Did you know that Mecca has a Beauty Bag Wrap for the end of the year that is like the Spotify Wrap but for beauty? I opened my email this morning and it said that I was in the Top 9% of the shoppers for this year for Hourglass Cosmetics. I have a feeling something went wrong in this Beauty Wrap because I only bought 2 palettes from Hourglass this year. Nevertheless, I’m taking this street cred and claiming my expertise to review the Hourglass Leopard Palette for you!
What Is the Hourglass Leopard Palette?
The Hourglass Ambient Lighting Edit Unlocked Leopard Palette is part of a limited-edition collection that Hourglass release every year for the holidays. This year, the colour palettes for the collection features Snake, Leopard and Jellyfish which support the Nonhuman Rights Project in their efforts to secure fundamental rights for animals. If you want to feel less guilty about dropping so much money on a single palette, maybe you’ll find comfort knowing that Hourglass will donate 5% of annual profits from this collection to the Nonhuman Rights Project. Win!
I was one of the lucky few to get my hands on the Hourglass Leopard Palette as soon as it landed at Mecca, thanks to my cat. She woke me up at 5am by walking all over my head and I couldn’t go back to sleep. This made me check out the Mecca website and make a sleepy purchase as soon as I saw the palette. $144 and a day later, I was able to click and collect it at my local Mecca!
Shade Range
Each animal represents different skin tones it would be suitable for. Jellyfish for light skin tone, Leopard for medium and Snake for dark. I was really tossing up between the Jellyfish or Leopard but decided to trust my instincts and go with the Hourglass Leopard Palette, and I could not be happier. This palette includes five bestselling shades—one finishing powder, two blushes, one bronzer, and one highlighter—along with one brand-new shade of blush to diffuse, enhance, and add glow to the complexion.
The Hourglass website describes the shades as below:
- Ambient Lighting Power: Dim Light (Natural Beige)
- Ambient Metallic Strobe Lighting Powder: Celestial Strobe Light (Pale Gold)
- Ambient Lighting Blush: Mood Exposure (Soft Plum)
- Ambient Strobe Lighting Blush: Iridescent Rose (Warm Rose)
- Ambient Lighting Blush (New): Ethereal Flush (Soft Peach)
- Ambient Lighting Bronzer: Lustrous Bronze Light (Bronze Heat)
Formula of the Hourglass Leopard Palette
The unique selling point of Hourglass powders is that they are finishing powders. They are slightly different from setting powders that are normally used to lock creams and liquids in place. These finishing powders are used in the last stage of your makeup look to really finish the canvas like a makeup masterpiece. As they are finishing powders, the formula is very fine and almost melts into the skin to add radiance and glow to the skin.
A little goes a long way with the blushes. I do find that some of the shades in the Hourglass Leopard Palette such as Mood Exposure and Iridescent Rose end up looking quite similar on my skin, but they are still very pretty colours. My favourite is Ethereal Flush, which also happens to be a new shade. I really do love the bronzer shade Lustrous Bronze Light– it’s the perfect bronzer that is not too orange and not too warm.
As for the brightening and highlighting shades, I use Dim Light to brighten my undereye area, but I find that the shade is not bright enough. It could be used as a setting powder for my face all over, but I have a separate setting powder for that, so I don’t really find the use for it. Celestial Strobe Light is a very pretty highlighter and it’s especially great for textured skin as the formula is quite sheer, so it won’t accentuate texture as much.
The Girl Math on The Value
Hourglass Mini Travel size usually retails for $45 for 1.3g at Mecca. The Hourglass Leopard Palette is $144 and contains 6 x 1.4g minis, which is around $270 in value if purchased individually. According to my girl math, you’re wasting $126 if you don’t buy it. Simple!
My Final Verdict on the Hourglass Leopard Palette
The Hourglass Leopard Palette is a beautiful treat for all makeup lovers. The formula is superb and beginner friendly. Also let’s face it, no one is going to hit pan on any shades even though they are minis (unless you use it A LOT daily) so the value is evidently there. However, some blush shades are quite similar and none of them are ground-breaking, so if you already have a holiday palette from Hourglass from previous years, there is really no need to folk out money for a new palette. If you don’t own any finishing palettes by Hourglass, then these holiday palettes are great for gifting to yourself or any makeup enthusiasts!
Have you tried the Hourglass Leopard Palette? Let me know your thoughts in the comments!
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