Category Archives: Blush

NARS Laos Matte Multiple Review & Swatches

NARS Laos Matte Multiple

NARS recently released six shades of the matte multiple, which is a new product (the formula is different than the regular multiple, which I’ve never tried). First, let’s talk about the size – the original multiple is .5oz for $39, while the matte multiple is .26oz – about half the size – for the same price. It’s disappointing that they halved the size while keeping the price the same, but the matte multiple is actually a decent size. As a comparison, Bobbi Brown Pot Rouge is .13 oz, Illamasqua cream blush is .14oz, and MAC Cremeblend blush is .19oz. On the budget side, NYX stick blush is .21oz and NYX cream blush is 12oz. So, I think the size of the matte multiple is fair, though I do think the price is a little high for NARS. Continue reading →

Milani Spring 2014 Coming Up Roses Blush Swatches & First Impressions

Purchased – No Affiliate Links

Last summer, Milani released four rose-embossed blushes and I bought & reviewed two of them – I was not impressed. So when I found this year’s set of four blushes, I thought I’d skip them. Luckily I posted a on Instagram and several people commented that this year’s were worth it. I ended up deciding to buy all four. I haven’t had a chance to really play with them yet, so today I have swatches and my first impressions.

First, here are too many photos of the blushes in the pan. They’re just so pretty.
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Essence Beauty Beats (Justin Bieber) Collection Blush & Highlighter Review, Swatches

Purchased – No Affiliate Links

Essence releases a ton of collections is some countries, but just a few in the the US. They recently released a Justin Bieber themed collection called Beauty Beats. I am not a Bieber fan (Baby is catchy, I guess? I can’t name any of his other songs), but I am an Essence fan, so I bought three items – the blush, highlighter, and one of the glosses. Unfortunately, I seem to have misplaced the gloss in my recent move, so I don’t have swatches of it today. It’s pretty much clear with sparkles, though – not the most exciting thing to swatch, though it looks great (and green!) in the tube. I do have this picture from my Instagram which includes the gloss.

The blush is named Groupie at Heart, and is a gorgeous watermelon pink. It is imprinted with the word boyfriend – I have absolutely no idea why – and it blends easily, but does kick up some powder. It has a really lovely almost-satin finish – it’s basically matte, but not a flat matte. I would highly recommend this if you can find it – and at around $3, it’s a total steal.

Essence Groupie At Heart

Essence Groupie At Heart: unblended // blended

The highlighter is named Swaaag and imprinted with the word swag. Again, no idea why. I was very excited about it because it looks gorgeous in the pan, but I was disappointed to find out that it has large flecks of glitter in it. If it didn’t have the glitter, it would be great – the texture is nice and I like the soft shimmer – but as is, I don’t find it useable as a highlighter for me.

Essence Swaag

Essence Swaaag in natural light: unblended // blended

Essence Swaaag with blur to show sparkle: unblended // blended

In my region of the US., Essence is only available at Ulta. I am jealous of those of you who have access to more of Essence’s collections!

Maybelline Make A Mauve Master Glaze Blush Stick Review & Swatches

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Purchased – Affiliate Links

Maybelline Master Glaze Blush Stick in Make A Mauve

I purchased one of the new-for-2014 Maybelline Master Glaze blush sticks about a month ago, and the reason it’s taken me such a long time to review is probably because I feel pretty meh about it.

The Master Glaze blush sticks come in six colors ($8.99/Ulta, $7.49/drugstore.com), and I believe all six shades have some shimmer. Make a Mauve has a great base color – a rosy mauve – but the flecks of silver glitter are a huge downside for me. It’s smooth and blendable, but dries to a powdery finish that I don’t love – it feels oddly drying.

Make A Mauve – unblended // blended

Maybelline, I really want to love this. I love cream blush, and actually rarely wear powder anymore. But, it just doesn’t quite work for me.

Revlon Blush on Clearance – Quick Swatches

Purchased – No Affiliate Links

There are currently clearance sales going on at all three major drugstore chains – CVS, Walgreens, and Rite Aid. Nouveau Cheap has links to more information about each sale here. I’ve been buying more than I probably should, and I thought I’d share some hits and some misses. Today, I’m going to talk about Revlon’s cream blushes in Rosy Glow & Berry Flirtatious and their Photoready Sculpting Blush Palettes in Neutral & Peach.

Let’s start with the hits – the cream blushes are fantastic. Berry Flirtatious is significantly drier than Rosy Glow, but I like the texture of each of them. I prefer the darker Berry Flirtatious on my skintone, but still enjoy Rosy Glow (and would especially recommend it for those with paler coloring).

Berry Flirtatious // Rosy Glow

The Photoready Sculpting Blush Palettes, on the other hand, may be going into the trash soon. Each one includes a blush, a contour color, and a highlighter. The colors are pretty, but the pigmentation is abysmal – sheer can be good, but barely visible when heavily layered is not.

The following swatches are multiple swipes, and I loaded up as much color as possible onto a fingertip for each swipe.

Peach

Neutral

For comparison purposes, here’s Neutral next to theBalm Mary Lou-Manizer. The Revlon swatches & the Mary Lou-Manizer swatches were done with the same technique but the Revlon ones are about three layers & the theBalm one is one layer.

To summarize:

Cream blushes: Possibly worth it at full price, definitely worth it for 75% off.

Photoready Face Palettes: Not even worth it if they were free.

Surratt Beauty – First Impressions

Purchased – Affiliate Links

I went to Barneys a few days ago to check out makeup artist Troy Surratt’s new line, the self-titled Surratt. The line is exclusive to Barneys, which only has a few locations – I’m lucky to live near one of them. Everything is also available online (though much of it is currently sold out).

Parfait blush // Cuive eyeshadow // Chamois eyeshadow

The eyeshadow & blush covers easily slide off.

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