Hourglass Atmosphere Modernist Eyeshadow Palette Review, Photos, Swatches
Hourglass Atmosphere Modernist Eyeshadow Palette
Hourglass Atmosphere Modernist Eyeshadow Palette ($58.00 for 0.17 oz.) is a warm-toned set of neutrals that range from beige to mid-tone brown to darker taupe-brown. The brand actually listed this as a cool-toned palette, but four of the five shades seemed rather warm-toned. The problems I’ve had with previously reviewed versions of the formula persisted in this one. The way these look on my skin is often dry, and I have fairly normal skin on my eyes, though they can lean dry occasionally. That being said, I don’t think my skin was dry when I used these; I had just done a look prior with other eyeshadows and didn’t have any issues with the area looking dry, powdery, or flaky. When I applied this palette, it made the texture look worse. When I did a look with other eyeshadows after these, no issues! It’s like that matte, dry lipstick that makes your lips look worse no matter how much you prep beforehand.
It is interesting to read through your reviews and reviews on retailers’ websites, because the product seems to be fairly polarizing — either it’s the best ever or terribly disappointing. There is definitely something to be said when the one thing I’ve heard the most is, “I got mine, I tried it, and I already boxed it back up to return it.”
Atmosphere #1 is described as a “pale ivory.” It’s a light, yellow-toned beige with a matte finish. It had semi-opaque pigmentation with a very fine, but dusty, consistency that made it prone to sheering out. It lasted for seven hours before creasing. See comparison swatches / view dupes.
Atmosphere #2 is described as a “pale pink.” It’s a light, pink-tinted peach with warm undertones and a satin-to-matte finish. It seems to have a very slight sheen to it when buffed into the skin, but it looks mostly matte if you wear it with more coverage. The texture was incredibly powdery due to being very, very soft. It tended to sheer out when applied to the lid, and like other powdery shades in this formula, would greatly benefit from a lightly tacky base or primer. It lasted for seven hours on me before creasing. See comparison swatches / view dupes.
Atmosphere #3 is described as a “taupe.” It’s a medium brown with warm undertones and a satin finish. It had semi-sheer color payoff, and this shade wasn’t powdery, it was a little stiff! It wore well for eight hours on me, though. See comparison swatches / view dupes.
Atmosphere #4 is described as a “espresso.” It’s a medium-dark brown with subtle, yellow undertones and a matte finish. It was somewhat powdery, but it wasn’t the worst int he formula, and it had mostly opaque pigmentation. It sheered out somewhat during application. This shade lasted for seven and a half hours on me. See comparison swatches / view dupes.
Atmosphere #5 is described as a “charcoal.” It’s a cool-toned taupe brown with more gray than brown in it and a satin finish. It had good pigmentation with a very lightly powdery texture. It wasn’t as blendable as I expected on bare skin as I expected. It started to fade after seven and a half hours of wear. See comparison swatches / view dupes.
Atmosphere
PPermanent. $58.00.
Atmosphere #1
PiPPermanent in Palette.
Atmosphere #2
PiPPermanent in Palette.
Atmosphere #3
PiPPermanent in Palette.
Atmosphere #4
PiPPermanent in Palette.
Atmosphere #5
PiPPermanent in Palette.
Hourglass Atmosphere Modernist Eyeshadow Palette
Hourglass Atmosphere Modernist Eyeshadow Palette
Hourglass Atmosphere Modernist Eyeshadow Palette
Hourglass Atmosphere #1 Modernist Eyeshadow
Hourglass Atmosphere #1 Modernist Eyeshadow
Hourglass Atmosphere #2 Modernist Eyeshadow
Hourglass Atmosphere #2 Modernist Eyeshadow
Hourglass Atmosphere #3 Modernist Eyeshadow
Hourglass Atmosphere #3 Modernist Eyeshadow
Hourglass Atmosphere #4 Modernist Eyeshadow
Hourglass Atmosphere #4 Modernist Eyeshadow
Hourglass Atmosphere #5 Modernist Eyeshadow
Hourglass Atmosphere #5 Modernist Eyeshadow
Hourglass Atmosphere Modernist Eyeshadow Palette
Hourglass Atmosphere Modernist Eyeshadow Palette
I think color wise this is one of the palettes I could see myself using but I still cannot work efficiently with (very) powdery eyeshadows. Using a primer sounds like an extra step!
If you have primer, and you have more powdery eyeshadows, it’s worth a shot since you already own both, but if you don’t own a primer and already have eyeshadows that work as-is, no need to bother 😀
Agree. I don’t mind an extra step to intensify the color or help with fallout on less expensive shadows that I can’t return. But at this price, primer should not be necessary to control fallout.
These palettes have got me to thinking about the maximum I would be willing to spend on a palette with shadows that fade or fall out. I’m thinking $20: that’s how much I paid for the UD Ammo palette on sale, knowing full well that fallout is a problem. Since these palettes are triple that price, I’ve decided I’m not prepared to tolerate any problems with them. That’s definitely making my wallet happy 🙂
I just went back and tried my Nars New Wave palette again inspired by Christine’s review of the new MAC green palette– because the Nars also has that lime green shadow. Back when I got it, I didn’t know from eye primer and thought it was the driest flakiest PITA and just put it away. Now I tried the Nars with a good coat of my densest primer, carefully patted it on with a brush– and it looked great– for about 30 minutes. Then it was gone. Where did it go? Probably into my eyes and all over my face. I totally removed my eye makeup. No more powdery shadows for me.
I purchased 2 palettes and used a primer with bot and couldn’t get any real color payoff. When I packed on the color most of it fell right back off. I wasn’t a fan and returned them. For the cost I expect better. I don’t mind paying a high price if the product is good.
So disappointing! And the only reason I wasn’t all over these is that I hate my shadows touching like this…adds one more layer of complication I can’t handle. I’m now so curious to read which ranks the highest.
Okay, I liked the holiday stuff a little more than you…but is it just me…the past few months haven’t been the best of the recent past release wise, have they?
There have been some real misses lately, but maybe it’s just that after awhile, you know what’s GREAT and what’s just so-so and you develop an intolerance for sub-par products!
I’ll certainly pass on this one!
Good call!
You know, I’ve actually started to wonder if some companies actually know the meaning of ‘cool-toned’… There is definitely one cool toned shade in here, but two of them are maybe neutralish and two are really warm! (well, to me). Sometimes I think they make all the palettes, and then someone in marketing says ‘we need a cool toned one’, so they ust kind of spin a wheel or something and say ‘call this one cool toned! :-D’
Anyway – it’s a shame that this one is similarly ‘meh’ :-/ These looked so promising!
LOL! I’m like, “I know that I’m warm-toned and so colors on the bubble can sometimes appear almost warm-toned…” but man, they look neutral-to-warm even in the pan :/
What a shame that Hourglass is releasing something that is very hit or miss (but mostly miss). I don’t understand why such a highly rated cosmetics company would release a product like this. =[
It’s SO strange. They’re just nowhere near as described 🙁
I love the eye look you did but I can definitely see the dryness you mentioned.. what a bummer! 🙁
I know, right? I’m like, “WHAT! My eyes aren’t dry… are they? No… they aren’t… why…”
Love the look of this palette!
It’s a nice concept!
Honestly, given the other pallets, not surprised. Hopefully Hourglass will get the picture and reformulate. Thanks for taking the time and effort and to review these and for spending your $ on the rest pretty much knowing they would be duds. Maye you should box yours back up and return..I certainly would.
Sadly, they’re performing consistently… average or below 🙁
It is sad because I can’t image how many people these are disappointing. I mean, I am a total makeup/brush/skin care junkie…self -professed and proud. Obviously, I am not alone in this. I was fully prepared to buy at least 3 right after a review and the others soon after.I’m sure there are so many that didn’t even wait for reviews. And then there are a lot of reviews where you can tell they were provided the pallets and just dont want to comment on the quality. They just talk about how pretty the color is. It’s actually kind of funny to see them now. You should check out what Karen on MBB posted today. I really like her blog. I really only read yours..like my eamil,lol! But, I check hers out occasionally because she’s funny and her cat is cute. She has good, honest brief reviews occasionally. Today, she did a post about the “10 good things about hourglass”..I almost fell on the floor! Guess what is Not included?..these palettes are not mentioned at all!
On the positive side,saving me a ton of $ and i am sure many others too!
There ya go! Silver lining 🙂 More money for something else!
like MUFE singles!
There are a lot of 1-star reviews on Sephora – and a product has to be pretty disappointing to generate 1-star, I think 🙁
Oh yes, especially Hourglass and people wanted to love these!So, now it brings hourglass back down in my mind a bit. I dont think you can fo 0 stars,lol
Primer did not help me.
Sorry to hear 🙁
Oh, how disappointing! I was hoping for a beautiful palette of cool neutrals… although these don’t look super-warm. It sounds like these shadows might work better for those of us who routinely use primers. I don’t think an eyeshadow exists that would last on my hooded, oily/sweaty lids without primer, I always use a MAC Paint Pot before powder shadows, and they are a little tacky on me, so maybe some of these could work for me… but I would want to see them in the store before purchasing.
It’s definitely not super warm, like you said! It’s more neutral with some slightly warmer, slightly cooler colors, I’d say.
I still haven’t received the one I ordered yet (Exposure) but I think I’ve resigned myself to the fact that I’ll have to return it….
Hope it arrives soon so you can try it!
I totally see the “dry eyelid” look you’ve mentioned in your post. That’s a shame that they don’t perform well. On a good note, you’ve saved me a whole lot of $$$ Christine! Finally I can stop drooling over them 😛
Phew!!
This was the first one that REALLY looked dry/powdery on me. The others I’ve tried so far have those issues but they haven’t translated as obviously on the skin as this one.
The more I read your reviews for these, Christine, the more and more “underwhelmed” and downright disappointed I become. Like I said before, Hourglass’s previous eyeshadow duos were such good quality (at least the one I own and the few others I tried – Gypsy and Suede) that I was really expecting great things from these palettes. I’ve yet to see or try them in store but in light of your reviews and the fact that I have 5 or 6 dupes for every single shade in this one (only 2 for one of the shades!), these have really become a “non-starter” for me, though I still plan to check out Colour Field (hope springs eternal and all that!)
Color Field is the one I expect to review next, though I’ll say I had to use it damp to make it work.
that’s crushing to hear! i was really hoping that one would beat the odds!
Sigh…. Well, my wallet will be happy, I guess. But, again, it seems so odd to me that a company has built such a good reputation (and has prices to reflect the good quality) would put it all at risk with products like these, which are “average” at best. I know Wayne Goss loved these and I adore him but I tend to put a lot more faith in your reviews. I still want to check these out in-store but the bottom line is that the few times I’ve bought something that grabbed my heart in spite of poor reviews here, I’ve not been pleasantly surprised!
One thing that does help is just knowing they’re very soft and prone to being powdery, so one uses the barest touch to pick-up product, but it’s hard for me to wrap my head around the price point and not just being able to use it easily. I still have concerns with general application, blendability (because for as soft as some shades are, blending isn’t always effortless, which is odd), and pigmentation.
It’s hard for me to wrap my head around the price point and what a pain these are to use and get to look decent. Certainly worth checking out in store when you see them, but at this point given how mixed (and polarizing) reviews are – in-store is your best bet!
At times, different companies use different formulations for stateside versus the continent, et al, due to ingredient restrictions, cost, etc. One of my friends, who was a Chanel counter manager always remarked about the differences. Maybe the European Hourglass actually IS better. I was very surprised by the high WG rating, too. I think these work as ART, but not as M/U. M/U needs good functionality + these clearly don’t have it.
I love the design, but, I’m passing too.
That’s about all that is nice about these 🙁
It hurts so much that these palettes are so bad, I was so looking forward to them. More money in my pocket I guess.
You’re not alone, Danyelle! I’m really surprised at how these have performed so far.
It’s weird that HG killed off its duo shadows for this.
It is!!
I agree….and there was a long wait between the end of the duos and the intro of these, which only fueled my expectation that these would be “worth the wait”.
Very disappointing. If you’re going to promote something as “cool-toned neutrals,” there really should be mostly cool-toned shades in the palette. You managed to create a very pretty look though, which is a testament to your mad skillz 🙂
Thank you, Eliz 🙂
Nooo say it ain’t so! These are such stunning palettes with such a unique concept, it’s so frustrating to hear that these are coming off so powdery with subpar pigmentation. I’ve been coveting these palettes for so long! I’m eager to hear your opinions on the Monochrome and Exposure palettes, which have captured my heart the most.
Here’s hoping, lol!
I just got mine in the Olive combo, beautiful and the pigment is so intense I need to practice with it
Glad you are liking yours so far!
These look so pretty in the container! But they are definitely out of my price range and I’m sort of over it with mattes anyway.
They look prettier in the container than on 🙁
Well, I went ahead and bought this before the reviews were out, and boy do I regret it. This was a ridiculous amount to pay for a very small, powdery, hard to work with palette. I love the Ambient powders, but this pallet did not match those in quality by any stretch of the imagination. I have never returned something to Sephora, and I am a Rouge member, so I do some serious shopping. This may be the first item I return. So disappointed in this eyeshadow. It made pores visible on my eyelid…I have never had that happen before, and I sure hope it never happens again, who needs an eyeshadow that makes your eyes look older? Pass on this one!
So sorry to hear that you haven’t enjoyed your palette. I do think you should return it if you are unhappy with it!
Yikes!! For some reason, these have never really excited me! It’s a shame that such a good brand came out with such a chappy product :/ oh well. Like others have said, saves me some money!
I wish these were better 🙁
I’m so disappointed in all of these palettes! They look pretty, but that seems to be about it. Definitely skipping.
Christine, I really like the eyeliner you’re wearing in this look. What is it? (I don’t think I saw it listed anywhere in this review 🙂 )
I think it was Sephora Flirting Game! 🙂 I’ve been slacking on writing down the eyeliners, so I’m not 100% sure. (I usually keep a notebook of what I put where, but with palettes, it is easier to slack.)
Very disappointing. Powdery, hard to blend, sheers out,makes lids look dry, AND $59?!!! Due to my oily lids, I have to use primer, but I don’t like powdery eye shadows as they make a mess and you’re losing expensive product. I hope Hourglass ditches these new shadows and brings back their old formula. I do see what you mean by making your lids look dry and flakey. Otherwise, I do like the eye look you created, very understated and elegant.
It’ll be interesting to see if they change the formula at all in the next six months/year!
This seems to be a total miss.. none of the shades seems to excite me!
Also the powdery texture is hell no.. Powdery eye shadows are a lot of effort to work with 😛
They are a lot more work than they should be 🙁
This one is particularly disappointing. So sheer.
Yikes… Hourglass is going to take a hit to its reputation for this line… I just bought their Immaculate Foundation today, at least i can focus on a product the brand does well. 🙂
It such a shame that you have to work so hard to make this one work 🙁
My favorite thing about this site is that I think you are honest. I give an extreme side eye to the beauty bloggers/gurus who love everything and only use Sigma brushes.Thanks for your review.
Hi! New poster here – this blog is my go-to for swatches and news. These palettes were so pretty and I love Hourglass so much that I had to try Exposure for myself. I definitely see the issues with this formula, but I’ve been using it as a quick wash of color on work days and the colors are beautiful on my green eyes. I’m going to keep it, but not purchasing any other colors. Also, mine arrived with no scratches on the case.
Dang! I was hoping for better texture on this one. Oh well!!! Not that I don’t have similar shades in Inglot/Yaby/UrbanDecay. I has to be good for anything at around at $70CAN price point for me.
These palettes are a little too hit or miss for me. I’ll have to check them out in person before I pick one up
Hourglass made some really great palettes years ago. I bought a couple of them, they were very unique, and they had eye shadows that were a dream to use. These sound like a nightmare. As pretty as these palettes look, they don’t sound very usable. I want eye shadows that perform, that I don’t have to really work them to get them to work for me. I really dislike powdery shadows that fade. I am so glad that you reviewed these Christine, so I am just going to pass. These seem really over priced for the quality, and even though the older palettes were a little pricey, they were great. I am wondering what they were thinking, they did it so well before, these are something I will pass on. They sound like too much work, and they are expensive for what seems to be a not so great product.