Thursday, August 12, 2010
Aw, You Make Me Blush
Blush!
If you can't make it real 24/7, fake it! Lately, I've been going on abit of a blusher-binge and it's finally showing signs of slowing down. Honestly, how many different colours can one paint one's cheeks in?
A lot apparently.
My first "official" blusher was a Clinique blusher I bought from the Estee Lauder warehouse sale way back when(speaking of which, it's this Saturday). Yea, I like to think that I started out with the big boys and went downhill from there.
Ever since I discovered NYX (read all about NYX obsessions here, here and here), I've been buying their products like a woman possessed (especially the NYX Round Lipsticks) because it's so disgustingly cheap. And now that I've tried some of their blushers, I dont know if I can ever go back to using anything else.
Over the past few months, I've bought 4 different NYX blushers and now that they've all finally arrived, swatches aplenty!
Note: Most of the blushers I buy are pretty strong colours because light peachy/pink colours appear non-existent on my face. Heartbreaking, I know.
On with the blush parade!
Powder blushes are pretty much foolproof. If you put too much on, just dust on some loose powder or swipe several times with a tissue. NYX Powder Blushes are known for their staying power and after trying it in Desert Rose, fact confirmed!!
NYX Powder Blushes have amazing staying power and can pretty much last almost the entire day, even when the rest of my face has melted off. They're incredibly pigmented too, so you really dont need to load up your brush with a lot of product.
All NYX Powder Blushes have this cute quilted surface pattern. I am mesmerised *zombie stare*
Another good thing to note is that the blush powder is err.. How do I say this? Packed on pretty tight? When I stab my brush into it (I'm like the dominatrix of the blusher world), I don't get flying bits of powder everywhere. A puffy pink mess on your clothes is not the best way to start the day.
If I have any complaints at all about it, I'd say the packaging looks really cheap (well, that's because it is, Captain Obvious), like it's some un-branded eyeshadow I bought from the supermarket. Also, the colours on the websites are horrendously unreliable. Most of the product colours look nothing like that in real life, so best to Google some swatches before buying (I learnt that the hard way).
NYX Powder Blush swatch - Desert Rose
Desert Rose is a raspberry-ish wine pink that doesn't need a lot for application or I'll look like I have bruised cheeks.
I only have 1 powder blush from NYX so far. Let's see how long I can hold up for before I cave and buy 10 more.
On to my most favourite NYX product ever - NYX Rouge Cream Blush!
Cream blushes are the best things since sliced bread and tweezers. Depending on the type of cream blush you have, you can get a nice pink healthy glow, or a touch of shimmer on your cheeks that never fades! The secret to cream blushes is to blend like mad until the cows come home pink. Just tap your fingers onto the surface of the blush and tap it onto your cheeks to build up the colour.
I admit, my first encounter with a cream blush ended with me in my best clown impersonation. Cream blush 1, Jen 0.
I had an amazingly tough time trying to pick my first cream blush from NYX, thinking which one would be the most versatile and practical for everyday use. A few months ago, I started using it and it's been a regular ever since.
Pardon the sad condition of my cream blush surface! I've been using it for well over 2 months now and I use a duo-fibre stipling brush for this, so the beautiful surface is riddled with prickly brush marks. Just 1 dip with my brush is enough to give colour for 1 cheek.
The top layer of the blush seems to have oxidised a little to a rather dull colour, but as I swiped away with my finger for the swatch, the true colour underneath shows better.
Glow is a slightly muted bubblegum pink shade. A very light hand is needed with this one and lots of blending. Patience!!
NYX Rouge Cream Blush swatch - Glow
Once I started using Glow, I just knew I had to get my hands on more cream blushes!
My cheeks now feel complete.
NYX Rouge Cream Blush - Rose Petal
After deciding that perhaps Glow was a little too intense of a colour sometimes, my next cream blush aim was for something a little more natural, and Rose Petal looks like it was a good choice!
Ingredients list for those who need to know.
I spot mineral oil as the first ingredient and I've read that there are some people whose skin is not on speaking terms with mineral oil. It's been fine for me so far.
Rose Petal is a nice dull, pale pink with a slight hint of peach. Where Glow was more of a cool-tone, Rose Petal is warmer.
NYX Rouge Cream Blush swatch - Rose Petal
Nice eh? Very natural and exactly what I was looking for.
Now that I had "natural" sorted out, I decided to branch out into the wild and unknown with my next cream blush! Since normal pink blushes are a dime a dozen, I figured I need at least 1 random colour in my blush collection for good measure.
NYX Rouge Cream Blush - Orange
I really had no words to say when I first laid my eyes on it. It's so.. Orange! I love it!! :D
Ingredients list. Mineral oil still in there somewhere.
Out of all the NYX Rouge Cream Blushes, this one is the most appropriately named and has the most accurate colour shown on the website! How hard can it be to get orange wrong?
NYX Rouge Cream Blush swatch - Orange
I have no idea what made me buy Orange because it seems like such an impossible colour to wear! I think people are taken aback by their first impressions of the shade because the orange is really bright and pretty intense. But once blended properly with a light hand, this shade actually really suits more yellow-based skin tones.
I was complaining about how difficult it is to find a peach blush for myself, but with a really light hand and proper blending, Orange turns out to be a good dupe!
Btw if you noticed, Glow and Rose Petal have different packaging compared to Orange. I'm not too sure which one is the latest though. Both Glow and Rose Petal have a shiny plastic casing while Orange has matte black casing.
All cream blush colours look really strong and intimidating in the pan, but you're only meant to use very little and blend it out anyway.
What I like about cream blushes is that they make a great base for powder blushes. I just put on some cream blush as usual (but a little lighter), then layer over it with a dusting of powder blush in the same colour (or as similar as possible).
I will then have achieved blush nirvana.
Once again, just because.
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