The First Blush of Spring: Dolce & Gabbana Nude
Dolce & Gabbana Nude (#10) Blush ($44.00) is the softest peach-beige. This is a lovely way to accent cheeks for barely-there color!
This was actually a particularly difficult color to capture, because on my skin tone, the color melds and blends in quite well, so it’s harder for my camera to focus on the color swatch, but I managed to capture it–and you’ll be able to see just how soft it is.
I really like this for a way to give cheeks a bit of definition and color but without overdoing it; it works really well as a go-to cheek color when you do a more dramatic look (either on eyes or lips). I wore it with bright teal eyeshadow and coral lips, because it worked well to balance to look without taking away from it.
Dolce & Gabbana’s blushes have a nearly matte finish; they have just a subtle sheen but nothing glittery or shimmery here. If you liked such shades as MAC Notable or MAC The Perfect Cheek, Dolce & Gabbana’s Nude has a similar effect.
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- Product: 29/30
- Value: 7/10
- Ease of Use: 4/5
- Packaging: 4/5
Recommendation: For soft cheek color that doesn’t compete, Nude makes a great choice.
Availability: Saks
Estee Lauder & Michael Kors: Very Hollywood Collection — Bits & Bobs
The Very Hollywood Collection is divided into two looks: Rodeo Pink and Bel-Air Beige. Rodeo Pink features very pink-themed shades, whereas Bel-Air Beige is more about corals and beiges. Additionally, there is also a Shimmering Loose Powder that can be used with either look. I ended up trying out the Sunset Coral Blush, Hollywood Gold Lip Sheen, and Starlet Peach Lip Gloss from the Bel-Air Beige look, as well a the Shimmering Loose Powder.
The packaging for the Very Hollywood Collection is a pleasant reprieve from Estee Lauder’s typical packaging–it’s a nice update and take on something still more sophisticated and in line with the brand but yet doesn’t feel old.
- Sunset Coral Blush ($26.00) is really more of a pink-coral. It has just a hint of coral, but it turned out pinker than I imagined it would be. It’s a nice shade, though I’d say more summer-appropriate than necessarily for spring (but that’s just if you go by seasons, which I don’t myself!). It has a very matte finish and texture with good pigmentation, so you can definitely get a good pop of color on your cheeks with this one.
- Shimmering Loose Powder ($32.00) is a pinky-peach with golden sheen. It’s almost like a pink beige flesh-toned powder. It’s very finely milled and can be used lightly or more heavily, depending on what kind of look you’re going for. Used with a very fluffy brush and a light hand, it could definitely be used as an all-over powder or just to highlight parts of the face.
- Hollywood Gold Lip Sheen ($22.00) is a sheer, peachy-coral with a golden sheen. It took several layers to build up the color on the swatch alone, so this is most definitely a product that’s aptly named–lip sheen. If you like ultra pigmented lipsticks, I’d look elsewhere. If you like just a sheer wash of color on your lips, lip sheens may be up your alley. Estee Lauder released four other shades (Bungalow Pink, Honey Blonde, Starlet Peach, and Starlet Rose), though two are sold out online.
- Starlet Peach Lip Gloss ($20.00) is a sheer, peachy-orange gloss with champagne shimmer. It looks quite orange in the tube, but it’s really sheer, so it ends up looking much more peach in practice. It’s a non-sticky gloss that goes on sheerly and lasts a few hours on me. It has a strawberry-ish kind of scent, which took a little getting used to, but wasn’t bad overall.
Dior Spring 2010: A Lacy, Floral Confection
Dior Vintage Pink (#839) Blush
($40.00) is a prettily designed blush duo from Dior’s Spring collection. Nearly all of the powder-based products from Dior’s Spring collection feature a raised lacy, floral embellishment. The design is fitting for the blossoms of spring, but it does fade away quickly once you start using the product. I am sure there are at least a few who will be buying just to admire, though!
Vintage Rose is a blush duo that I’d likely wear swirled together, but you could apply from either side to pull the color one way or the other. It’s not a huge compact, but a brush can fit on each side for the most part (though opt for a smaller brush-head!).
The darker side is a medium-dark pink with just a lingering of peach in it and no real shimmer. The lighter side is much more of a peach with a little pink to it–this side reminded me of a softer, more finely milled NARS Orgasm (maybe a little pinker, too).
Together, they merge and create a pinker, slightly shimmered, but still lighter than the darker side color. Whether you use one side, the other, or them together, the result is lovely–but seriously, when I have I said “Stay away!” to a peachy-pink blush? Please, this had my name all over it! (Although, personally, I thought it was going to be rosier and not so warm, but it worked out for me.)
I’m a really big fan of Dior’s cheek products. I think they are particularly adept at creating and delivering very useable, universal shades of color that work on a variety of skin tones and ages. You won’t find disco-ball glitter here, but you will find a smooth, silky product with buildable coverage and fine, subtle shimmer.
As far as price goes, Dior is slightly cheaper ($150/oz. vs. $156/oz.) than NARS blushes, because they give you plenty of product for your money. Whether you want to plunk down $40 on one blush is another story, of course! I can’t imagine using this up unless it’s one of just a few blushes you use, but even then, you’ll have plenty to get through.
I’m hoping to check out the rest of the collection in person at Nordstrom later this week!
If you want to know more about how products are evaluated, read out Rating System FAQ!
- Product: 29/30
- Value: 9/10
- Ease of Use: 4/5
- Packaging: 4/5
Recommendation: If you love peachy-pink or coral blushes, definitely take a peek at Vintage Rose!
Availability: Nordstrom
MAC Pearlmatte Eyeshadow
MAC in Lillyland Collection: Pearlmatte Eyeshadow & Powder & Coconut Ice Nail Lacquer Review, Photos, Swatches
The two prettiest-looking items in the collection are my two least favorites of the collection. Both the Pearlmatte Eyeshadow and Face Powder are lovely to look at with their floral design, but the product itself is just okay.
Pearlmatte Eyeshadow
This is basically three eyeshadows in one, and the pieces are big enough that you can get your brush into each. It consists of a lightly shimmered white, a soft yellow-green with gold shimmer (think Juxt), and a medium blue-based pink with light shimmer (think Da Bling, but blue-based). The design dusts off pretty fast — I could barely see any of the floral portions once I did swatches. The shadows themselves are decently pigmented, but they’re not ultra rich. They also felt a little powdery, which I wasn’t thrilled with. Nice design, just an okay product.
Pearlmatte Face Powder
This contains four different shades within the compact, but realistically, as a face/cheek product, you’re going to end up with a swirl of colors, not just any of the four. In particular, the orange shade is incredibly small, so good luck wearing that alone if you’re brave enough to try! Nonetheless, I did swatch the four individual shades, and then I did a swirled swatch. The individual shades are: a yellowed, shimmered gold, mostly matte/satin peachy orange, sheer, deep pink, and a neutral tan-brown with no real shimmer. Swirled together, I ended up with a rather bronzy shade — it ran a little orange and had the yellow-gold shimmer in it. I don’t know if I’d use this as an all over face powder myself, because it seems more like a bronzer based on playing around with it so far.
Coconut Ice Nail Lacquer
I’d like to know why they named this Coconut Ice. Maybe I haven’t consumed enough coconut ice in my life, but I just envisioned a lightened shade — based on the name. I’ve read the description previously, so I wasn’t misled, but the name seemed off to me. This is a brightened peachy-coral kind of shade. It’s like Seasonal Peach with a lot more pink. It has a creamy finish, and I’d say it needs two to three coats to look right. It kind of reminded of an old, old nail polish called Pink Radar, except lighter and less pink. I liked it, but I like corals, so this wasn’t much of a surprise.
MAC Optimistic Orange Cremeblend Blush
MAC in Lillyland Collection: Cremeblend Blushes Review, Photos, Swatches
Even though my personal favorites from this collection are the lipgelees (review is forthcoming, promise!), I really think the Cremeblend Blushes really stand out. All four are intensely pigmented, rich in color, and really will pop on your cheeks — if you so desire. What’s nice about these is you can use a stippling brush like the 188 (smaller brush-head than the 187, so it’s ideal for cheek color) for a softer, less color-rich look, or you can layer and build up the intensity for a bolder cheek look as well. These seemed thinner and more pigmented than MAC’s Blushcremes as well.
Note, I can’t comment on the wear of these, as I haven’t had them for more than a few hours! I will definitely do my best to use these in a look in the next week.
Cremeblend Blush ($18.50 U.S. / $22.00 CDN)
- Optimistic Orange is a bright pop of orange. It’s not quite neon orange, but it is pretty bold and bright. Definitely a true orange, though; this is not coral on me whatsoever.
- Joie-de-Vivre is a bright pink-coral; it leans more pink than orange, which is why it’s predominantly pink, but it’s obvious it’s not a bubblegum pink. MAC described it as a “peachy coral,” but I’d say it’s more like a pinky coral.
- So Sweet, So Easy is a bubblegum pink. It’s a medium pink with barely-there yellow undertones. It’s the lightest and softest shade of the four.
- Florida is a bright fuchsia-purple. It’s creamy, ultra pigmented, and WOW-za, you know? This is the kind of the color that can easily scare you away. Again, try a stippling brush, use a light hand, and you may even find using fingers to blend out the color (after the initial brush-based application) may give you the right level of intensity.
MAC All’s Good Beauty Powder Blush
MAC All Ages, All Races, All Sexes Collection: Beauty Powder Blushes Reviews, Photos, Swatches
The beauty powder blushes are interesting, if only because neither shade seems like a blush at first glance. I think some might find these work for contouring, others for blushing/bronzing. I liked Personal Style the most, because I could see it being just a hint of definition on cheeks when eyes/lips are bold.
Beauty Powder Blushes ($18.50 U.S. / $22.00 CDN)
- All’s Good is a dirty brown with just a smidgen of pink in it. It has very, very little shimmer — like barely there shimmer. I think this might be nicer on deeper skin tones, but I keep thinking it’s just going to look dirty on me. The texture is very smooth, and the color itself is pigmented.
- Personal Style is a neutral-to-cool fleshy beige with no real shimmer (the powder looks like it has some, but I couldn’t detect any in the swatch). This looked like something you might even be able to contour with if you have lighter skin.
