Hourglass Expose Graphik Eyeshadow Palette Review & Swatches
Expose
Hourglass Expose Graphik Eyeshadow Palette ($58.00 for 0.25 oz.) contains a minx of plums and taupes with a variety in finishes. Per the brand, the formula is supposed to have a “velvety-smooth texture” and a “high concentration of pure pigment powder for the truest color payoff.” They’re an update to the brand’s previous Modernist eyeshadow palettes (which I didn’t like at all), and it’s a definite improvement, but there was one major miss in this palette that–at this price point–just left me deflated.
Ingredients
Look Using this Product
Expose
PPermanent. $58.00.
Ivory
Ivory is a soft, yellowed beige with warm undertones and a pearl sheen. It was richly pigmented and had a smooth, almost cream-like texture that was incredibly finely-milled. The eyeshadow applied well to bare skin and stayed on nicely for eight hours on me.
Top Dupes
- Wet 'n' Wild Mythicool Creatures #2 (LE, ) is less shimmery, darker, warmer (90% similar).
- Make Up For Ever D716 Crystalline Papaya (DC, $21.00) is less shimmery, warmer (90% similar).
- Marc Jacobs Beauty Lights On (LE, ) is darker (90% similar).
- Givenchy Tentation #4 (PiP, ) is darker (95% similar).
- Urban Decay Flyby (PiP, $19.00) is less shimmery, darker (90% similar).
- MAC Satin Ochre (Left) (LE, ) is more shimmery (90% similar).
- Urban Decay Bribe (PiP, $19.00) is lighter (90% similar).
- Wet 'n' Wild Naked Truth #1 (DC, $2.29) is darker (90% similar).
- Buxom Silk Sheets (P, $12.00) is more shimmery, darker (95% similar).
- Tarte Wander (LE, ) is more shimmery, darker (90% similar).
Ivory
PiPPermanent in Palette.
Plum Taupe
Plum Taupe is a light-medium, grayish taupe with subtle, neutral-to-warm undertones and a metallic finish. The pigmentation was opaque in a single layer. It had a smooth, almost cream-like texture that was soft but a little denser so it adhered well to bare skin. It wore well for eight hours on me.
Top Dupes
- Charlotte Tilbury The Uptown Girl #2 (PiP, ) is more shimmery (90% similar).
- NABLA Cosmetics Moonrise (P, $8.00) is darker, cooler (90% similar).
- Tarte Up Too Slate (LE, ) is more shimmery, darker, cooler (90% similar).
- Stila Boheme (LE, $24.00) is warmer (90% similar).
- Tarte Wave (LE, ) is lighter (90% similar).
- Clarins Silver Plum (07) (P, $24.00) is darker (95% similar).
- Sydney Grace Troops (P, $6.25) is more shimmery, darker, cooler (85% similar).
- Marc Jacobs Beauty The Starlet #1 (PiP, ) is cooler (85% similar).
- Clarins Rosewood #2 (PiP, ) is less shimmery, lighter, warmer (85% similar).
- Too Faced Silent Night (LE, $16.00) is warmer (85% similar).
Look Using this Product
Plum Taupe
PiPPermanent in Palette.
Silver Gunmetal
Silver Gunmetal is a medium-dark taupe with subtle, warm undertones and a metallic finish. It was richly pigmented and had a really smooth, cream-like consistency that wasn’t too firmly or too softly pressed in the pan, so it was easy to apply and blend out. This shade stayed on nicely for eight hours before fading noticeably.
Top Dupes
- NARS Grand Palais #1 (DC, $25.00) is less shimmery (90% similar).
- YSL Golden Glow #5 (PiP, ) is less shimmery (90% similar).
- ColourPop 773 (LE, $4.50) is less shimmery, lighter (90% similar).
- Natasha Denona Gray-Brown (38M) (PiP, $29.00) is more shimmery, cooler (90% similar).
- Dior Soft Cashmere #4 (PiP, ) is less shimmery, darker (90% similar).
- Marc Jacobs Beauty The Starlet #7 (PiP, ) is less shimmery (90% similar).
- Tom Ford Beauty Moss Agate #3 (LE, ) is less shimmery, darker (90% similar).
- Sydney Grace Frosted Morning (P, $6.25) is more shimmery, darker (90% similar).
- Urban Decay Mushroom (DC, $19.00) is lighter (90% similar).
- Tom Ford Beauty Double Indemnity #3 (PiP, ) is less shimmery, warmer (90% similar).
Look Using this Product
Silver Gunmetal
PiPPermanent in Palette.
Black Violet
Black Violet is a dark plum with warm, brown undertones and a satin sheen. It had nearly opaque pigmentation with a soft, slightly dusty texture in the pan, but it blended out nicely on bare skin but would maintain its depth and richness a bit better over a primer. It wore well for seven and a half hours on its own.
Top Dupes
- Chanel Jardins de Lumieres #4 (LE, ) is lighter (95% similar).
- Too Faced Sugar Plum (LE, $16.00) is warmer (90% similar).
- Anastasia Aubergine (P, $12.00) is cooler (90% similar).
- ColourPop Magic Carpet (LE, $4.50) is lighter, warmer (90% similar).
- Dior Olympe (871) (LE, $31.00) is more shimmery (90% similar).
- Smashbox Cabernet (LE, ) is lighter, cooler (90% similar).
- MAC Rich Core (P, $20.00) is more shimmery, lighter (90% similar).
- Smashbox Headline (PiP, ) is more shimmery, warmer (90% similar).
- Tom Ford Beauty Red Harness #4 (LE, ) is lighter (90% similar).
- LORAC Deep Purple (PiP, $19.00) is darker (90% similar).
Look Using this Product
Black Violet
PiPPermanent in Palette.
Plum Mauve
Plum Mauve is a muted, light-medium mauve with warmer undertones and a satin sheen. The texture was very powdery, which resulted in the product sheering out without a primer (and still sheered out a fair amount with primer) and lots of fallout.
Top Dupes
- MAC Dress Me Up (LE, $17.00) is more shimmery (90% similar).
- Tarte Rum Pum Plum (LE, ) is lighter (90% similar).
- LORAC Lotus (LE, $19.00) is cooler (90% similar).
- LORAC Plum (Mega Pro 4) (LE, $19.00) is lighter (90% similar).
- Tom Ford Beauty Virgin Orchid #3 (PiP, ) is more shimmery, lighter, warmer (80% similar).
- Sleek MakeUP Forbidden (PiP, $9.99) is less shimmery, darker (85% similar).
- Tarte Make a Mauve (LE, ) is darker, warmer (85% similar).
- KVD Beauty Heaven Knows (LE, ) is darker, warmer (85% similar).
- Tom Ford Beauty Pretty Baby #1 (PiP, ) is more shimmery, lighter, warmer (80% similar).
- LORAC Dusty Rose (LE, $19.00) is warmer (80% similar).
I usually adore these smutty lilac shades but this just looks very flat and one dimensional… I think there’s maybe not enough variation and depth in the middle 3 shades, so they all tone together maybe a little too well?
Not for me, unfortunately.
I know what you mean! I think they could have gone for slightly more contrasting shades!
Hmmmmm, it is ‘my colors’ and clearly an improvement, but certainly is not a blind buy item. Might swatch, might not. Kind of uninspiring, for s.t. that pushes my color buttons.
I guess I’m glad plum mauve was so bad or I’d probably snatch this up. These are the colors I can’t help buying. And yeah, this is really expensive!
The Plum Mauve in mine is absolutely perfect, so I am wondering if Christine could have gotten a bit of a dud palette? At this price point, it’s really not okay for it to be hit and miss but just wanted to let you know mine is super pigmented and buttery and I have no issues with any of the shades – and I’m very picky!
So close Hourglass, so close!
This is a stunningly beautiful set of shades, and even though I am not a purple shade lover. I just love this one with its emphasis on on plum shades – taupes and richer colours.
So, how on Earth did the brand not realize that the Plum Mauve shade was a total dud? When there are only 5 shades, each one of them has to be great, because that plum mauve shade could be your favourite.
Beautiful, beautiful eye look Christine.
Thank you, Genevieve!
Better than the previous Modernist palette, but I think I can get close enough to the smokey, purplish taupe look it provides using Nyx Beanie and Root Beer, Nars Calisto and pulling in MAC Satin Taupe and Deep Damson (or Shadowy Lady)?
As others have said, so close but not quite close enough! It looks like such a nice palette but I don’t often wear these purple shades and have several dupes for each of the shades I like best. Still, it’s an improvement over their previous palettes.
I also think the palette offers very little variation between shades. It would be hard to put together unique looks with this – I feel most looks would end up looking the same. I find the colour scheme somewhat boring. A brighter or a more striking contrasting shade could have saved this palette. And I agree that for this price point, all shades need to perform at a minimum B+ level.
Hi Christine! I just got this palette and I am wondering if you might have gotten a bit of a dud palette with the performance of Plum Mauve. The Plum Mauve in my palette is incredibly pigmented and buttery and I haven’t had any fallout with it at all. It’s probably my favourite shade in the palette actually. My Black Violet, however, is slightly sheerer than yours but still quite opaque and performs really well.
Just wanted to let you and anyone reading this know, in case they are still interested in the palette but are put off by the terrible performance of Plum Mauve in your palette. Might be a bit hit and miss? For me, as an extremely cool toned girl dying to find palettes I can actually use, this one is a dream!!
I adore this palette. The colors are gorgeous, in particular Plum Mauve, which applied smoothly and was blendable and had lovely color payoff for me. That shade has a lovely sheen to it. There is not a dud in the entire palette. The name of the palette is “Expose”, not Exposure by the way.
I’d have to swatch because the look it creates is perfect for my coloring 🙂