Hourglass Ambient Lighting Blushes: At Night & Sublime Flush

As soon as the new At Night and Sublime Flush shades appeared on the Hourglass UK site, I quickly grabbed them and they finally arrived today! I am a huge fan of their Ambient Lighting Blush formula, so there was little doubt in my mind that these would be stunning.

Let’s start with At Night. I really enjoy reddish browns and brick reds, so was excited to swatch this new shade. On opening the compact, the depth reminded me a bit of Euphoric Fushion, which was pre-existing within the Hourglass line. And indeed, side by side you can see some similarity, but At Night definitely veers more red, whereas Euphoric Fusion is clearly more purple.

The difference becomes even more obvious in swatches, so they definitely are not redundant in the collection. At Night is a wonderful brick tone, which is slightly warmer and deeper than it appears below. It looks really versatile as a blush for either bronzed and summery looks, or autumn ones.

Moving on to Sublime Flush, this was more of a surprise for me. On opening the compact, for the first time I thought the marbling effect that Hourglass are so known for was unusually discreet. I felt a tiny bit disappointed to be honest! Yet on application, this blush was immediately one of the most brightening I’ve tried in a while – so that instantly redeemed it in my eyes. You can see it below next to other Hourglass shades in my collection, for comparison:

In the pan, Sublime Flush looks different to all the other shades I’ve pulled out. Yet on swatching, something interesting happens: the differences become almost imperceptible between Sublime Flush and the old classic, Diffused Heat:

I didn’t expect this to be the case at all, but when swirling together the shades in Diffused Heat, the resulting combination is essentially a very slightly darker and more muted version of the new Sublime Flush shade. So I think if you are considering getting Sublime Flush but already have Diffused Heat, I’d probably suggest to pause a bit and consider whether it is really necessary..? There is a chance that on the face the shades might diverge and become more obviously different. I have yet to try them and test this out. But just now, that is not something I would expect to happen based on the degree of similarity above…

Despite this, I don’t regret this purchase. If anything, I have a feeling I will enjoy the brighter Sublime Flush more than its older relative, Diffused Heat, and it will also be easier to use as the marbling isn’t so stark/contrasting here as it is for Diffused Heat.

Those are my thoughts for now, hope this was helpful! Do you plan on picking these up, or if you have, what do you think about the similarity between Sublime Flush and Diffused Heat?

Lex

EDIT 22/08/2020: I wanted to give an update on the Diffused Heat vs Sublime Flush situation. I’ve now tried them both – one on each cheek – and on me they really are almost indistinguishable, just like the swatches above suggest. Under very careful scrutiny, Sublime Flush imparts more of a satin glow with a very subtle lilac shift, whereas Diffused Heat looks just slightly more muted and lacks any particular shift. However, the difference is so discreet that I don’t think anyone would ever realise I am wearing two different blushes…!