A bittersweet “almost there” pan

 

I’m oh so close to achieving the bittersweet feat of panning my first pressed powder.

This is the **Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powder in Soft Light** within the the **Hourglass Ambient Lighting Edit Mini – Sculpture Unlocked** quad which I believe was initially released in 2018 and then re-released again in 2022 both times as a limited edition product.

This is the only powder my very dry & very dehydrated skin has ever loved. Honestly before this I despised powder. It is technically a finishing powder and not a setting powder but it worked as both for my skin type + make-up preferences. If applied with a dense brush then Soft Light appears slightly too warm/peachy/dark on my complexion (light-medium, cool muted olive, depth of about a MAC NC20) however if I used a soft fluffy brush (my go-to is the LE Real Techinques Blush Crush Vol.3 #004 Contour Brush – the perfect size & shape to fit in these smaller pans) then it was a non-issue & didn’t add much colour at all even if I was heavy handed. It’s honestly such a lovely formula. It’s so nice & extremely finely milled. It feels like nothing on the skin. It lightly sets my base but without mattifying the skin and killing my hardearned glow. It just takes down any overt shine and oilyness. It never looks cakey, powdery, dry or overly mattifying on the skin. It doesn’t emphasise any texture (of which I have a fair amount). It has the most beautiful satin finish with a whisper of a not quite sheen/radiance but just something ever slightly softly luminescent and has the most subtle blur effect that helps to smooth over and soften the appearance of pores/texture and just makes the overall quality of skin look polished and elevated in a way that’s almost imperceptible & hard to describe but still somehow makes a huge difference.

I received this quad as a birthday gift back in 2020 and have been using this as almost as my sole powder ever since. (I do reach for the Innisfree No Sebum Loose Powder during peak summer but my skin cannot tolerate it the rest of the year). As you can see in my picture the only powder to have any noticeable use is the ALP. The bronzer is too warm and dark for my skintone (I occasionally use it as an eyeshadow or a bronzer topper when I am at my deepest in the height of summer), the blush although a beautiful shade is difficult for me to use (I’m primarily a cream blush lover and struggle to make it apply in a non-patchy way), the highlighter is fine but I already owned the Hourglass Ambient Metallic Strobe Lighting Palette which I prefer if I want a powder highlight (which tbf is a rarity these days). I don’t have any intention to pan the remaining quad as I have many other blush/bronzer/highlight products that I actually adore and don’t plan to neglect while I waste my time with a mediocre product. I’d much rather focus my time & energy on actively using/panning the products that make me happy to use & that I love the most.

The ALP in Soft Light is sadly unavailable outside of limited edition quads/palettes. From my own deep dive research online + swatching them in store all the various Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powders have different finishes/effects from each other and I was unable to find anything that was similar enough to Soft Light within their permanent range of ALP.

The HG Mini Sculpture Unlocked contained 1.4g of the ALP in (the same as their individual travel sizes) so it lasted me a considerable amount of time considering the amount of product it contained and I wish it had been available in the full size 10g as despite the initial price tag (£50) it would have lasted me for almost eternity & would be more than worth the price per use.

I’ve searched high & low for a dupe. I considered the Pat McGrath Sublime Perfection Blurring Under-Eye Powder, MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural and Kosas Cloud Set but in the end went with the Laura Mercier Candleglow Sheer Perfecting Powder as it sounded the most similar from people who have tried both. I have yet to test it out myself but will share my comparison between the two products once I post my true pan post for the Hourglass ALP in Soft Light for anyone who is curious/in the same boat.