I Love You, I Love You Not: Hourglass Visionaire Dune Eye Shadow Duo Swatch, Review, FOTDs

I get excited about makeup in general, but eyeshadows are my biggest weakness. I have always wanted to try something from Hourglass, and a while ago I settled on their Visionaire Eye Shadow Duo in Dune.

Hourglass duos come in interesting packaging. Not only does it open to a mirror, you can turn the mirror around 180 degrees. I don’t really think it serves a practical purpose, but it looks very nifty. The lid also snaps shut with magnet, which is a nice touch. In short, it looks great, but I do hope it would weigh a bit more. It looks luxurious, but when I hold it in my hand I could feel it’s plastic. At this price point (38 USD), I think there is room for improvement.

Once you open the compact up, you see the two shadows and an enclosed brush. The brush has changed from most pictures/reviews I’ve seen. Nowadays the brush is duo-ended, and it is considerably smaller than the older single-ended version.

I’m pretty sure the brush is made of natural bristle, because it is soft and not scratchy. At the same time, it is firm and dense. It is pretty fiddly to use such a tiny brush, but it is usable. I have done an entire look with this brush (the lighter shade all over my lids, and the darker one close to my lash line). Besides a tiny bit more fallout, I can’t be picky about it. This makes the duo something I would reach for when I have virtually no time!

The lighter shade of Dune is a shimmery beige champagne. It is very close to my skin tone, but at the same time it has a nice brightening effect on my eyes. The texture is a dream. It is very creamy, smooth, and pigmented. Definitely one of the best eyeshadows I have tried. The darker shade looks like a blackened olive with gold shimmer in the pan, but once swatched it looks more like a blackened brown with a green tinge. Compared with the lighter shade, it is not as creamy or buttery. Don’t get me wrong. The quality and performance are still excellent; it’s just that it pales in comparison with its neighbor. Also, I know that in general people are impressed with the blendability, but over UDPP I struggle a little with it. This seldom happens with any other eyeshadows I have tried, and without UDPP it does blend easily. I just thought I’d mention this for those of you who might combine the two.

To be honest, the first time I swatched Dune I was very disappointed with the darker shade. As you can see, it is not as pigmented nor smooth as what I expected it to be. To be fair though, I swatched the duo at the end of a long swatching session, and part of the reason why it looks so unimpressive is probably because my skin had got a bit drier than usual at that point.

Over a primer however, it’s a totally different story. Look at the intensity!

On the eyes, Dune is yet another story. To my amazement, the darker shade does look more like what it does in pan on the lids. It is a very blackened olive, but you can’t mistake it to be another color.

What I love about this duo is its versatility. I have worn it in 3 ways, and I’m sure I can find slight variations within the three.

You have seen the first way here:

I use the lighter shade for the inner two thirds of my lids, and the darker one on the outer third and into my crease. Here is a picture of me looking down so you can see how it works:

For the picture you see in the beginning, I did a heavy look with the darker shade all over my lids, and the lighter shade on my brow bones, inner corners, and the center of my lids. You can see another picture here:

I usually avoid highlighting my brow bones with a shimmery shade, but this look is quite dark, and the beige champagne is not metallic, so it’s fine. Just remember to use a fluffy brush and a light hand though, because this shade is extremely pigmented!

I don’t have any photos of the third look I did, but the other day, 5 minutes before I was supposed to zoom out of the door, I had the urge to put on some makeup. I didn’t even have the time to dig my primer out! I used the lighter shade all over my lids, and the darker shade as a liner. Normally I wouldn’t wear eyeshadows without a gel liner, but the darker shade actually offers enough intensity and definition to my eyes! I was pleased with the result. The whole look was done with the enclosed brush, and even without a primer the shadows went on smooth and pigmented. They also lasted several hours with no creasing! This is definitely THE duo I’ll grab when I only have 2 minutes to do my eye makeup.

Bottom line: Do you need this duo? At this price point I wouldn’t really say so (however, do note that each shadow weighs 3 grams while most eyeshadows are 1.2-1.5). Do I regret my purchase? No. For the versatility and ease of use, I can easily rate it as my favorite duo in my collection. It is not without its flaws (I wish the packaging would be heavier, the darker shade isn’t as creamy, and it doesn’t blend too well over UDPP), but the possibility of creating a simple look in a pinch as well as a dramatic one is what makes this duo so great!

Have you tried anything from Hourglass? Is Dune a duo you might want to try? What is your favorite duo?

Sunny, your beauty culture translator xx