Hello! My name is Alanna and I blog over at classyontherun.blogspot.com. I’m really excited to be guest posting here on Melanie’s blog as a part of the CBB August Guest Post rotation. This month’s theme is “Worth the Splurge”.
As I was spending my time thinking about what to include in this post I decided to spend a week going about my usual make-up routine and pay attention to what I splurged to purchase, and what I use every day. At the end of my week of actually paying attention I realized that there are two products I use nearly daily, and that at the time of purchase I really felt I was making a splurge: Hourglass’s Ambient Lighting Bronzer ($68) and Hourglass’s Ambient Lighting Blush ($41 each). Now, the blush I use comes in a palette which is no longer available (previous holiday release), but I hear that Hourglass will have an epic, similar holiday release this year.
Each powder is both a blush or bronzer and a highlighter. They create a beautiful lit from within glow, and everything about using the product feels like luxury. From the rose gold casing to the generous mirror to the finely milled powder, everything about this product design was intended to feel like luxury. I have other blushes and bronzers that are similar in colour, but there is something about the formulations that just make me feel special. And that’s what a splurge is all about anyways, right? At the end of the day I find these products create a romantic, diffused glow that simply radiates.
Despite being super pale, I personally find that Ambient Lighting Bronzer in “Luminous Bronze Light” is simply too light to be a bronzer. It is a beautiful sunny highlighter, but not really much of a bronzer. They advertise “Radiant Bronze Light” as being best suited for medium and dark complexions, but I find as a pale girl that this is a lovely bronzer for me. The shades really do run light, so for ladies with a darker complexion I would expect this to me more of a highlight than a true bronzer. I like to use a fluffy tulip shapes brush (I use the Julep Bronzer Brush) and to apply the powder anywhere the sun would naturally kiss my skin (Cheek bones, forehead, nose bridge). On me, it is a bit too orange to use on the lower half of my face. Given how luminous this formula is, it really should not be used to contour. I feel my best using this bronzer when I am off to spend a day in the sun and just want to add a little more.
As for the Ambient Lighting Blushes, my all time favourite is “Mood Exposure”. This luminous plummy rose is the perfect pick me up, and for me goes with literally everything. Each of the blushes in this palette is super wearable, and can easily build from a sheer wash of colour to something bolder. I like that these blushes hit the right balance between colour pay off and dewy glow. Seriously, I have never applied this blush and not felt instantly pretty. I like to apply this blush with a small but fluffy brush so that I can achieve the optimal balance between applying blush and creating a romantic glow.
At the end of the day, when I think of what makes a product worth the splurge it is the balance between a functional product, a product that makes you feel your very best, and a product that is beautifully packaged. Every time I look at, let alone use any of my Hourglass products I feel a touch of luxury. When I apply them I feel instantly pretty. And really, they are worth the splurge because I use them nearly every single day. Better to pay for a single expensive product that you will use frequently, that to buy a bunch of junk that you hardly touch!
What are your favourite every day luxury products? What makes them worth the splurge?
