Hourglass launched their new Unreal High Shine Volumizing Lip Gloss ($30 each for 0.20 oz/ 5.6 g) in 18 shades. I hauled 11 of them during last month’s Sephora Beauty Insider Event. I’ve really loved all things Hourglass for so many years I felt like these could possibly be holy grail material. After testing these for a week I think they’re really beautiful and definitely worth looking into.
The Unreal Lip Gloss is a plumping lip gloss with medium to full coverage. Creams tend to be more opaque and for me the shimmers I tried are medium-sheer. The glosses are hydrating and have a nice smooth feel to them. There is a soft minty scent and slight cooling sensation when you apply. The plumping effect is noticeable after it sets for a few minutes and as one who has ultra sensitive lips I’m thrilled to report there is no tingle and no stinging. I can still feel them plumping my lips but it’s in a gentle way. Since these are hydrating and lush they aren’t weightless. At the same time they aren’t super heavy even though they do have a semi-thick lush feel.
Color selection right now for the most part runs on the neutral side with a few bolder options. The finishes range from creams, shimmers and sparkles. Pigment is medium to me for most of the shades but you can layer for a more opaque finish. As mentioned above the shimmer sparkly options tend to be a bit more transparent (except the plum one).
I initially bought 5 and loved them so much I quickly ordered more to take advantage of the discount last month. At $30 each they are pricey but I’m happy with all the colors except two of them. These come with a flattened sponge tip applicator which makes for easy application. I like that they’re sturdy vs flexible. Sometimes the bendy wands make it hard to get gloss on my lips.
A closer look:
The colors I bought with descriptions below:
- Ignite is a sheer shimmer with gold, this is the only one I didn’t like, it’s too sheer to have any color payoff on my lips so it’s basically clear, if you want a similar color to what you see in the tube I think Charlotte Tilbury Ibiza Nights is a much better option
- Child is pale peach cream, this one applied streaky on my pigmented lips, I can blend to smooth out, but for me it’s a tad too pale
- Provoke is the most beautiful neutral cool mauve nude, most colors like this look like death on me, this one works perfectly!
- Sublime is what I envisioned Child to look like, it’s a much better neutral peach pink nude
- Truth is a medium beige nude
- Canvas is a nude beige rose, this is really similar to Truth, on me they’re so close I can barely tell the difference
- Prose is a baby rose pink cream
- Cosmic is a sparkling sheer pink fuchsia glitter, this is smooth without any gritty texture, I think this is one of the more fun shades
- Fortune is a pink gold shimmer
- Horizon is a perfect coral cream
- Impact is a shimmering berry plum sparkle
Swatches:
Lip Swatches, as usual all done on bare lips:
A few full face looks wearing:
- Foundation – Hourglass Vanish Seamless Foundation in Nude (review here)
- Powder – Hourglass Veil Translucent Setting Powder
- Bronzer – Hourglass Ambient Lighting Bronzer in Nude Bronze Light (swatches here)
- Blush – Hourglass Ambient Lighting Blush in Luminous Flush
- Brow – Hourglass Arch Brow Gel in Soft Brunette
- Eyeshadow – Charlotte Tilbury Luxury Palette in The Dolce Vita + Hourglass Scattered Light in Blaze
- Lips – Unreal Lip Gloss in Horizon, Prose and Child
With Horizon Lip Gloss:
Below With Prose Lip Gloss
Last one with Child Lip Gloss:
A number of you wanted to know how these compared to my favorite Pat McGrath LUST Gloss (review and lip swatches here and here) and Fenty Beauty Gloss Bombs (all three worn in this post). Both of these formulas have a softer more cushiony feel. They also run sheerer. The Hourglass Unreal by comparison doesn’t quite have that same soft feel but are still glossy and smooth. The pigment is richer and more opaque with the Hourglass shades as well. All formulas are really nice. I’ve swatched some of the Pat McGrath LUST glosses next to similar colors of the Hourglass options.
I cannot decide which of the three is best. All are excellent for different reasons. I love the Fenty Beauty Gloss Bombs for their lush sheer shimmery glow. The Pat McGrath LUST Glosses have been among my favorite for color selection and formula. Hourglass is more opaque but some of the colors settle into my natural lip lines (this is also the case with some Pat McGrath colors).
If I had to live with just one gloss formula the rest of my life though, right now I’d have to go with the Pat McGrath LUST Gloss. That being said a number of you felt they were too sheer for your liking so if that’s the case then you’ll most likely be happier with the finish of the Hourglass Unreal.
Overall thumbs up. I think they’re beautiful glosses although I don’t know that I would call them truly innovative like their description suggests. To me truly innovative life changing products are more along things like the Hourglass Scattered Light Shadows, Pat McGrath MatteTrance Lipsticks and Charlotte Tilbury’s Flawless Filter. Still the Hourglass Unreal Lip Glosses are really nice and well made. I’m thrilled to find a nice plumping gloss that doesn’t have a tingle or sting. My top three favorite colors are Horizon, Fortune and Canvas. If I could do the haul over again I’d skip Ignite and Child and would also pick either Canvas (slightly more pink) or Truth (more beige) but not both.
You can find the Hourglass Unreal High Shine Volumizing Lip Glosses out now. Available at Sephora, Nordstrom, Hourglass Cosmetics and all other Hourglass retailers.
Have you tried these yet? What did you think?
