It’s a toss up between Laura Geller Ballerina and Tom Ford Love Lust! I feel like those are the two I reach for all the time if I need something easy for photos! After those, Chanel Jersey.
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Easily, UD Afterglow Blush in Rapture, has been numero uno!
Followed by an interesting and very unintentional pairing that hit all the right notes: Clinique Cola Pop with MAC x Taraji P. Henson Highlight The Truth!
1. UD Rapture
2. Too Faced Baby Love
3. A toss up between Hush from the UD Gwen Stefani blush palette, Live from the Tarte blush palette that came out this year, and Too Faced I Will Always Love You.
Essence Silky Touch Blush in Babydoll
Tarte Exposed
Clinique Cheek Pop in Nude Pop
Though I’ve been returning to my beloved NARS Orgasm and I’ve been getting into Bare Minerals lately. I have Beauty, Secret and Rosy Topaz. Thought they’d be messy and a pain to use but nope not at all and so lasting and flattering: )
Just picked up Nude Pop – oh. my. gosh. It’s definitely on track to be my most used in 2017. Love!
It just goes with any look and is a never fail blush imo?
I really love Tarte Exposed and used it a lot early in the year. I also like the Shiseido blush/highlighter in number 119 and lastly I think the Marc Jacobs Lines and Last Night. I really like the formula of the Marc Jacobs blush and plan on getting a couple more colors.
Not counting contour and highlight (NYX Taupe and Becca Pearl, respectively) which I wear almost everyday:
Beaute Fluoron gel stain mixed with Pearl liquid
MAC Blushbaby
Estée Lauder bronzer
MAC Give Me Sun or MAC Medium Deep (for Bronzer), MAC Soft & Gentle or Laura Mercier Matte Radiance Highlight 01 for Highlighter.
Tarte Amused
Hello Waffle Pumpkin
???
I really do tend to use all my blushes so no one blush is neglected.
The Balm Desert blush/bronzer
Zoeva Last Love
Colourpop Dream Catcher highlighter
Good one!! I love balm desert when I’m in a hurry or doing a light makeup day. It’s so easy as a blush and to just buff around to warm up my pale skin.
Have you tried the Balm Beach one? It’s also fab! 🙂
It would have to be MAC Blonde MSF, Makeup Geek Head Over Heels and the blush from the Tom Ford The Afternooner Soleil Contouring Compact.
It was difficult to pick so I have some runners up:
Clinique Cheek Pop Blush in Peach
Bourjois Aqua Blush in 03 Pink Twice
Dior Diorblush in 763 Corail Bagatelle
MAC Mineralize Blush in Gentle
There are others but my mind is drawing a blank right now!
I have been seriously working on two…theBalm Hot Mama and Tarte Exposed – trying to use them up!
2 of my all-time favorite blushes! I actually have back ups of both.
Tarte Natural Beauty, MAC Sweet Sentiment and then it’s a toss-up between Nars Goulue and UD Rapture.
Still my beloved Nars Outlaw, and NYX Stick Blush in Hibiscus. I use my ELF Small Stipple Brush to apply and blend the creme, then add a pop of Outlaw. Reserve Your Cabana is my highlight and also used to blend out the two products.
MAC Pinch o Peach: I still have my original sheertone formulation and it adds subtle colour to my cheeks which is noticeable without being in-your-face. I am torn between finishing it because it’s getting old or keeping it because they changed the shade and formulation
Estee Lauder Peach Passion: Part of a blush quad that I’m trying to work through. It doesn’t last as long as the MAC though
Estee Lauder Pink Kiss: Part of the same blush quad, I tend to mix it with Peach Passion to add a bit of dimension
Becca Cheek Souffle in Papaya Topaz, maybe with a little Becca Pamplemousse or MAC (can’t read the name anymore, but a coral-y color) over. This is more of a summer option for me.
Nars Goulue
MAC Peach Melba, my old tried and true
I’m a mixer. Rare is the day when I don’t combine a a few shades together.
Laura Geller Pink Grapefruit baked blush is #1 far and away; nothing else looks so ‘just right’ on me. Clinique Pink Honey Pop is 2d.
Right now, I’m in love with two: Sephora’s Baked Blush Duo in Tea Rose Tickle and Buxom True Hue in Luvitate.
I’ve hit pan on Luvitate, so now I really want to use it up!
Rituel de Fille Inner Glow cream blush in Envious, Hourglass Ambient Blush in Luminous Flush & NYX Taupe.
TheBalm Balm Desert, Wet n Wild Reserve Your Cabana, Wet n Wild Rose Champagne
WnW Rose Champange is a GREAT shade, love your choices!
The 3 that come to mind right away are Nars Madly, Mac Mighty Aphrodite from the wonder woman collection and most recently Tarte Risqué
Mac Sincere, Chanel Jersey, UD Afterglow blush in Video
MAC Life’s A Picnic
MAC Stay Pretty
The Balm Cabana Boy
MAC Stay Pretty is one of my all time favorites. Would have included it if we could pick 4:)
This is tough because I feel like I switch up my blushes a lot! If I had to pick the ones I think I favored more than others, it’s probably Nars Douceur, Too Faced Baby Love, and Clinique Peach Pop.
Aromaleigh Lakshmi
Alima Primrose
Alima Apricot
Tramadol by My Pretty Zombie
Reclusa by My Pretty Zombie
Caring Is Not An Advantage by Aromaleigh
Hourglass Ambient Lighting Blush in Luminous FLush
Mac Fleur Power
Milani Luminoso although it’s gone missing the last month or two!
Tough one! I probably have more ties than I can think of but in general I’d say:
-NARS G-Spot or 413 BLKR (deep berry) blush since I use them together often/switch between them a lot. Coeur Battant is still a constant one though.
-Pat McGrath’s Nude Skin Fetish Pigment for highlight because I mix it with tons of other colors. Especially nice to mix with blues, lavenders, or pinks as well.
-Probably OCC’s John Doe or Illasmqua’s Hollow for contour since those would have to be up there. If those are counting as base instead of color products, than OCC’s Miriam or MAC’s Sockit Xiqu from the Chris Chang collection since the next most-used cheek colors are lavenders and they’re two of my favorite lavender creams.
Celia, do you think the OCC John Doe or Illamasqua Hollow would work as a cream contour for NC 20-25 (light skin with beige-olive tones)
Yes, definitely 🙂 I’ve used both to great success on that skin tone before. They’re of course suitable for fairer complexions as well but definitely would work on your light skin as well (they have a nice range to them). Hollow is a pinch warmer so John Doe would probably be slightly better for olive tones but they are very very very close (like 95%ish with JD being the ashier of the two by a slight margin).
Thank you Celia! Purchased on your rec!
Hope your enjoy it, Maggie 🙂 Let me know what you think when you get the chance!
For my fair skin with neutral towards cool undertones:
Most used during spring-summer : Laura Geller Baked Flambé Blush in Peach Crumble .
During autumn-winter: Laura Geller Blush-n-Brighten duo in Ethereal Rose/Sateen Subtle Berry. Just gorgeous.
Also, during the cold winters here in Montreal I’m using a cream blush: the 100% Pure Fruit Pigmented Pot Rouge in Blush. Gorgeous natural colour that comes in a small pot that’s easy to carry around for touch-ups.
Two recently discovered blushes and worthy contenders: Clinique Heather Pop and MAC Nutcracker Sweet Peach compact.
I use Hourglass Ambient Lighting Blush in Ethereal Glow the most often, because it’s subtle, fail-safe cheek color for me. Most often used cream blush would be Make Up For Ever #210 cool pink. Beyond these two, I’ve been experimenting a lot, most often with the Bite Beauty Multistix and some Surratt blushes.
Discounting my custom blended blush, it would have to be my Chantecaille Pride, Tom Ford Bi-Coastal and my Armani cheek fabric.
Since I got the Tarte blush color wheel, I pick a (or more) shade(s) from that palette but earlier this year I used good old Clinique’s Smoldering Plum a lot and Zoeva’s Shy beauty (with or without Mac’s Fleeting Romance) has been a go-to last summer. Mac’s Gentle has been a favorite early fall.
Benefit Dallas. After that, Clinique Nude Pop and Colourpop Butterfly Beach.
My Nude Pop has gotten very flat from much use!
Difficult question since I choose a cheek colour according to my mood and what else I’m wearing on my face! I do like Nars Orgasm a lot because is so wearable and goes with a lot of things. Also the Balm Cindy Lou Manizer, and Balm Desert. Otherwise I usually use whatever I’ve just bought lol.
I love NARS Orgasm. Only blush I have hit pan on. I put it on the backburner this year but brought it out recently. Only blush that gives me the perfect glow…nothing compares!
You use Cindy Lou Manizer as a blush? Do you use it alone? I have it but I haven’t really figured out how to wear it yet. It just doesn’t seem to look right on me. (Light-medium neutral skin.)
I’m fair so it works well on my skin, I use it more as a highlighter though. You could try using a blusher or bronzer on your cheeks and Cindy Lou just above as a highlighter. It can be used either as a blusher or highlighter or both. Just experiment! You could also try mixing it with another cheek product.
My blush choices vary radically by season, so I cannot speak to the most used blushes of the entire year. The three that I am most using now are NARS Impudique, NARS Goulue, and Tom Ford’s Wicked.
Blushes: 1) Tarte Exposed; 2) Milani Rose Powder Blush in Coral Cove. I’m not positive about #3. It’s probably either Urban Decay Bittersweet, Urban Decay Rapture, or Too Faced Baby Love.
Highlighters: 1) Notoriously Morbid Osteomancy; 2) e.l.f. Baked Highlighter in Moonlight Pearls; 3) City Color Cosmetics Intense Exposure Highlighting Powder.
Contours: 1) Sephora Tranquil; 2) Notoriously Morbid Necromancy ;3) Urban Decay eyeshadow in Naked2.
Charlotte Tilbury x Norman Parkinson The Colour of Youth (my go-to), Tom Ford Pink Sand, and Bobbi Brown in Nude Peach.
I frikkin’ love Colour of Youth. I wish it was permanent!
1. ColourPop Cruel Intentions, as it has been since I first bought it last fall! It’s the perfect matte warm coral and lasts forever.
2. Laura Gellar Pink Buttercream. I use this more as eyeshadow than blush but, with a very light hand, it’s great and summery.
3. Ulta baked shadow duo in Covet. So sad these are discontinued because there are some truly lovely shades. I mix the berry and gold together for a deepened warm mauve!
Didn’t even think about including highlights! With highlights, the list is ColourPop Cruel Intentions, Essence Apricotta shadow, and Elf Sunkissed bronzer as a highlight!!!
My most worn cheek colours this past year were,
Benefit’s Bela Bamba, I have only a sample size left and I’m really bummed out about it!! It’s such a beautiful watermelon pink blush with silvery shimmer!! I love it in the summer to go with my brighter lips! (I’ll have to search amazon!)
Physicians Formula Argan Wear Bronzer in Light. It’s basically a subtle highlight on me, but I reached for it whenever I didn’t know what cheek colour to do as it adds a hint of warmth to my skin.
Sephora brand Micro Smooth Baked Luminizor in 01 Star Dust. I completely FINISHED one this year!! I scraped the edges clean. It’s a yellow gold highlight (Mine is a LOT different than the one Christine Reviewed! So I dunno what happened there at sephora!!) and it’s so glowy and illuminating on my yellow toned skin!!
(It’s a recent purchase. But I’v worn it almost every day since I bought it two months ago, but Clinique Cola pop!! It’s a beautiful “I live in cold ass canada” just came in from outside flush!!)
Mac Stark naked
Mac dame
Mac sincere
1. NARS Orgasm
2. NARS Goule
3. BECCA Fig Beach Tint Soufflé
Benefit Rockateur and H&M Apricot but my favorite is Becca Tigerlily. Don’t use as much to spare it! Lol
Milani Luminoso when I only want a touch of blush and It Cosmetics Laugh, Love, Live when I decide to add some bronzer and highlighter.
Hourglass Mood Exposure
Tarte Exposed
Hourglass Incandescent Electra
Runner Up: NARS Orgasm
Oh if we’re also including highlighter and bronzers and such, I’ve got other lists…
Highlight: CT Filmstar Bronze & Glow, Becca Moonstone, MAC Pearl
Bronzer: UD Bronzed, CT Filmstar Bronze & Glow, NARS Laguna
Contour: Kevyn Aucoin The Scupting Powder, only need the one as it’s so good
MAC Warm Soul (old version, trying to use it up)
Hourglass Luminous Light finishing powder, as a highlighter
Becca Rose Gold (as a blush because it’s too dark as a highlight, but it’s very similar to Warm Soul in color, but not in texture)
MAC Mocha is number one. Followed closely by Hourglass Incandescent Electra then Tarte Genius.
I use one blush – Natio Sunkissed mosaic palette with several shades of peachy/coral, including a highlighter. It lasts for hours and it is just perfect for me.
Natio does some really decent blush – I just bought the Xmas blockbuster kit and each of the blush shades on the right side are wonderful, soft, silky, pigmented and the lilac shimmer blush blends beautifully. I will have to dig out my Sunkissed and give it some love ;-
I know e.l.f. Isn’t mentioned so often around here, but I got their Twinkle Pink blush as a free gift and I love it. Some people say it’s a dupe for Nars Orgasm, color-wise.
I’m loving these top 3’s, it’s fun to think back to not what’s new that we are wearing a lot but what has actually borne the test of time. And I’m getting reminded of so many things I want to try! I was just joking with a couple friends showing them the 3 blushes on my vanity. I never bother to put them away I use them so much but what’s funny is they are all basically the same color just light, medium and darker versions of one shade.
1. Benefit- Rockatuer 2nd year in a row for the win! Most used of all.
2. Hourglass- Mood exposure so beautiful. The secret’s in the buff. Apply lightly buff, apply lightly buff until the ambient lighting powder and the pigment from the blush meld and create a glow that looks for real like it comes from within. You will herb compliments on your SKIN galore. The buff works with the other ambient blushes I’ve tried too.
3. Urban Decay – Rapture…need I say more? ❤️
Honorable mention
Mac-Red obsessed …it’s one of the cream’s. I get the casual colors and cream color bases confused but it’s one of those. This would knock out Rapture if my dry skin allowed me to wear cream products whenever I wanted instead of just on dry sky friendly days. It’s LE but if it ever comes back ignore the disturbing red shade and get give it a try. It doesn’t look red on the skin. It looks like a beautiful natural flush.
I love the top 3s too…but I wish they were top 6 or even 10 (in the case of lip color).
That Mac Red Obsessed sounds nice. I hate red on my lips, but love it on my cheeks.
Blush is probably my number one obsession but I do seem to buy and wear the same color over and over, just for the different formulas. So…Nars Madly, Chanel Jersey and Tarte Exposed. I do have other shades but I don’t wear them consistently.
My two most used powder blushes are MAC Rosy Outlook and Hourglass Ambient Lighting Blush Dim Infusion. My favourite cream blush is Bobbi Brown Pot Rouge Fresh Melon 24. I’m very fair and most blushes are too intense for me. These three give me a natural peachy/pink flush.
Cle de Peau Blush Duo in 101
Whatever the blush is called that’s on the IT Vitality Live, Love, Laugh Disc
Catrice Blush Artistry palette in “Corall I need”
Fell head over heels for Marc Jacobs’ Air Blush duos in Flesh & Fantasy and also Lines & Last Night. They’re all I reach for these days.
1. Rock & Republic Shameless
2.La Femme Blush on Rouge Coral
3. La Femme Blush on Rouge Cinnabar
MAC Melba, NARS Gilda, and MAC Desert Rose are the ones I have reached for the most over the past several months.
MAC Harmony
UD Video
Lorac Chroma
Honorable mention to NARS Sin, which would be higher but I can only pull it off in the summer with my skintone.
1. Armani sheer blush #2
2. NARS Orgasm
3. NARS Dual Intensity Blush Palette #2
Illamasqua Hussy
Nars Orgasm
After that all of the otheer, as I try to use all of them in some kind of rotation.
Frog Prince blush by Lipstick Queen. It looks good on me and is my only blusher that lasts ALL DAY! 🙂
1. The Balm, Balm Desert
2. Clinique, Nude Pop
3. Benefit, The Rocketeur
There is a theme here, because this is the year I had a “ah-ha” moment and discovered browny, nude-like blushes look quite flattering on me.
Add to that list, I have a rotation of five Bite Multisticks that I use soley for blush (nice to have silicone-free cream blush that travels well and doesn’t attract fluff.)
WetnWild’s Pearlecent Pink and all of them including the smaller sized ombré blushes they go on natural and beautiful colors!
Milani baked powder blushes and rose design blushes gorgeous!
Cover Girl Light, Medium and Dark.
Jordanna Cosmetic – Cinnamon Rolls
Nars – Exibit A
Tarte Dollface & Dandelion.
I get a lot of indie brands from beauty boxes, and I really like cheek/lip stain combo products. They seem to have the right cheek pigment for me, and sometimes, they even work as lip too.
That said, hands-down, So Susan Jello Shot Cheek/Lip Stain in Hangover. Probably my favorite product discovery of the year, definitely in my top 3. I don’t love this for lips, but I really liked it on my cheeks.
Otherwise, there was a Seraphine Cheek/Lip stick, and a Trifle Cheek/Lip color, in a tube, that was less gel-like than the So Susan one. Both of these are good for cheeks and lip.
All three of these products came with from LipMonthly or LipLove beauty subscription bags.
Lol…why do I then always think of another? Nars Orgasm (big duh!). I hit pan over the summer and haven’t replaced, but I loved it and used it often!
1. MAC Harmony
2. UD Video
3. NARS Luster