Hourglass Cosmetics

Achiever is the perfect shade for my pigmented lips to enhance and define them in the most natural way. So the shade is truly a winner for me. Why only three stars?
Pros:
- bronze colored metal stylo tube is both elegant and practical
- perfect nude-pink-brown shade for my light complexion with pigmented lips
- creamy, comfortable consistency
Cons:
- Lasting power is really poor, 1-2 hours max on my lips, and that's without eating
- Goes rancid in under 6 months!
Especially the last point in my opinion is a sore one at that price point. I had to throw out the first stylo due to the strong crayon/rancid smell and taste and thought I got a lipstick from a bad batch. Since I like the shade so much I gave it another try and purchased a second one. Neither of my stylos was exposed to excessive heat. Unfortunately, the second try ended like the first one: I had to toss the lipstick after 3 months with over half of the contents left in the tube. So while I really like this fantastic shade on me, due to its poor lasting power and the fact that it turned unusable so quickly, I sadly won't repurchase.

I had heard such great things about the Hourglass brand, so was keen to try them out. I wanted to try this product as I was advised that it was a light tinted moisturiser that would give a light tint to the skin and be great for the summer. However, I - like almost every other reviewer - found that this is not at all like a tinted moisturiser but is rather a medium-full coverage foundation product which doesn’t tint the skin but rather sits on it and can look quite heavy. I have worn this a few times, applied with fingers, brush and a beauty blender, but it never creates a natural finish. It has a creamy finish, but is quite thick - thicker than the Nars Tinted Moisturiser for example. It applies well though, doesn’t streak or apply patchily and works both with and without primer. It lasts reasonably well, but starts to break up around the 6 hour mark. The natural oils of my face tend to break through around the 4 hour mark even when set with powder. However, I find this does emphasise the texture on my face. If you have textured skin, breakouts or acne scars, avoid this product. I also found that it actually broke me out too, which is a shame and is the ultimate deal breaker for me. Honestly, I would skip this product.

Ive tried and tested so many mascaras over the years . Finally found the one . I’m still open to trying others out must be waterproof . This one has kept my lashes separated, long and definitely long lasting. Has a softness about it. Doesn’t clump my lashes ( you know when you start with 100 lashes then end up looking like you have 8 left! You can only try it out and see the results for yourself. Hourglass and I get on quite well :)

Pretty colour. However not very long wearing and leaves my lips feeling dry. Much rather purchase the mac lip glass of the nars lip gloss/ lip Lacquer

This had quite a few rave reviews on YouTube and I finally bit the bullet and bought it 2 months ago.

Some info about my skin :
- Combination-oily (oily t-zone, normal cheeks)
- Little to no texture issues
- Hyperpigmentation
- Around an NC30 with neutral leaning-warm undertones. I use the shade Nude in this which is a very good match for me. My best match is Maybelline Fit Me Matte in 220. Note that the entire range of shades in this leans yellow, even the ones labelled "neutral"

Finish : A nice demi-matte finish - not dewy, but not really matte either.

Coverage : Very customisable. They were not kidding when they tell you that a little goes a long way - do NOT stripe this on like the YouTubers have been doing, else I predict it may end up looking mask-like and cakey. I dot 3 triangles on each cheek, one on the nose, 2 each on the chin and forehead, and I get very high, almost full, coverage that still looks very skin-like. If I do 2 triangles per cheek instead of 3, and 1 on the nose, chin and forehead, I get a medium coverage. My favourite way to apply this is with a Real Techniques buffing brush. I don't think sponges tend to work well for stick foundations.

Longevity : By itself, this does nothing to control your oils - I wore it by itself once with just moisturiser underneath and it was slipping off my face after 6 hours. I get the best longevity when I pair it with NYX Angel Veil primer with my usual setting powder and spray on top. I wore it for 8 hours today, touched up once, and it still looked really good when I came back, though I will say that some of the foundation came off when I blotted my forehead and nose with blotting sheets, so it's not transfer-proof.

Price, value for money : hoooooo damn is this one expensive. Hourglass is a luxury brand and this costs a whopping £42 for only 7.2g of product! For comparison, the Makeup Forever Ultra HD Stick Foundation costs a little less and has 12.5g! The Hourglass foundation is extremely pigmented though, so *theoretically* it should last you a while, but that price is still a big booboo.

Overall thoughts : This is a really good foundation, very comfortable to wear (I don't really feel it on my face), and you need very little of it to get good coverage. I love how convenient it is to travel with since it's in stick form. However, it's stupidly expensive, and I'm not really blown away by it - like it's nice, but it's not £42 worth of nice if you get what I mean. I actually like my Maybelline Fit Me Matte just as much as this foundation, and that's literally a fraction of the price of the Hourglass. I'll enjoy this while I have it, but I don't think I'll be rushing to repurchase it when I run out.