100-percent vegan and cruelty-free palette will go to support the Nonhuman Rights Project.” 

This palette includes Ambient Lighting Powders in Soft Light and Filtered Light, Ambient Lighting Bronzer in Golden Bronze Light, Ambient Lighting Blushes in Nude Glow and Mood Flush and Metallic Strobe Lighting Powder in Champagne Strobe Light.

The pans in Ambient Lighting palettes are rather small and unless you want to pick up multiple powders, you have to use a smaller brush. Three of my favorite brushes that work great with Hourglass Ambient Lighting palettes are Hourglass Ambient Lighting Edit Brush, Sephora Pro Small Blush and Contour #74 Brush and Pixi Strobe and Sculpt Brush. They all work great with picking up single powder, rather than mixing them together.

Here are a couple of previous Ambient Lighting Palettes. The size of Hourglass Ambient Lighting Edit Unlocked Palette is consistent with previous 6-product palette releases, containing 0.04oz of each powder product and priced at $80, whereas previous palettes like the Ambient Lighting Palette contained 0.133oz of each of the 3 powders and was priced at $62. Full-sized Ambient Lighting powders are priced at $46 for 0.35oz; Ambient Lighting Blushes sell for $34 for 0.15 oz; Ambient Lighting Bronzers come in a 0.39oz size and are priced at $50.

What I love:

-this palette is actually much warmer than previous releases and more suitable for medium and olive skin tones, but these powders just diffuse and blend so beautifully that I have no problem making them work with my light skin tone.
-there are two finishing powders included in this palette: Soft Light and Filtered Light. Filtered Light is too warm for me to use as a finishing powder, but it works great as a delicate bronzer.
-I love that all six powders included in this palette are new and exclusive. It was also the deciding factor in me buying the Unlocked version over the Vol. 4 which features four bestselling and 2 new shades.
-all the powders have a beautiful finish and that Hourglass quality is definitely there, as with all of their products.
-the powders are easily buildable so you can go as delicate or as intense as you want with these.

What I don’t love:

-usually, when purchasing a palette containing multi-use products (finishing powders, bronzers and blush) you expect to get more value than when purchasing each product separately. This basically means that in terms of the product quantity, you don’t get your money’s worth. It’s not something that’s ever stopped me from purchasing these Hourglass palettes, but the fact is that these palettes are a little overpriced. This is probably the only thing that I don’t love about this palette, but as I said, it probably won’t stop me from purchasing their LE palettes in the future.
-depending on how heavy you are with your brush, the palette tends to get a bit messy over time with regular use.

If you have very fair skin, I think that the Ambient Lighting Edit Volume 4 would be a better choice, and the main reason why I went with the Unlocked palette, is because all powders included in it are new and exclusive. The Vol 4 palette also contains a few powders that I already own, so that’s also something that made the choice between the two a little easier for me.

Left to right: Ambient Lighting Powders in Soft Light,  Filtered Light, Ambient Lighting Bronzer in Golden Bronze Light, Ambient Lighting Blush in Nude Glow, Mood Flush and Metallic Strobe Lighting Powder in Champagne Strobe Light.