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Top 5 Blushes for Autumn (2013 Edition)
With fall coming around the corner, reader Maribel’s suggestion for a top five on blush picks for fall was spot-on! In this list, I wanted a good variety in color, not just a bunch of plums. I thought about the colors we tend to see more often during fall, like berries, plums, and burgundies, but not just on cheeks but lips, too. When I wear a stronger lip, I like pairing it with cool pinks or neutral browns/beiges, so cheeks can still have color and definition but not too much color.
- NARS Dolce Vita — medium-dark, rosy plum with a satin finish
- Burberry Earthy — satin-finished medium brown-beige
- Chanel Inspiration — slightly cool-toned, light-medium pink
- MAC Ambering Rose — warm, rusty plum
- NARS Oasis — shimmering plum
NARS Douceur is my go-to for the Fall.. but I think I’m going to have get my hands on Burberry Earthy!
I think if you like Douceur, you will like Earthy!
Hello, just wondering why you rarely include LE shades?
Like Diorskin nude tan blush duo or MAC my paradise or Edward Bess Quad Royale?
Hi Georgina,
I don’t include limited edition shades because if they’re limited edition, readers can’t purchase them any more. The only time I ever include a limited edition shade is if it just released, but even then I am very hesitant as the post will live on well past availability of a LE item.
Lovely picks! NARS Dolce Vita is one of my favourites 🙂
It’s such a classic blush!
I *love* NARS Oasis, but for some reason, I like it more as a Summer shade. Maybe because I wear less eye makeup in the hotter months, or because I have a bit more color to my face, but it’s been the one I’ve reached for at least once a week for the last couple of months.
I actually purged my blush stash a few months back, and invested in a few new ones in colors I actually wear (plus, the ones I tossed were pretty old!), one of which was NARS Douceur. I wasn’t able to find this one in-store, so I had to rely solely on your swatches, Christine, and I think it may be my absolute favorite blush, ever. I see myself reaching for it quite a bit come cooler weather, when I actually bother with eye makeup and/or lip color, since it’s so subtle.
So happy to hear you are loving Douceur!! For the right skin tone, it can be so lovely!
I also love Douceur! I love blush, but lately I’ve been preferring going with a more natural look, so I have been reaching for it quite often. And for Sex Appeal as well. And sometimes I apply Sex Appeal on top of Douceur. The result is quite nice.
Madly is another I’ve been reaching for. Again, maybe it’s because I have a bit of color, but although I thought it might be too warm, it ended up working out really well.
I have Madly but it turns out a bit too orange on me, and can have the effect of making my face look dirty 🙁
Ha.. I had Douceur, but didn’t have Oasis which I just picked up this week. Douceur is such a perfect name.
My fav : Chanel Rose Initiale, Frivole, Plum Attraction, Tumulte, Malice, Inspiration and Révélation cream blushes. The blushes to be launched soon : Guerlain Madame Rougit, Benefit Rockateur.
Plum Attraction & Malice are great picks for sure!
These look gorgeous, I can’t wait to try some of them! My go to blush last fall was definitely theBalm’s Cabana Boy. Love that one.
Cabana Boy is perfect for fall!
Two MAC faves for me are Plum Foolery (which I think it permanent) and Conjure Up (which was LE). Oh gosh – and I’ve got add Frankly Scarlet! My others are Tarte Natural Beauty and Blushing Bride (which my daughter has taken so I need to get another one as autumn approaches).
What brush do you use with Frankly Scarlet?
I’ve got an old angled blush brush from Pur Minerals that works well with it. It’s pretty much my “go to” blush brush.
Even though it sounds summery, I like to wear L’oreal True Match in Soft Sun. I pair it with Revlon Toast of New York lipstick. That combination is one of my go-to fall looks. I also like to wear Fashion Fair blush in Ginger Berry. It’s a beautiful warm berry blush. I love pairing that with Bobbi Brown lip color in Raisin.
That sounds very pretty, Liz!
I love Nars Taos for fall…And I may have to pick up Dolce Vita soon!
Taos is a great pick, Monica!
So agree. When I first purchased it, I wondered when I’d ever get brave enough to wear it. But outside of the store lights, it looks great on the skin!
MAC breath of plum. It’s a sheertone plum with no shimmer, gives me exactly the look I want.
Yay! 😀
I’ve been meaning to get Dolce Vita forever, but I keep getting sidetracked! I often go for plum or ruddy colours in the Fall, like Nars Sin or Amour (which shows a bit redder on me than it does on a lot of people for some reason). I also love Guerlain’s Red Hot, which is a nice combination that looks very warm, but reads more neutral on my skin.
I’m always scared to try browner shades like Douceur or Earthy, because I’m worried they’ll look muddy on my skin (the way most bronzers do).
If you’re at a store, maybe worth swatching – most bronzers tend to be orange/yellow, and then Douceur and Earthy are wayy more brown than orange!
I will have to actually try Earthy as a blush some time and see how it looks, so far I’ve been using it as a contour. I’ve been obsessed and wearing Burberry Tangerine almost every day lately. I used to think exposed was an awesome every day shade but Tangerine blows it out of the water. I live in Florida though so I’ll probably keep wearing summery makeup for quite some time.
Tangerine is a great summer shade!
One of my favourites is Guerlain’s Lueur D’ Automne Blush.
Sounds lovely!
Earthy is one of the prettiest blush colors ever. I’m still looking for a cruelty-free dupe, have been since I first saw it
Mac’s Raizin. It’s been around forever, but its my no brainer, go to blush for Fall. Today I wore it as an eyeshadow while trolling around the mall! I also love La Femme’s brick red – super pigmented and super cheap.
Classic for a reason 🙂
I really don’t know how NARS oasis escaped me for so long, but co-incidentally I just picked this one up from Sephora the other day… Love the looks of the Burberry. Great neutral shade: beige without a hint of orange that I can see.
Nice choices all around.
Earthy is great because it’s so neutral!
After reading this post, I was going to just bite the bullet and order Earthy, but it’s not on the Nordstrom site. I also was going to go ahead and order the Burberry highlighting powder, but it’s not on the Burberry site… I don’t want to do 2 separate orders, so I’ll just wait until I can get both at once.
I was teetering back & forth with Oasis for over a year, and I was debating between Laguna & Casino, so when NARS released the Oasis/Laguna duo, I just went ahead and grabbed it along with Sin/Casino duo, since I’d been lemming Sin forever, and it seemed the most cost-effective way to go.
Booo — hope they both get online at one or both of the retailers ASAP!
I just love wearing NARS Dolce Vita! It is such a pretty color. May main fall blushes are NARS Lovejoy, Taj Mahal, MAC Sweet as Cocoa and Sleek’s Sahara.
Lovejoy was almost on my list!
My favorites are: Bobbi Brown Shimmer Blush in Washed Rose, Estee Lauder Pure Color Blush in Pink Ingenue, MAC Powder Blushes in Ambering Rose and Plum Foolery, Tom Ford Cheek Colours in Ravish and Savage. 🙂
I need all of these.. i need more high end blushes (one day..)
My favorite last year was MAC Worldy Wealth. This year, I can tell I will be wearing a lot of MAC Exotic Ember, Simmer and Ripe for Love.
1) chanel rose ecrin- neutral beige-rose, works with every look.
2) tom ford lovelust- this is a summer blush for most people but on my skin the brown tones in the blush are very noticeable. It looks like a peach-brown on me.
I love mac ambering rose too but no on me, my sister loves that blush.
NARS Sin is my favorite autumn blush. Others I like are MAC Frankly Scarlet and MAC Breezy.
I have 3 of those. So I guess I am set for this fall! 😛
Lovely however this post is dangerous for me as I am a total blush junkie! Why must you taunt me Christine!!! xxoo
MAC Peachtwist and NARS Lovejoy are great when I still have a bit of a tan left from summer. NARS Sin, Chanel Fantasia, Paula Dorf Sweet Cheeks (wine with golder shimmer <3) and MAC Plum Foolery are perfect later in fall when I'm pale.
Hi, don’t you post videos on youtube anymore?
Hi Swathi!
YouTube videos are very time-consuming, and there are some other things that are a higher priority (we can create/do more for our readers with that time than with the videos) so right now we are not doing them!
Burberry attracts me more and more recently. I think I will buy few of their products.
Wow – how did I miss this when it came out. Good choices – I have three, which means: I’ll probably like the other two as well!