My Favorite Pink Blushes

I have a thing for pink blushes. Seriously. I just love those pale baby doll pink blushes that look soft and sweet on your cheeks. They're the kind of pinks that are universally flattering and I'm obsessed with buying them. There's something about a perfect pink blush that if I find a good one, I have to buy it. Even if I have five others at home. They do have slight variations though. I promise you, they do. So, I went though my collection the other day and pulled out my top five favorites. The ones I keep going back to and the ones that have deemed good enough to be repurchased. Here we go!

Favorites - November

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NARS | Guy Bourdin - Review

Hey hey hey. So many brands release holiday collections it's sensory overload. Seriously. But when I saw that NARS was doing a collection inspired by Guy Bourdin, I was so excited. I love art and photography and Guy Bourdin has some amazing photography. Known for his bold imagery with vibrant colors, his work is a perfect pairing with NARS. Not to mention his work is very provocative and sexy. It's seriously a match made in heaven and I really think NARS did this one justice. Very rich and vibrant colors. Ugh, I just can't even describe. It's so nice for the edgy girl that's not afraid to be bold and out there.

Cream Blushes

I remember trying my first cream blush ages ago. It was such an awful experience. I can't even remember what brand it was, but I just remember it feeling sticky and yucky. It didn't blend well and it rubbed off all the makeup I had on underneath it. Terrible! I thought to myself, 'Never Again!'.

It's now been a few years since that sticky situation and about six months ago, I decided to give them another go. How brave am I?! So, I picked up the Illamasqua one and then a YSL and so on and so on. Each of them impressing me more and more. Changing my perspective and making me fall in love and prefer cream blushes (not to say I don't still use powder because I do). You're probably wondering now "what's the big deal of cream instead of powder?". When using a cream product, you can make your blush look more natural. Cream products can be buffed into your skin making it look as though it is part of your skin, not sitting on top of it. They also tend to have more natural looking finishes of satin/velvety or dewy. Much more 'skin-like' than a powdery product. And they're actually quite easy to apply. I love love love using the Real Techniques Buffing Brush for this. I dab it into the product lightly (you generally won't need much at all) and tap it onto my cheeks. Then just blend it out. It makes it so easy by doing all the work for you. I also find that using my fingers is quite a simple and quick option.

Dior Glow - Review

I feel like I rarely hear people talking about Dior products. Chanel has a cult following with their cream bronzer and foundations, everyone loves the NARS blushes, people are obsessed with YSL lipsticks and touche éclat. What about Dior?! I personally love and use a lot of their products. Don't even get me started on their 5 color eyeshadows! A while back (maybe a few years ago?) I picked up the Dior Addict Lip Glow (left) and was obsessed! It was all downhill from here. Oh boy.

The Dior Addict Lip Glow Balm (left) is a lip balm, but no ordinary lip balm. It reacts with the your lip chemistry and forms a custom color on the lips. It is sheer and will look different on everyone depending on your lips. For me, it goes on like any other lip balm and looks like nothing special. Just feels moisturizing, smooth and has a slight cool/minty feeling and smell. After a few minutes though, you'll notice the color adjusting. For me, I end up with a brighter more pink color than my natural lips. Really pretty and sort of just looks like that's the color your lips really are because it's just brightening and enhancing your color. Cool! I've gone through a few of these and my mom is addicted to it. Ooo, and it has SPF 10 - always a plus!

LORAC PRO To Go - Review

I can't tell you how often I find myself packing a bag whether it be for one night or one week. Honestly, it's all the same when it comes to packing your makeup. If you want a full face, you'll need eye shadows, liner, blushes and so on and on. I end up with more cosmetics than clothes! That's why I'm always looking for things that will give variety in a compact way. So, when I spotted the LORAC Pro To Go Palette, I knew it was the sort of thing I'd want to give a try and glad I did.

I've used this palette a few times now and it's so wonderful. The palette folds out like an accordion so you can have it all the way open displaying the mirror, shadows and blushes all at once (as photographed in the above image on left). Or, you can flip one side open at a time which is easier to maneuver if you don't have surface space. As you can see, the top portion has a mirror. Very practical for being on the go. The next section has six eye shadows, then below those are two blushes and one bronzer.

The quality of these powders are amazing. If you've ever tried LORAC shadows, you'll know what I mean. Highly pigmented (you can sheer them out though if you want it more subtle), easily blendable and velvety smooth. Because they are so soft and pigmented, I do suggest tapping off your brush before applying so you don't get drop down on your face. Another great thing about the formula is that the shadows can be used both wet or dry. So, if you want a more intense pigment, just dampen your brush before dipping into the shadows. I personally love this because I like to use the black as an eyeliner and using it wet gives me a crisper, deeper and cleaner line.

I've swatched all the colors below (dry swatches - no flash). That is just showing the color with one swipe. No building up necessary to get to that intensity. For the eye shadows, the top three are shimmery. I think Chai is my favorite. It's a beautiful intense shimmery golden brown. The bottom three  eye shadows are more matte (although Shell and Cafe have a slight very fine glitter running through them). The coral blush is shimmery while the pink blush and the bronzer are both matte. All beautiful colors and diverse enough to give you multiple day or night looks. Loving it.

If you travel often and like to have versatile easy makeup, I would highly recommend this. It's really just the kind of thing that takes out all the guess work. Without having to think twice, you can just toss this into your bag with foundation & mascara and you're good to go. I had the LORAC Pro Palette and love it so I knew the To Go version wouldn't disappoint. (BTW - if you haven't checked out LORAC Pro Palette, you should. It's got a combo of half shimmers and half mattes, has a good variety of color for many looks, has great pigmentation and is really thin in size). I believe the LORAC Pro To Go palette is exclusive to Sephora, so you can check it out there. The price is also reasonable at $38 for what it includes. Nice!

Talk soon.