My Blush Drawer

Makeup Collection

Back in June I posted my foundation drawer with you. For the next instalment in my makeup collection series, I wanted to show my (slightly overflowing) blush drawer. Finding the perfect blush shade for my skin tone, has been a bit of a mission but through some trial and error, I definitely have discovered some favourites.

When pulling out my blushes for this blog post, I was a little taken aback by how many I had accumulated. I do have some face palette that contain blushes, that I decided to leave out of this post. I also forgot to include my Benefit blushes, which I have depotted into a magnetic palette. even excluding those, a tiny mountain formed in front of my eyes.

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I think it’s safe to say, my collection may have gotten a bit out of hand (not as badly as my lipsticks but we will save that topic for another day). This post has inspired me to think about decluttering a few of the blushes, that are going a bit unloved.

Without further ado let’s discuss the best and worst products from my blush collection!

Blushes I Love

BareMinerals Gen Nude blush in That peach Tho | £22

I may have just mentioned the BareMinerals Gen Nude Blush in my last current makeup favourites. But its that’s good, I’m going to have to talk about it again! The formula, shade and wear time are all a big hit for me. I love more muted tones in blushes and I find this medium peach, to really wake up my complexion. Without looking unnatural or heavy on my skin. There is no kick-up with this blush. The colour can also easily be built-up if desired. I can’t put it down. It’s easily one of my favourite makeup finds this year.

Tarte Amazonian clay blush in Exposed | £23

If Tarte was more readily available in the UK, I would have so many more of the Amazonian Clay Blushes in my collection. When you swatch it, it looks like it’s going to let you down. Fear not, this little blush may not be great in a swatch but it’s perfect on the skin. Despite my vast collection of shimmery blushes, I’m more of a matte lover. The shade Exposed is a gorgeous, muted, soft rose that looks like a natural flush to the cheeks. This is one of my main go-to blushes for everyday. It just give me a little pinch of colour to my skin and wears well throughout the day. I love how easy to blend this blush is and how perfectly it suits me. It doesn’t look powdery on the skin and the Amazonian Clay formula gives an almost airbrushed finish, which I love.

LOreal Infallible blush Paint Palette in The Ambers | £14.99

The Loreal Infallible Blush Paint Palette was such a great buy. This five pan palette is highly pigmented and serious bang for your buck. Amber Love, Peach Fling and Miami Sunrise are my favourite shades from the palette but I think they are all so wearable. I love the choice this palette offers, mix and match or chop and change, it offers variety within a colour family I like. I think that’s something that is not to often seen in the makeup world. The saturation of colour is good. If you like shimmery blushes, then this palette wont disappoint. I find the wear time to be slightly below average but they blend easily and don’t look dry or powdery on the skin. LOreal does make a pink version of the blush paint palette too, if corals aren’t your thing.

I wish they would make more of these palettes as they are so slim, really pretty and in general a great crowd pleaser.

Stila Water Colour blush in Water Blossom | £20

I have tried a few liquid blushes in the past that I didn’t get on with. Something told me to give this Stila Water Colour blush a chance and I’m very glad I did. A little dot blended onto the cheeks really wakes up my complexion and blends to a soft but vibrant pink. This gives me those, ‘I’ve been out in the cold’ pinched cheeks. I find this to be a great blush for layering too, if I wanted to increase my wear-time of a powder blush by applying underneath. Despite how bold it looks in the tub, its actually a really soft shade of pink.

This doesn’t disrupt my base products, which I find liquid blushes can sometimes do. As it stains, the wear time is really great. This is such a fantastic product if you have dry skin, as it’s not adding a powdery finish and looks really dewy if you leave it as is. A really great blush, that isn’t hyped enough.

Milani Luminious Baked Blush | £10

Who doesn’t love Milani Luminious? You would struggle to find such an individual. This blush has quite the cult following and for a good reason, it seems to be the blush that suits everyone. Looks amazing on the skin and best of all won’t break the bank. I had heard endless good things about this blush, before trying it and I think overall it lives up to my expectations. The warm orange/peach tones gives life to my skin. The shimmer is very fine and a similar tone to the blush, so it just makes you look radiant, as appose to a glitter ball. I definitely have a thing for baked blushes and I don’t think you could start with a better product if you are looking to try them too.

Benefit Rockateur and Gold Rush boxed Blushes | £25.50

Although I forgot to photograph Rockateur and Gold Rush, I couldn’t not mention these two blushes from Benefit, as they are some of my most used and loved.

Gold rush is more of a recent favourite, as I received a sample in last month’s Birchbox and quickly fell in love with the shade. Gold Rush is a stunning warm, golden nectar shade that does have a lot of glow to it. Yet somehow just looks radiant, instead of glittery on the cheeks. I’m totally captivated by this shade, it gives me the luminous healthy glow, I’m always on the hunt for. The wear time is on-par with other Benefit blushes I have. I find it just as easy to blend too. It may be to soon to call it top 3 but its certainly working its way up to a top spot.

Rockateur is more of a deeper, satin rose shade, that is super flattering. The texture is silky soft and blends effortlessly into the skin. I find it to be an easily build-able shade and lasts a good amount of time. Rockateur is quite a sophisticated colour and although it does have a little bit of shimmer, it looks matte upon application. I think this blush would be flattering on everyone and in general its a really winner for me.

Toofaced peach beach Sweetheart Blush | £24

Peachy blushes are always a favourite of mine and the Toofaced Sweetheart Blush in Peach Beach ticks all the boxes. I love how it’s divided into three stripes, that you can blend together or focus your brush onto a particular shade. Blended together this gives a beautiful warm rosy glow to my cheeks. That just looks healthy and pretty on the skin. The pigmentation is not very intense. Which I don’t mind in a blush, as its easy enough to build up. This does have shimmer to it but it isn’t chunky. As the reflect is gold, I find it looks better on my warm undertones, then silver which can make me look like the tin man. This blush is definitely geared towards my light to medium skin and may be lost on deeper skin tones.

Overall beautiful packaging, a really pretty shade and a blush I reach for often.

Blushes I Don’t Love

I don’t have many blushes in my collection I dislike, as I tend to declutter them. However, there are a few in my stash that aren’t my favourite at the moment, which I will likely pass on to new homes soon.

Bourjois Rose D’or Blush* | £6.49

The Bourjois pot blushes are a very a classic product and one Bourjois is known for. I don’t have anything against the texture of this blush. It’s just the shade isn’t very flattering on my skin tone and after a while all I see is shimmer on my cheeks. I did receive this blush from influenster last year, so it’s not typically a shade I would pick for myself.

The packaging is lovely and it’s a great compact size. It even has a mirror, which although very small, is a nice touch. There are a few shades in this line that I really like the look of but this particular shade, is to cool toned for me and I just don’t find myself reaching for it. *pr gifted

Maxfactor Crème Puff Blush in Lovely Pink | £8.99

The Maxfactor Crème Puff Blush falls into the same category as the Bourjois blush. I like the texture and the packaging again is nicely designed, functional and good quality. Its just the shade itself, that isn’t right for me. Lovely pink is very pale and just doesn’t show up on my skin. It’s not as packed with shimmer, as the Bourjois but my cheeks still end up looking frosty. The baked swirls in the blush are so pretty and what initially drew me to wanting to try this product. I just feel the shade would be better suited to fair skin tones.

Topshop Afternoon Tea Cream Blush | £6

Topshop make a lot of great products. In-fact I really enjoy the powder blush I have from Topshop, in the shade dream phone. That being said, the cream blush formula is a total miss for me. This shade is rather a neon pink but I wasn’t put off by that, as I love the Stila Watercolour blush, which looks just as luminous. Yet I find the colour doesn’t really sheer-out and can look as bright neon pink on the skin. This is a very dry cream, that clings to the skin and is hard to blend. It ends up looking powdery on my dry skin and doesn’t melt-in and blend, in the way I would expect.

Swatches

Heavy Swatches to show colour, From left to right: Mac – Fleur Power & Azela’s in the afternoon (Mineralize), Essence – Miss Floral Coral (Mosaic) & Berry Me Up (Matt Touch), Pixi – Rome Rose (Glow-y), Bourjois Rose d’Or (*pr gifted), Laq and Co – Peacher’s Daughter (B’lighter), Benefit – Coralista, Sugarbomb, Rockateur & Gold Rush, Maxfactor – Lovely Pink (Creme Puff).

Heavy Swatches to show colour, From left to right: BareMinerals – That Peach Tho (Gen Nude), Milani – Luminious (Baked), Tarte – Exposed (Amazonian Clay), Toofaced – Peach Beach (Sweetheart), NYX – Soft Spoken (HD), Stilla – Water Blossom (Watercolour), Topshop – Afternoon Tea (cream) & Dream Phone (powder), LOreal – Miami Sunrise, Coral Bay, Peach Fling, Amber Love & Indian Cruise (Infallible blush paint).

Blush Wishlist

Its been a long time since I have finished a blush, and yet my growing stash has not deterred my desire for more blushes. Figuring out what I liked and didn’t, I will admit took a while, But I feel like now I can fairly accurately identify the sort of blushes that are right for me before purchasing. I would be lying if I said packaging didn’t play a role too. Still there is so many blushes out there that I would love to try.

Charlotte Tilbury Cheek to Chic Blush | £30

First up on my blush wishlist, is Charlotte Tilbury, the Cheek to Chic blushes. I think despite the fact they looks like a nipple, the shades are beautiful and I know Charlotte Tilbury’s formulas don’t disappoint.

Nars Blushes | £24

How can it be I have never tried a Nars Blush?! I feel like I can’t officially call myself a makeup junkie until I have tried Orgasm as the very least. The holiday collection this year for Nars features some stunning blush palettes, so maybe this will be the year I finally put them to the test.

Hourglass Mood Exposure Blushes | £35

Every time I see a pic of the Mood Exposure blushes, hearts form in front of my eyes. The one powder I own from Hourglass,  the formula is out of this world, so I know I wouldn’t be disappointed. I hope one day I can bite the bullet and add one of their beautiful blushes to my collection.

Who’s blushing Now?

Did you enjoy this chat about all things blush?  We would be here for a week, if I wrote about every product in my blush collection, but I certainly wanted to give a shout out to the yay’s and nay’s from my collection. Often I tend to find a product I like and stick to it, so it can be hard to convert me. Typically I reach for more natural and muted tones but I can’t resist a pretty shimmer now and then too.

What is your Favourite blush?

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