The Hourglass Holiday Ambient Lighting Edit Unlocked Palettes have launched for 2025 this year and they are beautiful! I picked up three of the four and already put them to the test with demos on Instagram. While I do think there are a lot of repeats and similar shades I do think these are stunning. By popular request I’ve put together a review and a few side by side comparisons to previous year’s palettes.
All the palettes have officially launched now at Nordstrom, Sephora, Bluemercury, Ulta Beauty and Hourglass ($94 each). Each palette has a matching dual ended Ambient Lighting Edit Brush II ($52 each). The Horse Palette is exclusive to Sephora.
In addition there are some other sets that have launched including a Face and Eye Travel Brush Set, Best Sellers Set and Sculpt Gloss Duo. I have my eye on the brush set although they look like minis or short handles from the stock photos. I do still have and own the Vegan Travel Brush Set (this one has all full sizes) which I love and use every week, but the new one this year looks great for a more compact option.
Deer Palette
The Deer Palette is the lightest option and I think it’s a beautiful one for a more natural look. You can see it in action here. On my medium tan skin the colors pull more on the barely there side, but if I apply a cream or liquid blush first the powders apply with a bit more pigment when layered.
- Finishing Powder Dream Light
- Finishing Powder Aura Light (new)
- Bronzer Diffused Bronze Light
- Highlighter Iridescent Strobe Light
- Blush Radiant Peach (new)
- Blush Vibrant Pink (new)
Look wearing the Deer Palette:
- Foundation Dior Forever Perfect Foundation Stick in 3N
- Powder Hourglass Finishing Powder in Dim Light + Dream Light
- Blush Hourglass Deer Palette Radiant Peach + Vibrant Pink mixed
- Eyeshadow Makeup by Mario Master Mattes
- Eyeliner Charlotte Tilbury Rock n Kohl Eyeliner
- Mascara Tarte Tartelette Tubing Mascara
- Lip Hourglass Phantom Glossy Balm in Crave
I pulled last year’s Dragon Palette from 2024 swatches to compare.
Swan Palette
The Swan Palette is the medium tone option and I love it. I do think all the shades look very similar to previous year’s options (even the new shades), but that mauve purple is SO beautiful I think this is worth a look. If I had to pick one to travel with this seems to give the most look options with the 3 different blush tones. You can see it in action here.
- Finishing Powder Dim Light
- Highlighter Golden Hour (new)
- Bronzer Natural Bronze
- Blush Luminous Coral (new)
- Blush Sunset Flush (new)
- Blush Mauve Fusion (new)
Wearing same makeup look as the items in the Deer Palette look, lip color is the Hourglass Phantom Glossy Balm in Mist, below wearing the Sunset Flush Blush
Below wearing Mauve Fusion
I pulled last year’s Evil Eye Palette 2024 to compare. I think I like the look of last year’s better, especially with the pink highlighter, but both are very pretty.
Horse Palette
The Horse Palette and Brush are both exclusive to Sephora and has all repeat shades. I do think this is my favorite out of all three, but since it has all repeats you might want to shop your stash if you already own a lot of previous years’ palettes. You can see it in action here.
- Finishing Powder Soft Light
- Blush Mood Exposure
- Highlighter Supernatural Strobe Light
- Blush Iridescent Coral
- Blush Iridescent Rose
- Bronzer Glistening Bronze Light
Makeup worn is same as above, but lip color is the Unlocked Lipstick in Dahlia. Below wearing Mood Exposure + Glistening Bronze Light.
Below wearing the blush in Iridescent Coral
I was a little hard pressed to pick which one to compare this to, but decided to pull the swatches from Leopard 2023 but I do think there are probably others that the Horse 2025 palette is similar to given the repeats.
Overall love. I think the brushes are beautiful and so well made. Based on the feedback you’ve given me so far the consensus is mixed. Some of you are head over heels in love with the launch while others feel there are still too many repeats and similar shades. At this point I definitely do not need another one since I’ve collected the holiday launches for so many years. I still really look forward to the launches and do get a lot of use out of these. Palettes can be hard to love since there is usually one or two shades I am not crazy about, but with these I can say EVERY single shade is wearable. I love that you can mix and layer too. They’re really great for travel or if you need to throw something in your purse to do your makeup on-the-go.
I skipped the darkest palette Fox because the deepest ones are usually too dark for me. I have seen a lot of great tutorials which makes me want to check it out though. If I pick it up I’ll do another review.
The new Hourglass Palettes are all available now. You can find them at Nordstrom, Sephora, Bluemercury, Ulta Beauty and Hourglass.
