If you've been searching for an Hourglass Ambient Lighting dupe, or just a really beautiful face finishing powder, meet Wet N Wild's Coloricon Bronzer in Reserve Your Cabana ($4 at Walgreens and Walmart). I never would have looked twice at this in the store because it looks like a regular old face powder (and not even a bronzer as the name suggests). But quite a few of you have been telling me lately that I have to try this and I just need to say...you're the best and I love you guys, because it's awesome! I swear, I have discovered so many great hidden gems because of your tips, so anytime you have a holy grail product to share, please don't hesitate to tell me about it, in a comment, email, Instagram, wherever!
Anyway, let me just stop babbling now and let's take a closer look at Reserve Your Cabana...
Wet n Wild's Coloricon Bronzers come in a few different shades and they all actually look like bronzers except for this one. I'm not sure who could bronze their skin with this considering I'm white as a ghost and this is still lighter than my skintone. But that being said, I'm glad it isn't a bronzer because I have found a much better purpose for it and I hardly ever use bronzers in the Fall and Winter anyway!
It comes in a large round compact with a domed lid...not the most luxurious packaging as it does feel a little cheap but as I always say, who cares about the packaging? It's what's inside that counts! The size is huge at nearly half an ounce (.46 oz) so this will probably last me more than a year.
At first glance, this is a light golden beige color that doesn't appear to have any sheen to it...
...but when you look closely, you can see very fine particles of shimmer. The formula is very finely milled, and almost feels like a cream when you swirl your finger in the pan. There's a little bit of powder that gets kicked up when using a brush but it's nothing that bothers me at all.
Swatches don't even do this powder justice! It gives your skin this perfect, ethereal glow...like you've been airbrushed, or lit-from-within . It's not shimmery enough for me to be a highlight, but it's subtle enough to be used all over the face as a finishing powder, which is how I use my Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powder in Dim Light. I also love to dip my finger into the pan and dab the powder in the inner corner of my eye and take it down underneath my eyes to set my concealer. It brightens up that area like you wouldn't believe and doesn't settle into fine lines!
To see how it compares to the Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powder (which is $45) I took out the one I have which is Dim Light so I could see them side-by-side. Dim Light is a little bit warmer looking in the pan...it's more of a peachy beige while Reserve Your Cabana is more golden beige.
When I swatch them on my skin, they actually look very similar, but in all honesty, both shades work for my pale complexion. When I say that these are dupes, I'm mostly comparing their formula and function. I have never found a finishing powder that gave my skin that lit-from-within glow that I liked better (or equal to) Hourglass until now! Reserve Your Cabana is every bit as soft and finely milled as the Hourglass Ambient Powder, and it finishes off my makeup just as beautifully. The fact that it costs $41 less is crazy to me, and is the icing on the cake.
Overall, if you haven't tried Reserve Your Cabana, you're seriously missing out! If you have fair to light skin, this is the perfect finishing powder, and if you have medium to dark skin, you can definitely use this as a subtle highlight. I've seen a lot of people with different skin tones using it on YouTube and it really can work for everyone in some way or another.
Thanks again to Katherine, Rachel and everyone else who recommended this to me! :)
You can find Wet n Wild Reserve Your Cabana at Walgreens and Walmart stores.