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Rant & Rave: Blush Palettes
Tell us what you love and hate about...
Blush Palettes
I think anything over three or four shades starts to be hard to use evenly. The larger the palette, the more variations in color/undertone there might be, and not everyone wants to use every color for blush. They can also get quite large! I prefer trios that are smaller than full-sized but have pans large enough that can be used with most blush/highlighter brushes.
— Christine
The tiny pans! I have a Nars one I love, but the pan of Albatross is SO TINY I can barely get a brush in there!
I have a NARS one too where the Albatross pan is thin like an eyeshadow. It also contains Orgasm, Outlaw and Gikda. Tge Gilda is quite small in comparison too.
I agree with you completely on the size issue! I think Becca’s Champagne Glow palette (trio) from last year’s holiday release was an example of a really perfect size (technically that was all highlighter… would LOVE to see the same format with the luminous blushes this year!). Their Afterglow palette, on the other hand, had a great mix of shades and finishes, but those pans are so tiny! It’s hard to get a decent brush in there.
In general, I really appreciate blush palettes because they can be pricey for a single (ex: Becca’s are all over $30 individually) and palettes give the opportunity to try a lot more shades in a smaller size for a better price – lord knows I never hit pan on anything anyway! Palettes are nice for travel, too, since you can just grab the one item but carry multiple shades. I prefer that to trying to corral a handful of little round compacts 🙂
I don’t hate blush palettes, just haven’t seen one where I’d use more than 1-2 of the shades, so it’s a question of waste or money that could be better spent.
bingo. same.
Rave: Blush palettes are a good way to try out a new brand or formula and get a little variety in the process. This is good for indecisive people like me. The Too Faced blush palette was how I discovered Baby Love, which is the perfect all-purpose shade for me. I’ve hit pan on the one in the blush palette and will definitely be buying the full size.
Rant: It’s frustrating when the palette has LE shades that you get attached to. (I’m looking at you, UD Gwen Stefani blush palette…but at least it has a ton of product and will last me a long time.) I also hate when the pans are too small or narrow for my blush brushes, which is all too common.
The Gwen palette is so good! I hope the next time UD reformulates their blushes, they consider adding some of those shades (like they did with the lipsticks). Easy and Hush are just beautiful.
My most awkward palette I own is my Love Flush Blush Wardrobe from Too Faced. I love the size of the blushes but why does it have to be a really LONG palette instead of 2 X 3 grid. >_<
I agree. Love the blushes, but that shape is hard to store. Plus, I’m afraid to travel with it.
It fits in my Ikea Alex drawer along the side fine, but way too long for travel. 🙁
I only have one cheek palette. And it’s not even blushes! As for true blush palettes, I think I’m a bit too picky to buy one unless I am sure that I’ll be using everything, or at least most of it. So that’s why I’ve avoided getting one up till now.
I agree about size and number of colors. You should be able to get a good blush brush in there, and more than 3 or 4 shades probably aren’t going to be used. Also, I hate blushes that are too shimmery or are glittery.
My current fave blush palette is the inexpensive Makeup Revolution’s Blush Goddess palette, the one with four matte shades of blush (nothing too dark or weird) and four shimmery highlighters. Love it and use it almost every day!
I purchased a BH Cosmetics * blush palette last year, I like it however there are 3 colors I’ve yet to use and about 3 I use simply to try them out and they usually work. I tried the Shany cosmetics little makeup kit and I like it, the blush palette has 6 in it (I think) and different than the BH. I own single blush compact from milani and tarte delux sample but that’s about it. I randomly will buy a new blush but it’s not high on my list of must haves.
The only blush palette I ever picked up was the Benefit holiday one, I found the quality actually pretty bad compared to the full size versions I already owned and the Coralista shade was different than the full – it was like kid’s makeup? I ended up returning it.
Came close to buying the Gwen Stefani one, but missed the boat forever *sniff.* I also regret not grabbing some of the Tarte ones that have come out in the past.
My daughter has the Benefit palette and you are right about Coralista as she had the full sized too. Definitely different.
I don’t have any blush palettes and I don’t want any. Just everything about them seems…not useful, I guess, to me. Either too much product in colors I don’t want or they’re too small to really use.
I agree. Also, my cheeks eat blush, so I always have to carry a pan for touch ups. I don’t like to lug around an
$ 80, 6 pan blush kit in my purse when I only need 1 color. I prefer singles or smaller palettes with no more than 3 shades.
Coming from a single person doing makeup on myself, I’d much rather have one “IT” shade that works for me every day. Usually a softer neutral coral makes me very happy. However, I also own a blush palette with many different versatile shades. You never know when you’re going to need that EXACT color for a look, so I’m more on the side of “own every color under the sun, just in case” because each of the 8 colors have gotten use over the years I’ve had it.
What I hate most is the combination of warm and cool shades since almost all warm toned blushes (the peach and coral family to start with and let’s not even talk about browns and oranges) don’t work for me so I don’t need them in a palette. I also think more than one blush is “overkill”. I don’t need to carry 2, 3 or 8 blushes with me to work or in my gym bag….one is more than sufficient, so I think when it comes to blushes, palettes are just not for me.
I own one blush palette, which is my custom MAC double palette. It would also be considered quite “boring” by most standards, with Animal Instincts being the most “dramatic”, LOL! I keep my cheek/base products in the more “natural” range, and since orange, coral, purple, or any other “bright” shade is just useless for me. My blush stash, in general, is quite small in comparison to everything else, and to the “average” eye, may as well all be the same color…
I love blush palettes but mostly the kind you fill yourself like MACs. Now I love that MUFE Artist Shadow line has some that are sold as blushes. This may be the pigment in the formulation but it just shows us that we can use blush on our eyes and eyeshadow on our cheeks. I think a trio is awesome to have since you can do both in one manageable kit. I would love to see someone blog or post about these shadows as blushes.
Tiny pans 🙁
The only palettes I have with more than one blush is the Jaclyn Hill x Becca face palette and the Hourglass Ambient photo palette from last holiday. Honestly there must be multiple products I will use to justify a face palette. Otherwise I would rather by the single or get it in deluxe size. ?
I only like the one blush palette I made myself.
NARS Pro offers an empty palette and their blushes purchased separately the pan.
It is large, but has all my favorite blushes and a bronzer in one neat spot.
I’m about the same as you, Christine, in terms of what I think about them. Has to be big enough for a brush but doesn’t need to be full size, can’t have too many or you always have one or two you never use which is a waste of space. I only have two blush palettes, the Hourglass one from holiday 2014 which is my all-time favorite, and a Tarte Pin-Up Girl one (also from holiday 2014) which is too bulky so I need to figure out if I can de-pot them as currently I only use it when I’m at home. I think if I were to get a re-do on the Tarte palette end I’d go for one of the more compact ones. I also prefer blush palettes to be ONLY blush, as I feel like highlighers and bronzers are a lot more specific to skintone whereas blush tends to be more workable. I’d also only go for a palette of powder blushes, as opening it constantly would dry cream ones out so I only use individual cream blushes and keep those to a minimum in my collection.
It depends. I love having the variety of shades at my fingertips, especially for travel. They are usually a good deal per blush. Tarte’s blush palettes are my favorites. My main issues are that so many are just way too dark for me, and that big blush palettes can include many shades that aren’t flattering.
I only have one blush palette, the One Shocking Moment palette by Nars. I find it really useful for traveling as it has four blushes, a highlight/setting powder and contour, and big Laguna bronzer.
My only gripe with most palettes, including One Shocking Moment, is that theres always at least one cool-toned, bubblegum-my shade I never use. I know it would work and be loved by most people, but I just never like how that shade looks on me. So usually, at least one shade goes untouched.
Rave: with trios in your shade range you can get to mix and match the shade you want, and if there is a highlighter – well that’s a plus.
Rant: Many of the larger palettes contain shades you would not use, so it is a waste of money. Also the quality of the shades vary and it would be just your luck to have your favourite shade to be the most poorly made.
Generally, I like blush mosaic palettes the best.
Honestly, I may (may) own 4 blushes total – though I really only wear one and it’s a custom color from 3 Custom Color that I had made when my favorite lipstick was discontinued. I always used it in a pinch if I ran out without blush or needed a bit of color. I just don’t need a ton of color on my pale face, so I don’t go through it quickly and unlike lip products I don’t open a new product until I’ve finished what I’m using. This applies to most makeup for me, apart from eyeshadow and lip. I’m not that picky over powders being open, but I use cream blush, so I don’t need a ton open at once, let alone a palette of 8. I’d rather save that for shadows where I’m changing colors much more often.
I have absolutely no need for a warm-toned blush. The vast majority of blush palettes include them. I have enough trouble finding a solo cool-toned blush that I love. (I’ve gotten super picky because I’m tired of buying stuff I don’t need and won’t use.)
I don’t have blush palette, cause I only like paechy, coral, and warm pink kind of colors.
I own 2 palettes : NARS holiday palette from 2013 ? Maybe). And the UD Gwen Stefani one. I have quite warm toned skin so all the colours work for me though Cherry takes some blending. I wouldn’t travel with Tge UD one though as I think it’s large.
I love everything about blush palettes, except when the pans are too small to accommodate a standard brush without picking up neighboring blushes’ product. (Lookin’ at you, Laura Geller trio.)
Then again, I’m kind of spoiled–as a very fair, warm/neutral girl with zero natural cheek coloring, blushes of all shades are totally my jam. 🙂 I’m as happy to try out a cool-toned pastel pink as I am a dark warm plum (because I think even rich colors can work just fine if applied with a fan brush and worn with confidence). (Also, I have hooded eyes so blush/lips are really the only way to incorporate interesting color into my look–I’m more willing to experiment with cheek color as a result.)
I like using an empty palette to create my own blush palette. Rant: blush palettes always have some shade that aren’t flattering for my skintone.
I have never owned a blush palette, nor have I ever been tempted to buy one. Genevieve makes the great point, though, about being able to combine colors, which I had not thought of. I do that a lot, and just end up fishing around my stash for what I want.
Ditto! 🙂
Tarte.
If they did a palette of their regular shades, I might buy it because, hey, great deal on a known entity! Instead they do blush palettes with a load of new shades that are complete unknowns and might be duds and might be identical to older shades and ahhhh.
The formula is never the same quality as the single blushes.
I love blush palettes, but dislike bulky packaging! Palettes with more than 6 shades are often too overwhelming. I think blush palettes are best targeted to skin tone, especially if bronzer, contour, and highlight are involved.