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Blushes | 2014 Editor's Favorites
Bringing down my favorites to a mere ten–TEN!!–from over 200 blushes that I’ve reviewed this year was painful. There were so many amazing formulas and shades released this past year! To that end, I wanted to make sure to share the love (and not just choose ten from the same formula!), but I urge you to check out these formulas in general as they perform well consistently and have a great selection of shades: Clinique Cheek Pops, Make Up For Ever Artist Shadow (Blush), and Make Up For Ever HD Blush. Given that these are my favorites, they all tend to lean warm and closer to coral/brown tones as those are the types of colors I find most flattering on myself. 🙂
- Clinique Peach Pop — a pink-coral with a satiny sheen
- Charlotte Tilbury Love Glow — a pop of muted pink with golden shimmer
- IT Cosmetics Pretty in Peony — a pop of medium-dark, pink-coral with a gold sheen and intense pigmentation
- MAC Make You Mine — a muted, warm brown with a satin finish
- Make Up For Ever #310 HD — a muted, plummy pink with a satin finish
- Chanel Jersey (80) — a soft, peach-brown with a satin finish
- Clinique Plum Pop — a cool-toned, plummy pink
- Becca Raspberry/Opal — a shimmery plum-brown
- Make Up For Ever S718 Salmon — the Artist Shadows actually made beautiful blushes because they have a lovely, luminous sheen like this peachy one
- Hourglass Diffused Heat — a light-medium, warm-toned pink with a satin-matte finish
So many great picks! Chanel Jersey looks lovely, but I’m really wanting to check out the IT blushes in 2015!
IT Blushes are AMAZING if you love intense blush!
That Chanel one looks so nice! Christine you might make me go Chanel-crazy here! Hopefully I’ll find Tisse Rivoli, Envol iDo, and this blush next week 🙂 Might be my first purchase for 2015 🙂 Those and the long awaited Epatant. This was the year I got to meet the IdO line and i really loved it! Better late than never 🙂
LOL! I love some Chanel products, loathe others, but when they’re good, they’re good 🙂
I feel like the Lone Ranger – – – I didn’t like the Clinique Cheek Pop in Berry Pop at all. I probably just got a dud, but mine is completely stiff in the pan. I can’t get any product out no matter what type of brush I use. I tried scaping off the top layer with no improvement. So sad.
Anyhoo, I love Laura Geller’s blushes.
This year I bought and love YSL Baby Doll Kiss & Blush in Rose Libre!
I’ll have to check out Laura Geller 🙂
I do believe a few readers mentioned having similar color payoff issues (stiff)!
I bought the Ginger shade and mine was also very stiff.
More lovely picks! The Cheek Pops and Ambient Lighting Blushes made my “best of”list as well 🙂
So much blush this year!
Chanel Jersey and Clinique Berry Cheek Pop!
Yay! 😀
Oooohhh! There are several here that I had forgotten were on my “want” list (because they came out a while ago and I get distracted by new, shiny things). Definitely going to have to remember the Clinique and the Chanel for next time I am in the market for blush! Thanks for posting these end of the year lists, Christine!
You and me both, Katie! I’m like, “Oh, that was THIS YEAR? I REMEMBER YOU! I LOVED YOU!”
Probably my favorite blush I tried this year would be Pumpkin blush by Hello Waffle cosmetics!! I feel like I wore it soooo many times this holiday season!
Sounds so cute! How would you describe the shade/finish?
Ohhh I’m so bad at describing colors! I’d say it’s a brightened light yellow-ish orange with fine shimmer. Hello Waffle cosmetics is definitely an indie company worth trying out!
Great list! I have all of them, except four: IT Cosmetics Pretty in Peony, MAC Make You Mine, Chanel Jersey (80) and Becca Raspberry/Opal.
Please allow me to tell you that throughout this year, I stayed at home, without going out. I had a disease, but now I am fine.
Throughout this year, there has not been a day that I weren’t here.
You, even without knowing that, kept me company. Your blog was an escape.
I remember my first comment. I was afraid, because my English is not very good, and your reply was kind.
I know that I committed several mistakes in grammar and punctuation… Nevertheless, you accepted all my comments. That is what is known as humility and sense of solidarity.
As I couldn’t leave my house, ALL makeup products that I purchased this year were based in your reviews.
I’m Brazilian. The items which can’t be shipped to Brazil were purchased by some of my friends and family members who live in the U.S.
I mentioned this fact today–the last day of this year–because I want to demonstrate how important your job is.
Your work teaches, informs, guides, and promotes self-esteem. And for me, especially for me, your blog has been a port of refuge.
Finally, I wish you a VERY happy New Year! Every success! Much prosperity, peace, health for you, your husband and the members of your family.
From the bottom of my heart, I hope you achieve all your goals success for 2015: “My goal for 2015 is to just be healthier, as in exercise more, eat better, and find a way to actually sleep through the night at least once a week!”
Much gratitude,
Lauren.
Thank you so much for taking the time to comment throughout the year, Lauren! Chatting with readers is really the best part of blogging.
I am happy to hear that you are in better health, and I hope you remain better (and even healthier, if you’re still recovering) in 2015 🙂
Your words are incredibly kind and humbling, and I will be sure to remember them and come back to your comment whenever I need a little motivation. Thank you so much, and happy, happy new year!
Gorgeous choices. My favorites are the MUFE HD #310 and the Becca Raspberry/Opal. They’re on my “get someday” list.
My favorite high-end blushes to wear this year have been Tarte Amazonian Clay Blushes (especially Exposed, Buff and Mirage), Bobbi Brown Pot Rouge in Blushed Rose, MAC Pink Cult and Taupe (as contour).
Exposed is such a nice shade! Love that color.
2014 was the year of the blush! So many pretties! I am excited to get some of the makeupgeek blushes, they look so good! This year I’ve enjoyed the blushes from the Mac osbourne collection, as well as the benefit cheeky sweet spot blush set, so much fun!
It totally felt like it for the first four months or so! Then it became palette bonanza!
Great picks! As a blush lover, I feel your pain about choosing only 10. Haha. I have Charlotte Tilbury on my wishlist.
It was TOUGH!
I’ve been reaching for Chanel Jersey a lot since I picked it up a couple months ago. So thrilled that it’s permanent!
It is a really easy shade to wear!
My faves this year were MAC Mineralize Sweet Sentiment, Clinique Plum Pop, IT Cosmetics “Love” Blush Stain (only available in their CC palette, I think) and Tarte Natural Beauty, which I have used for several years.
So, so happy you loved Sweet Sentiment.
😀 Hooray! Totally with you on Clinique Peach Pop! <3 My other favourite is, of course, Chanel Affinite!
I would really like to give some MUFE and Charlotte Tilbury blushes a go, however… WAIT! WALLET! WHERE ARE YOU GOING!?
LOL!!
I’m really enjoying my new It Cosmetics blushes, Magical in Mauve and Radiant in Rose, which I would have seriously hesitated to purchase without your review saying how blendable they are, since intense blushes intimidate me, but I love how these blushes are *truly* cool-toned, and they do blend like a dream with my new Hourglass foundation/blush brush, which is magnificent. I’m also really enjoying Clinique’s Plum Pop and MUFE HD 210, two more truly cool-toned blushes. I’m also liking my Hourglass blush palette for when I want just a hint of color, even though the colors lean warm on me (and my Wayne Goss #14 brush is perfect for when I want just a hint of color). I really need to try Ethereal Light, it’s the one Hourglass blush that looks cool-toned. I would also like to try some Chanel and Charlotte Tilbury blushes. Maybe I’ll get a Charlotte Tilbury blush in my Beautylish Lucky Bag — you never know! I would also like to try the MUFE Artist Colors as blushes. So hopefully no gorgeous new other blushes will come out right away to distract me, lol! I already have enough blushes to last me a couple of decades, what with the above plus a Z-palette full of Benefit, Urban Decay, and MAC blushes, a NARS blush palette from an earlier holiday season and a Tarte Sweetheart Flush blush in Candy Glow. For someone with rosacea who was scared to wear any blush three or four years ago I sure have amassed quite a hoard.
Thanks for the tip about brushes with those, Fran! Always nice to hear which ones work well with an intense formula like that.
OOh, can’t wait to hear what you get in your Lucky Bag!!
My favorites this year were the Clinique blushes! Love Ginger Pop and Peach Pop! Hopefully they’ll release more shades!
I’ve never been a huge fan of cream blushes, but the new MUFE blushes really impressed me. My favorites are #215 and #225.
RIGHT? Seriously, with all the love the Cheek Pops got, WHERE ARE THE SHADE EXTENSIONS??!
Insider scope for you ladies …… Be on the lookout in mid April at your local Clinique counter! There are going to be 4-8 more colors added to the line due to the extreme popularity. Sorry I can’t remember exactly how many but the official release is scheduled for May (everything hits counter a few weeks prior).
My husband bought me Chanel Jersey for Christmas and I have been loving it as an everyday blush.
Blushes have been my splurge product of 2014. So many amazing selections on your list. My personal top 10 would include Clinique Plum Pop, Dior My Rose, D&G Provocative, Hourglass Ethereal Glow, Illamasqua Naked Rose, MAC Pink Cult, YSL Rue de Babylone, D&G Nude, and Hourglass Luminous Flush.
I need those Makeup Forever and MAC blushes in my life. They look perfect for everyday wear
So many pretty blushes in the list.. I loved Clinique Cheek Pops and Hourglass Ambient Lighting Blushes.. Makeup Artists blushes are amazing too.. 🙂
YAAAAS! I’ve been waiting for these “Top 10” posts. (Yours are my favorites.) I’ve been meaning to try Clinique Cheek pops for the longest time, since you first posted reviews on them. I will definitely pick some up next time I’m in Sephora.
Becca Fig/Opal. Love love love. I am a big fan of plummy brown and nude blushes in general (other favorites: Hourglass Mood Exposure, Tarte Exposed, Tarte Buff) but this one is my favorite of the bunch. It’s extremely versatile, and has a bit more drama than the other blushes, but it is still subtle enough to not compete with a dramatic eye.
It also doubles as a highlighter. I often use it in conjunction with the other favorites above.
I also adore the Josie Maran Cheek Gelees. Poppy Paradise is fantastic!
I’m seriously in love with the Tarte Chic- to- Cheek Set I got. It has 4 shades that look great on me – a plum, coral, pink, and nude. The nude is awesome because it doesn’t pull too warm, dark, or orange on me. Each blush is small and light, so I can pop them into my purse. And they are going to last me forever! I’m also enjoying the Vincent Longo Lip/Cheek Gel Stains I got, they stick well to my teflon cheeks/lips and gives me a natural flush.
I love some of the MUFE shadows as blushes. My favorite so far is Watermelon, and I intend to get more very soon. Their new formula is amazing! Definitely purchased a sh*tload of blushes in 2014, including several MUG, Chanel creams & powders, Hourglass & MUFE cream formulas. If Clinique is coming out with more of their Pop blushes this year, as someone else mentioned, I’ll be buying even more. Really hoping Chanel releases even more in both cream & powder formulas!
hi Dear,
You’re right about peach pop and make you mine from mac.
Texture and colors are incredible, indeed I bought it after seeing your review. 🙂
I have all the Clinique cheek pop blushes but I can’t say they’re life changing. I pretty much find them to be like any other mid range cosmetic blush. My only major complaint about these blushes is that it’s really hard to get any blush on my makeup brushes. They are kind of stiff.
For me, FAV’s of 2014 in blushes were from Armani, a real simple looking pink/neutral/no fuzz colour in the pan but on my face it works wonders as an every day blusher. For a bit more glamour I reach for Tom Fords combo of blusher and highlighter. Big disappointment this year came from Hourglass, didn’t work well on my skin.
I just bought the Becca Souffle in Fig/Opal and I totally love the glow and how subtle the actual color is. I definitely want to get the Rasberry/Opal (once my bank account is no longer giving me the frowny-face).
I’m totally lusting over Chanel Jersey now though…
I love the Souffles! So pretty.
Sleek’s Rose glow, I think its called, or Rose gold. Very pretty, with a touch of gold highlights. Its very pretty on my golden tan (my BM face color) coloring. I also like corals, tans, muted colors. I don’t want someone looking at my face and saying she’s got blush on….. I do want to try ColorOpos blushes tho. I bought some of their shadows and I can’t wait!!!! 8 more days…..