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Rant & Rave: Gel Blush
This Week’s Topic: GEL BLUSH!
Your Mission: Tell us what you love, hate, or are otherwise indifferent to about gel blushes. What drives you bananas? What makes them necessary?
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I love gel blush in theory, because it seems like such a natural way to get a color onto the cheeks without layering more and more powder, I just wish gel blushes were more blendable in practice, I have alabaster skin so two circles of color on my cheeks make me look like a scary doll. lol.
I love how easy it so apply, but I don’t like how it dries so quickly that I have to rush the application.
The only ones I’ve tried were ones from Tarte (whose amazonian clay blushes I love) and I’d read good things about. I wear glassesand when I smile my cheeks touch the bottom rim of my glasses. It I wear the gel blush there is a bizarre tackiness to my cheeks that I can feel against the glasses’ rims. Drives me so crazy that even tho I like the color that I have, I won’t wear it. I like the translucent color effect, but no-can-do. I’m not a fan of tints either due to fast dry down time and I’m too slow at blending ( so boo to any benefit tint), and my skin is oily enough that I’m wholly wary of pretty much any creme blush.
I am horrible at applying gel blushes. They always apply really streaky or patchy for me or when I blend them out they practically disappear. I really just don’t find it any more convenient for me than a powder blush, which for me is just swipe, blend and go!
I love the ones that multi-task (Benefit Cha Cha Tint, or Posietint) they’re beautiful, especially for a matching cheek and lip. Unfortunately I have the oiliest skin on earth, so it eats that stuff in no time :(!
I love gel blushes in stick form, like the ones by tarte. They don’t cause breakouts, they give a natural-looking flush, and the application is foolproof.
What I dislike are gel blushes in squeeze tubes – I’ve found the texture tends to be watery and so it applies patchily. I also can’t apply them evenly over powder like I can with the tarte gel sticks.
I love gel blush for its portability – I always have a Becca beachtint in my pocketbook for days when I find I need a little perk-up, but didn’t have time to do a full face of makeup that morning. It’s a little more natural-looking, which works well when your face is otherwise bare. When I’m doing a full face of makeup, though, I prefer powder blush, as I feel it goes better with the aesthetic.
Tarte cheek stains are brilliant. I apply them right after foundation and do a combination of patting and rubbing the color in. They look incredibly natural, and the tarte ones smell delicious too. That one stick will last me forever!
Also can be used as a lip color, though can be drying, so I wear gloss overtop.
I love the new YSl Voile de Blush, I’m quite pale and most blushes look scary and unnatural. I have shade 3, which looks scary and bright in the tube, but gives me a natural flush.
I Love the new YSL gel blushes as well! I am fair as well and I think these give me the greatest pop to my cheeks. I have #1 and #3 and can’t wait to get #2. I do know that they will not work for most with medium to darker complexions though so they get a bad rap.
I love love love JUST A PINCH GEL blush from MAC….others I have tried are cream blushes…I guess NARS Multiples also count as cream blush stick…I need to know more GEL blushes….
I love gel blush sticks! I have Josie Maran’s argan oil color stick, which is really sheer. I just pat it on, blend out the edges, and go.
I prefer Benefit’s liquid cheek stains though. Instead of swiping it directly on my cheek (which always left streaks, no matter how fast I worked), I swipe a bit onto a mini kabuki brush, then quickly buff it onto the apples. If it looks patchy, I wet the brush and buff some more (since they’re water soluble) to evenly distribute the color.
I’m kind of wishing I could find a gel blush that had more of jelly finish…tinted, but you can see through it…and that it’d give a glossy look like MAC Clear Gloss (The gloss texture stuff, not clear lip glass, lol). Maybe I’m just really weird and the only one who wants a product like this, though. But I love that glossy shine for summer.
I like the sheer, natural color most gel blushes give, but I can’t stand when they don’t blend nicely, so they end up patchy or streaky looking.
They mess up my foundation. They are too difficult and time-consuming for me to bother working with. For me, it’s powder blush all the way! Maybe, if I’m just going to wear sunscreen, I might use them.
I love gel sticks because it gives a natural and healthy glow when it’s used properly. I use Victoria’s Secret gel blush, I apply it with a blush brush. I dab it onto the product and then blend like crazy on my cheekbones. If I apply it with my fingers, it does not get even. I like to apply it on summer vacations, with minimal make-up.
saw Lisa Eldridge using the Becca ones and then the new Clarins ones! they look really nice and natural! I think the trick is knowing how to blend them right and to look more sheer 🙂
I like the hard candy ones. they dont mess up your foundaton and in the winter much better than a powder
I used to have a gel blush that was perfect and blended so beautifully, but I can’t even remember the brand. I think it was Revlon, or actually a subsidiary of Revlon. Back in the 80s I seem to remember they had a line that was for young women and their regular line was marketed more towards older women? Does anyone else remember that? Anyway, it was in a small squeeze tube and as I said blended well without taking off foundation, dried quickly without being so quick you end up with two circles of color on your cheeks.