2nd Love Baked Powders Collection: Marble Blushes

2nd Love was founded by a fellow UC Irvine alumnist Terry Hsiao, who graduated in 2005, and is now working on developing her own cosmetic line. When Terry first approached me, I started to get excited as soon as I visited 2nd Love’s website, particularly because it is well-designed and the quality of the product photos is excellent. (If only all brands had such high quality imagery for us to drool over!) I also thought it would be fitting to check out this line with MAC’s Colour Craft Collection debuting later this week.

The 2nd Love Collection currently includes six eyeshadow duos, four marble blushes, and three Glow n’ Bronzers. According to Terry, the powders are made with a special formula containing a high content of pearl powder. The baked powders can be used wet or dry and are longer wearing than traditional pressed powder products. Together, they are designed to create a collection of soft, sheer powders that provide intense color and flawless coverage.

• Sunset is a marbleized powder with hints of warm brown, cool pink, and dirty gray. It translates into a soft, dirty pink. I imagine on some complexions this might come off a bit muddy, but for others, it will be a nice, subdued blusher.
• Sunshine is a soft pink with silvery sheen. In the pot, it’s a mixture of soft white and deeper pink.
• Terra Cotta is a soft, peachy color with a soft sheen. The pot is a marbleized concoction of peachy-gold, copper, and pink. I liked this one a lot, just because it adds warmth to cheeks without too much color, so it’s a very natural-looking shade.
• Amber is a soft, cool pink with light sheen. I wore this alone with mascara and a tinted lip balm, and I got so many compliments on the cheeks!

OVERALL, 2nd Love’s Marble Blushes ($12.00 each for 5.6g/0.2 oz.) are soft, smooth baked powder blushes. Their intensity is designed to be softer rather than in-your-face, and I think they succeed in that area. All four blushes are extremely wearable for a full range of skin tones, and the layer well to build up the color. They can also be used wet to increase intensity, too. I didn’t find any of them too glittery; in fact, they all seemed to have a nice sheen rather than shimmer/glitter particles. I found that the blushes wore well throughout the day, and they didn’t fade much, if at all. I have found that mineralize blushes and the like do tend to have less staying power than traditional powder blushes for me, at least.

Of course, I know you are wondering how 2nd Love’s Marble Blushes compare to MAC’s Mineralize Blushes. I do feel that they are different products in some ways, and of course, similar in others. The biggest difference is the price — MAC mineralize blushes run $21.00 each for 3.5g/0.11 oz. Some of MAC’s mineralize blushes do pack more pigment/color pay off than 2nd Love’s (e.g. Merrily). I’d say 2nd Love’s Marble Blushes just give a softer finish, softer glow.

Check out product photos and swatches…

Sunshine Marble Blush

Terra Cotta Marble Blush

Amber Mable Blush

Sunset, Sunshine, Terra Cotta, Amber