Hold Me Close // Dusk Til Dawn // Everything Under the Sun
Wet n Wild has released a small collection for Summer 2014; it includes three limited edition ColorIcon bronzer/blushes which I’ll be reviewing today plus six nail polishes. First, let’s take a look at the three limited edition bronzers compared to the three permanent bronzers. Continue reading
I realized that I have a ton of products I haven’t ever swatched or reviewed for Project Swatch, so I thought I’d remedy that by doing a couple of posts with lots of swatches! I’m starting off today with several blushes and a few highlighters and bronzers. I’ll say just a few words about each item.
TheBalm How Bout Them Apples
Cider // Pie // Candy // Cobbler // Crisp // Caramel
First, we have TheBalm How ‘Bout Them Apples blush palette ($32 at Nordstrom). I like it, but not as much as I expected to. The texture of these is a bit more slippery than I prefer for the cheeks, and a bit too drying for the lips. Pretty colors though, and definitely wearable on both the cheeks and lips; just not ideal.
Milani Bella Rosa
Next, the new Milani Bella Rosa baked blush (approximately $8 at drugstores or Milanicosmetics.com) is just as wonderful as all the online reviews say. Smooth, pigmented, and blendable.
Milani Hermosa Rose
Milani Hermosa Rose
Milani Illuminating Face Powder (around $9) in Hermosa Rose is absolutely gorgeous in the pan. It’s lightly pigmented and has a very fine, smooth shimmer. I am not sure what I think about the color though – it’s a little too dark for a highlighter for me, but not dark enough to be a true bronzer. I haven’t tried it as blush yet, but hopefully that will work out!
Rose-O-Den-Dron // Elegant Azalea // Pure Petunia // Peach Blossom
Rose-O-Den-Dron // Elegant Azalea // Pure Petunia // Peach Blossom
I really like Flower Win Some Rouge Some cream blush (around $8 at Walmart). You can read my review of Elegant Azalea here. Note that Rose-O-Den-Dron has a different texture than the rest – I don’t know if it’s a quality control issue or what. But, both textures work well – blendable and smooth.
Ticket to Brazil // Reserve Your Cabana
And finally, two of the three Wet n Wild Color Icon Bronzers – Ticket to Brazil & Reserve Your Cabana (around $4 at drugstores, online at Walgreens.com). Both are lovely – smooth and blendable with the best kind of shimmery finishes – but the highlighter, Reserve Your Cabana is especially silky.
Do you have any of these items, or are any of them are your wishlist?
*I purchased all products featured in this post. This post contains affiliate links. Please see my disclosure policy for more information.
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Black Radiance Makeup
Time for some Sunday swatches! I have three Black Radiance items for you today. Let’s start off with Seductive, one of the new Urban Identity new 5-pan palettes (now available at drugstore.com for $4.99 each) Continue reading
NARS Olympia Contour Blush
Good morning! I saw this morning that NARS has released information about their new Contour blushes. There are three shades, and each retails for $42; they’re currently available for pre-order at Nordstrom. Here’s a little collage of the shades so you can see them side by side (images from Nordstrom).
click to enlarge
I was lucky enough to recieve Olympia at The Makeup Show – I’ve actually been waiting to hear more about the product before posting this – and have swatches and a review for you today! Continue reading
MUFE HD Blush in shade 215
Make Up For Ever recently released a line of new HD cream blushes, which I believe replace their old HD blushes (review from quite a while back). I was lucky to receive shade 215, which is the one I had my eye on. It’s a lovely pink-coral, and actually quite similar to the shade of the old-style HD blush I used to own (#6 Quickie). The color in the pan below is more accurate than the color in the photo above.
MUFE 215
This blush blends out really beautifully – it’s just as easy to do a sheer application as it is to build the color. The finish is more matte than most cream blushes, but not as matte/powdery as most cream-to-power blushes. I think the finish and texture would be great on most skin types – it definitely works well on my (normal-to-dry) skin.
Unblended // Blended
I only have this one shade, but I’ve swatched several shades at Sephora, and all seem to be easy-to-wear, flattering colors with the same excellent texture.
Recommended!
*I received the MUFE blush courtesy of the brand and The Makeup Show. This post contains one or more affiliate links. Please see my disclosure policy for more information.
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Canmake Clear Red Heart
I have some quick swatches for you today. Canmake is a Japanese drugstore brand, and some of their long-time most popular products are the Cream Cheek blushes. I’ve been tempted by them before, but always decided against purchasing due to the colors offered; mostly pastels, with a white base – something I tend to dislike in blush. A few months ago, I heard that Canmake had released a “clear” series with a few additional shades. Clear refers to the fact that these have a clear base instead of a white base, which gives them a translucent, jelly-ish quality. None of the Clear series blushes have any shimmer or sparkle.
I purchased two shades, [CL01] Clear Red Heart, a true red, and [CL03] Clear Sunset – reddish coral; note that this one was limited edition, but is still available on Ebay (and mine has a broken compact, which is why it looks odd).
Canmake Clear Red Heart // Clear Sunset
There are also two pinks – [CL02] Clear Love Song Pink and [CL04] Clear Pink Joy – I’m not sure how they differ. Canmake recently released a fifth shade, [CL05] Clear Happiness, described as a coral orange, but, per this blog post, is sheerer and not as nice as the others.
I think the best thing about these is the texture – pigmented, yet easy to blend, and with a great finish.
Clear Red Heart // Clear Sunset
They also work well on the lips. I bought my blushes on Ebay; they are also available on Ichibankao for a dollar or two more.
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