Hourglass Archives - Vikky Anna

My current beauty favourites

June 22, 2017 Leave a Comment

I’m not in the habit of doing a blog post on monthly favourites because, 1) I am a fickle creature who chop and change all the time, 2) I am also quite hard to please and it takes a lot for a product to grab my attention and become my holy grail. After six months into the year (where has the time gone by the way?) I’ve managed to round up a few items that I have absolutely been enjoyed using, some are recent discoveries that I’ve very quickly grown to love, and some are slowly but surely working towards a holy grail status.

Hourglass Ambient Lighting Edit Palette in Surreal Light. Althought this palette was brought out way back last Christmas, I’ve only just acquired it a few months ago. I’ve already done a full review of this palette here if you would like to have a read. But in short it’s one of those versatile palettes that you can get full use out of every single item. This is a super handy palette that I can chuck in my travel bag and it will take care of all my makeup needs.

Nars Soft Matte Complete Concealer. This is a heavy duty concealer in terms of coverage and lasting power. I absolutely love this concealer because it’s just so effective and everything I need in a good concealer. If you have dry skin, don’t let the word ‘matte’ throws you off, because if used correctly it is not at all drying. I use a damp mini complexion sponge to dip into the pot to gather the product and then bounce it under my eyes, and I get a full coverage that lasts all day, plus my undereyes remain hydrated without any creases.

Chantecaille Just Skin Tinted Moisturiser. I had been holding out for so long to buy this much hyped tinted moisturiser because the price really threw me off. It now retails at £61, which has increased from £55 when it was first launched a few years back. I did a full review here if you want to find out more details. Despite the staggering price tag, I hate to say I’ve fallen in love with it. It transforms my skin into a natural, radiant, healthy-looking complexion, and been absolutely perfect for sping and summer, when I want my skin to look like my natural skin but more perfected.

Ouai Texturising Hair Spray.
I used to be an Oribe Dry Texturising Spray girl through and through. I was completely faithful to the product and never thought anything else could sway me. But I’m afraid to say I have been swayed, and for justifiable reasons. Although Oribe does give me volume and texture, it doesn’t seem to last very long on my hair and by midday my hair is in need of oomphing up again. It also makes my hair greasy and sticky, and need washing the next day. Ouai texturising spray on the other hand feels really weightless, gives beautiful texture and volume, but most important of all it holds my curls and style for days, up until my hairwash day.

Real Technique Mini Miracle Complexion Sponges. As someone who has dry skin, I always struggle with my under eye concealer and constantly trying to find new ways to prevent creasing and dry patches under my eyes. These mini complexion sponges have been a godsend and an answer to my under eye concealer woes. The mini version is a perfect size to use around under eye area, and the hydrating sponge is so cooling and soothing and keep my concealer fresh as well as counteracting any dryness.

Heliocare Oral Capsules. I’ve always struggled with the idea that applying sunscreen to my face in the morning is hardly a guarantee that my skin will be protected from the sun throughout the entire day. Almost all topical sunscreens need to be reapplied every couple of hours, especially if you have prolonged exposure to the sun. And what can a girl do if she has a full face of makeup on? Reapplying sunscreen on top of makeup is out of the question. Removing makeup to reapply sunscreen and then redo the makeup again is even more unthinkable. These oral capsules by Heliocare solves the problem for me completely since it protects your skin from inside out against the sun. In the summer or when I’m on a holiday I take two capsules in the morning, and if I’m going to have prolonged exposure to the sun I will take a third one around lunch time or early afternoon, and that takes care of my sun protection needs. So easy and effective!

Byredo ‘Blanche’ perfume. This beautiful scent by Byredo really needs no introduction. ‘Blanche’ is a sweet and floral scent with a hint of musk, which makes it so sophisticated and seductive. I always feel really confident when I wear this scent and love carrying a 12ml travel-size with me in my makeup bag to freshen up with a few spritzes during the day. I will definitely be exploring more scents by Byredo since I love this one so much.

What have been your beauty favourites so far this year?

Hourglass Ambient Lighting Edit Palette in Surreal Light

May 18, 2017 Leave a Comment

Hourglass is one of my all time favourite beauty brands that can do no wrong in my opinion. All their products and new launches have major wow factors and never fail to impress, and the subject of today’s review is no exception. Hourglass Ambient Lighting Edit Palette in Surreal Light, which was launched as a holiday collection at the end of 2016, is packed full with pretty impressive stuff. It has a gorgeous marble-effect casing and five beautiful brand new shades, ranging from finishing powder to blusher to bronzer. The marble packaging alone already gave me heart palpitations, and I was very intrigued to find out that Hourglass came up with all brand new shades for the palette, as opposed to offering existing shades, which may not appeal to people who own a few Hourglass products and don’t want to get a repeat of what they already have.

Hourglass Ambient Lighting Edit Palette in Surreal Light contains: (top to bottom, left to right)

Finishing Powder in Surreal Light; a sheer and slightly iridescent warm nude shade. From the first glance I thought this would be too shimmery to use as a setting powder, but to my pleasant surprise it does work really well with no trace of glitter and gives a subtle luminosity to the skin true to Hourglass style. It also has a warm undertone and appears to warm up my complexion slightly.
Blusher in Surreal Glow; a soft nude pink shade with a neutral warm undertone. It does show up on my NC30-35 complexion and gives a really flattering soft pink flush.
Blusher in Surreal Effect; a deep rose pink shade, with a swirl of shimmer peachy tone. This is a great shade to use on the apple of your cheeks to give a pop of colour.
Bronzer in Surreal Bronze Light; a neutral tone bronzer, which goes on quite light (but you can definitely build up the intensity) making it natural looking and easy to wear. I’m not sure if this will show up on a darker skin tone.
Strobe Highlighting Powder in Surreal Strobe Light; a subdued golden peach highlighter, very appropriate for daytime. This is not an all out highlighter like Becca’s or the Balm’s Mary Loumanizer, but gives a more subtle glow.

Hourglass Ambient Lighting Edit palette in Surreal Light is a very versatile palette, very handy for travelling as it offers almost everything you need for your daily makeup. The shades are beautiful and wearable for everyday, and will suit most skin colours. I particularly love the two blushers, which I tend to mix and use as one colour, and also the bronzer, which I also double up as a crease colour for my eyes. I love that I can just chuck this one palette in my makeup bag when I travel and it takes care of all my makeup needs. I wasn’t sure if I would love this palette, thinking it would fall into the usual ploy of beautiful packaging to lure us in with little substance, but the Surreal Light palette has really impressed me. If you are looking for a palette to invest in, Hourglass Ambient Lighting Edit palette in Surreal Light, is definitely worth the consideration.

HourGlass Vanish Seamless Finish Foundation Stick

September 8, 2016 Leave a Comment

Hourglass holds a firm position in my top 10 favourite beauty brands. Their products just never fail to impress, and it’s one of the brands that whenever there’s a new launch, I’ll be the first to run to the store in the hope of getting my hands on their latest product. The recent launch of their new foundation stick was no exception.

Hourglass Vanish Seamless Finish Foundation Stick, is a foundation packaged in a convenient and travel-friendly stick format, and it has a lot to offer. Described as having the full coverage of a concealer, fluid texture like that of a liquid foundation, and weightless feel like a mineral powder. The formula is very pigmented and acts both as foundation and concealer all in one, making it buildable to full coverage but looks and feels lightweignt and natural on the skin. The foundation is available in 26 different shades, which means you’re guaranteed to find your perfect colourmatch.

I got mine in the shade ‘Sand’ (my MAC shade is NC30-NC35), which matches my skin tone perfectly. The packaging of this foundation fits right in with Hourglass style and trademark; sleek, and sophisticated, with that guaranteed wow factor. The foundation comes in compact triangle-shaped twist up stick, which not only looks and feels luxurious, but also very convenient and easy to carry around or travel with.

I have to admit, I’d never been a fan of foundation sticks. I have normal to dry skin and prefer a liquid foundation, something that will hydrate my skin. Foundation sticks, in my opinion, have a tendency to be drying, heavy and cakey. I was however, very pleasantly surprised to find my perception proven completely wrong after trying out Hourglass Vanish foundation stick. The texture of the Vanish Stick is incredibly creamy and ‘completely’ easy to blend, just like you’re blending a liquid foundation, and it also feels so beautifully lightweight and comfortable on the skin. It does, as it claims, blend into a completely seamless and smooth finish, it does not cake or emphasise pores like most foundation sticks tend to do. Coverage is medium and can be buildable to full, I find that it gives me enough coverage after one layer that there was no need for me to use a concealer (only for my undereye).

Along with the Vanish Stick, Hourglass also launched the Vanish Foundation Brush, which is a dense kabuki type foundation brush, designed to use with the Vanish Stick to buff and blend the foundation into a flawless smooth perfection. But this is another additional £42, and to be honest although it is a very good brush, if like me you already have so many foundation brushes lying around, just don’t bother buying another one. I’ve also been using my Oval Artis 7 and sometimes Real Technique buffing brush or the Bobbi Brown Full Coverage Face Brush, and they have all worked just as good.

In terms of lasting power, I think this will depend on your skin type and possibly what products you use underneath and what products you use to set the foundation. I find that on days when my skin is very dry, the foundation tends to gather and cling on to dry patches by the end of the day. But on days when my skin is normal, the foundation does last beautifully througout the entire day. So if you prep your skin well, make sure it’s well moisturised and hydrated, and use a good primer depending on your skin type, I think this is an amazing foundation. It offers a gorgeous full coverage flawless finish with a very lightweight texture, incredibly easy and a joy to blend, and I absolutely adore the sleek and convenient packaging, which I can just chuck into my bag and carry with me wherever I go.

Have you tried the Hourglass Vanish Foundation Stick? What are your thoughts?