Hourglass Ambient Metallic Strobe Lighting Palette

T-B | Absolute Strobe Light, Pure Strobe Light, Lucent Strobe Light

Hourglass always manages to draw me in with their holiday releases - I'm so surprised I managed to resist ordering their Ambient Lighting palette in the marble packaging last year, and this year, I was so close to getting the new rose gold one. But when the new Ambient Metallic Strobe Lighting Palette was released, I knew that was the one for me. I have a few blushes, a bronzer, and one of the original powders, so I don't really need the whole edit. But a palette of three beautiful highlighters in a brand new formula? Color me intrigued.

The Hourglass Ambient Metallic Strobe Lighting Palette builds on their popular Ambient Strobe Lighting Powders and contains three unique shades in a new, more intense formula. The three new shades are Absolute Strobe Light, a rosy champagne, Pure Strobe Light, a white gold, and Lucent Strobe Light, a copper-y bronze shade.

The new Metallic Strobe formula gives a more brilliant finish than the original Strobe powders on the skin. The powders themselves feel like literal velvet - so smooth and soft. They kick up a little bit of powder when you swirl a brush in them, but it's nothing major. They smooth over the skin beautifully and give a dewy-looking sheen. They really do mimic the look of a cream. For this reason, they've been amazing for layering over cream products to ensure a longer-lasting highlight. They can be applied with a light hand for a sheer, more subtle finish, or they can be built up to an intense metallic sheen. Although intense, they do not appear glittery or powdery on the skin. I don't have too much texture on my cheeks, but I haven't noticed these emphasizing pores or texture.

My favorite way to wear all three shades is by mixing Absolute and Pure for a more neutral champagne sheen on my cheekbones and on the inner corners of my eyes, and then I've been using Lucent as an eyeshadow - all three shades are truly stunning. I really hope they release this formula in singles, as it's quickly become a favorite, along with the Ambient Lighting Blushes.  If you're a highlighter fiend like me, I'd definitely recommend picking this up before it's gone!

Have you tried any of this year's holiday releases from Hourglass?

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Glossier Body Hero | Review + Discount

Whenever Glossier comes out with a new product, you know I have to review it. Just last week, Glossier launched Body Hero, a duo of two bodycare products - think of it like the Phase 3 set. The new products are the Daily Oil Wash, an oil-based body wash, and the Daily Perfecting Cream, a rich and luxurious body cream. The products are fantastic, of course, but I also am so in love with the Body Hero campaign. It's so refreshing to see such a diverse group of women featured, and the message is empowering. You are a Body Hero, and you're beautiful the way you are. 

Onto the products, after using them just once, I immediately ordered backups. The Daily Oil Wash reminds me a bit of the L'Occitane Almond Shower Oil - it's a thick, "cushion-y" oil that gently froths up when it comes in contact with water. It spreads easily over the body, so I find I need about the same amount as any other body wash - a pump for both arms, a pump for my torso, one for my legs, and one for my back. It rinses away completely without leaving a film on the skin, but it does leave a lovely, moisturized feeling. A lot of body washes I've tried really strip my skin (which then leads to breakouts on my back), but I've noticed since this one is nice and moisturizing, I haven't been breaking out as much.

The Daily Perfecting Cream is probably my favorite product of the two. It has a rich, buttery texture, quite like the Priming Moisturizer Rich, but it sinks into the skin amazingly fast. I normally skip out on moisturizing my body aside from my legs because I just can't stand the sticky feeling, but I've actually been using this all over. In the winter I might have to pair it with a body oil on my legs (because they're just next-level dry), but for the rest of my body, it gives the perfect amount of hydration. It also contains a teeny tiny bit of shimmer to give the skin a beautiful dewy look - so now you can have that Glossier Glow all over your body.

Let's talk about the scent: amazing. It's a subtle orange blossom and neroli scent - I'm terrible at describing scents, but it's gentle, earthy, and fresh all at once. It reminds me of a scent that might be used in baby products. The scent is stronger in the Daily Oil Wash than it is in the Daily Perfecting Cream, and I feel like I notice a slight increase in sweetness in the scent of the cream. The scent stays close to the skin and dissipates over the course of the day - I can really only smell it if I press my nose to my skin for the first few hours.

You can get the Daily Oil Wash and Daily Perfecting Cream separately or as a Duo - you save $5 with the duo, and you'll get free shipping too. You can shop through my rep link at glossier.com/reps/kelsey for 10% off your first order - orders through my link make it possible for me to be sent the new products early, so I'm always so grateful for your support. I also make a small commission on orders through my link, so if that makes you uncomfortable, feel free to just shop through Glossier's website.

Products mentioned have been sent to me for consideration, but all opinions are my own. Please see my disclaimer for more information. This post contains affiliate links.

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Fenty Beauty Review | Pro Filt'r Foundation, Match Stix, Killawatt, Gloss Bomb

Ok, I fell for the hype hard. I wasn't even planning on getting anything from Fenty Beauty, but when it launched, I realized how beautiful everything looked, how well it seemed to fit with my own makeup goals, and how it wouldn't be a scramble to look around on the website and get something before everything sold out. I wanted to get a good representation of the line for the purpose of a review, and I made sure to stick to products I'd still actually use. I don't always listen to Rihanna's music, but I'm a big fan of her as a person, so I was super excited to see what she'd bring out. I love seeing how involved she was in the process, and it seemed like a true passion project rather than a celebrity money-grab. 

Pro Filt'r Soft Matte Longwear Foundation | I've been on the glossy, dewy train for so long that I was starting to think I needed just one foundation in my collection that wasn't. I was going to go for the Milk Makeup one, but then this dropped and I had to have it. I was nervous at first because my skin is quite dry, but oh my goodness I'm obsessed with this foundation. I do have to make sure my skin is prepped properly to prevent it catching on any dryness, but I find that a layer of Glossier Priming Moisturizer mixed with a drop or two of rosehip oil makes a perfect base. When first applied, it doesn't look great. But as it sits on the skin, it transforms to such a beautiful finish. It lets the perfect amount of my natural oils through and looks velvety and luminous after just an hour. It continues looking lovely on the skin for such a long time - usually my skin drinks up foundations within a few hours, but this one lasts all day (around 8-10 hours). I did end up getting a shade that's too light, but the undertone is spot on. I can make it work with light coverage, but I think I'm going to order another shade at some point for mixing so I can build it up more. Also, it's amazing to see so many different shades included, especially in an initial launch. It's been so nice to see people online and in Sephora so excited to see a shade they can actually use. Rihanna really paid attention to undertones as well as bringing out actual wearable deeper shades, something I hope the rest of the beauty world sees and follows suit.

Full Bodied Foundation Brush 110 | I picked up the brush to go along with the foundation because I couldn't get over how beautiful it looked. It's quite soft and dense, and it's a bit of a hybrid between an old-school paddle foundation brush and a buffing brush. It's a similar shape to the Real Techniques Expert Face Brush, actually, which is one of my favorites. This brush really gives a flawless, high coverage finish. I'm not used to applying my base with a brush so I do tend to go over it with a damp sponge once applied, but I can definitely still see myself using this brush for foundation application and perhaps blending out contour. I'm super intrigued by the highlight brush as well - if you've tried it, let me know!

Match Stix Matte & Shimmer Skinsticks, 'Amber' & 'Starstruck' | I thought these were going to be the stand out products for me from the line, seeing as I love anything in stick form. The contour shade (Amber) is beautiful and perfect for my skintone - it's quite an ashy brown, and it creates such a natural-looking shadow. Both shades are drier than I was expecting, but Amber has a bit of a silicone "slippy" feel that makes it super easy to blend. It doesn't break me out, either. Starstruck is a beautiful pink champagne with lots of silver shimmer, but I find it's a bit too dry to use on my cheekbones - I have a hard time getting it to blend out without dragging glitter all over my face. I do love it on my eyelids and inner corners though, and the dry texture lends itself well there - it doesn't move around at all.

T-B | Girl Next Door, Chic Phreak, Starstruck, Amber, Fenty Glow

Killawatt Freestyle Highlighter, 'Girl Next Door/Chic Phreak' | I think I was most drawn to these beauties out of everything that was released. I love the packaging, and the idea of having a duo of subtle and intense highlighters really appealed to me. I got the Girl Next Door/Chic Phreak shade thinking the pink-toned shades would work well on my cheeks as well as eyes, but these are actually less pigmented than I thought they'd be. Rather than showing up super pink like they do in the pan, they give the skin more of a sheen without color. This isn't a bad thing at all - it's one of my new favorite highlighters for sure. The more subtle side (Girl Next Door) looks just like a cream product on the skin, so it'll be one I reach for when I want something more longlasting than a cream, but still want the cream look.

Gloss Bomb Universal Lip Luminizer, 'Fenty Glow' | I've been super into glossy lips lately, and this one stole the show and is definitely my favorite product out of everything I got. It's a lightweight, comfortable formula that isn't sticky, gloopy, or runny. The shade is a lovely warm rose nude with a bit of golden shimmer, and it really seems like it would be a flattering shade on anyone. It lasts well throughout the day, even after eating and drinking. I love the scent (it's fruity and reminds me of something from my childhood), but I wish it faded more quickly. I do love that it makes my lips look a little more pouty and full, without even having to line/overline them.

Overall I'm quite impressed with the products I picked up, and I can't wait to see what's in store for Fenty Beauty next.

Did you pick anything up when they launched?

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