What were the last three cheek products you wore? Share mini-reviews!
I’m writing this in late October, so the timeline won’t necessarily make sense to readers, but… Lancome Holiday 2019 Highlighter Trio (all three shades).
— Christine
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Hourglass Mood Exposure. No explanation necessary. It’s just a lovely, miracle blush. Looks good no matter what type of blush!
MAC Extra Dimension blush in Hushed Tone. Dirty peach color. Love the gelee formula. Melts into the skin. Smooth application. Always applies the perfect amount. Love, love, love this blush!
Milk Cream Bronzer stick. Blends nice. Lays nicely under or above foundation. Warm in tone but not too warm. Lasts all day on me. It’s the newest thing to my collection. Love it so far and no complaints!
I mean *looks good no matter what else I wear* ?
elf Studio Blush in Tickled Pink – Probably the only blush I’ll ever repurchase! I use it every day. It’s sheer, which is a must, and blends flawlessly. It’s a warm, light peach. The compact is sturdy, too.
Urban Decay Afterglow Highlighter in Sin – Everyone and their mom has this because it was the Urban Decay gift multiple years in a row (pretty lame, tbh, I ended up not ordering anything two years in a row now because of it). It’s very nice, though. Nothing remarkable, just your typical champagne shimmer highlight. I can’t imagine ever buying it when there’s so many good drugstore options. I will say that the packaging is excellent, though.
L’Oreal Infallible Galaxy Stick in Galaxy Gold – This is so gorgeous! I got it on clearance at Ulta, such a great find. It’s a light gold with a pink flash. It blends beautifully and looks so shiny without being glittery/chunky.
– Jordana Cosmetic in Cinnamon Spice , very pigmented, cheap and no kickback.
– Mac Blush in Sweet as Cocoa I love that it’s a blush + a highlight. It looks really great for school and work. Nothing bad to say about it.
– Maybelline Highlighter in Molten Peach, quite a tricky product because it’s so pigmented and it’s super soft. It has some particules, which normally I don’t like but here I don’t mind because it’s not over the top. It photographs beautifully. I was amaze. You need the tiniest amount. Might emphasize texture.
wow Christine, i truly admire your work ethic. Here I am feeling accomplished that I submitted my posting for school the day the posting opened. haha!
This is a fun series, it really makes me think about what I have been using and the current direction of my looks.
Last 3 cheek products:
Base MAC strobe cream in Pinklite with Becca Wild Honey topped with a very slight touch of Becca Lantana.
Surratt Chaleur and Angelique on high points with Marc Jacobs Tan-tastic!
Base MAC strobe cream with Surratt Classique.
1) tom ford lissome palette: love the shades and the gel-texture. blends out so well!
2) benefit galifornia: enjoy the lovely pop of colour. wears well on my oily skin too. dont love the fragrance but it doesnt linger.
3) jouer bronzer: just got this recently, still testing out. smooth and buttery though.
Mac “Warm soul” goes with everything–I especially like it with the ND Gold mini palette that I just picked up in the Sephora sale.
Mac Extra Dimension in “Sweets for my Sweet” and Mac Mineralize blush in “Petal Power” – these seem to pair best with a more neutral eye (which is my standard work look. Haha. Who am I kidding–my all the time look.
Yesterday, I wore:
Becca Malibu Soliel bronzer – it’s a decent one for this time of year when I want a lighter, less red undertoned bronzer than UD Jawbone. The only flaw is that it’s scented.
Hourglass Ghost quad for blush and highlighter; Surreal Effect – it is a cooler tone of pink than I would normally pick, but buffed in, it really does look beautiful on! Quality is excellent, too.
Brilliant Nude – perfect highlighter for days when I want something very soft, yet still very luminous. I love this beigey highlighter a lot! For reference; mine did come with far more light beige in the pan than bronze, so it goes on as a gorgeous beige shimmer thats a shade and a half lighter than my skin.
1. Nars Goulue. Beautiful blush. It is a berry shade that screams fall to me. I don’t use it much in the spring/summer although I don’t typically care about seasons when using my makeup. Is it the best blush formula I have ever used? No, but overall it performs well. It is pigmented and blends out easily. These days I tend to prefer a satin/shimmer blush but I still love this blush.
2. Dior 999. This blush has been in rotation for the entire summer. I purchased it in July when I was in Seattle to see Queen and I have used it at least 3-4 times a week. It is super pigmented and a deep shade so I have to make sure I swirl it off on my wrist before going to the cheek but that is a small price to pay for such a lovely colour. It buffs out nicely and does not emphasize my upper cheek texture.
3. Ciate Summer Love is one of my all time favorite blushes both in shade and formula. It imparts a lovely glow to the cheeks and buffs effortlessly into the skin. I had responded to a question a short time ago, about Ciate blushes and it reminded me to get a couple of them out and use them this fall. I wish that Ciate would release a few for shades in this formula.
Hourglass Ghost face palette, really love it for my skintone. A little goes a long way for the blushes, the highlighter is a natural glow. The bronzer is nice and workable but not my perfect shade I used only this palette today.
Yesterday I picked my Benefit Cheek parade palette. I really love Hoola light for my skintone and the Rockateur and Dandelion blushes that are in this palette. Yesterday I used Hoola light and Dandelion. For highlighter I picked Nars fort de france. This is a neutral toned highlighter that looks nice with matte blushes. Both are nice products that easy blend.
Note: My blush / face powder collection is minimal, fits in a 6 pan custom made MAC palette.
MAC Harmony: My current contour/minimal make-up/natural blush option, the color is perfect for my light-medium complexion. It’s a very buildable and blendable formula, minimal fallout. But still MAC Sculpt is a slightly better match/option for me.
MAC Emphasize: Or the only way I like to ‘highlight’, repurchased several times. I love how I can shade my face, make some parts pop without adding shimmer or highlight.
MAC Sunbasque: I have the shade to use as a bronzer, but it’s too pigmented for me. The formula is great, but I have to blend and diffuse the color a lot. It would look amazing on a darker than medium skintone.
MAC Rhubarb matte blush – I’ve not used it in a very long while but with the cold weather on the doorstep, I’m delighted with how nicely this blush fits the time of year, even though matte blushes are not my favourite.
MAC Sweet Sentiment – it’s one of the Mineralized blushes and has the prettiest finish with a healthy sheen. It’s a cool pink that is a great colour for me and looks like I’ve been out for a walk in the crisp fall air. I wish it wasn’t an LE product from years ago.
rms Beauty Champagne Rose Luminizer – it’s not often that I like a product enough to order it online but this beauty is no longer available at any of the Sephora stores near me and I am loving the sample I’ve been using so much that I really want this in my life. It gives a glowing, almost wet look to my skin – not oily or greasy – and unlike a lot of cream highlight products, I find this stuff easy to work with.
Odd to think that I didn’t mention either Dior’s Rosy Glow Awakening Blush or Becca Foxglove, both of which really are cornerstones of my blush rotation.
I only have two cheek products at the moment:
My beloved EA Sweet Peach – which I have hit pan on, is a perfect peachy/coral shade for me.
Covergirl (I am surprised too) Peach mosaic which has three shades of peach, is pretty good as well and lasts all day.
Catrice’s Blush Box in 010 Soft Rose – A lovely silky matte powder blush in light, muted, neutral dusty rose pink. It is supposed to be sweat-proof and waterproof, I can vouch for the sweat-proof being true having worn it to my hot yoga class several times. It is sheer yet buildable, matte but slightly luminous, long-wearing, and applies easily. Reminds me of Chanel’s Joues Contraste Blush in silkiness and ease of application- sort of a blend of shades Rose Ecrin & Innocence. I love these Catrice & Essence blushes! My only complaint is they rarely come in shades other than muted pinks and peaches.
Cle de Peau Cream Blush in #2 Fig – a surprisingly bright and warm tropical-looking pink for what I think of as “fig.” Creates quite the natural-looking luminous flush with fine pearly shimmer. I find it easier to apply with a synthetic fiber stipple brush than my fingers – this cream blush is quite stiff in the pot and difficult to blend out with fingers. I’ll probably have this blush forever as it takes so little to achieve the look I want. I calm this shade down a little a set it by applying the Catrice Soft Rose matte blush over – adds a bit of dimension too.
the Balm’ Mary Lou-Manizer highlighter- Yup, breaking out the gold highlighter for Autumn! Another fabulous product I’ll probably not hit pan in my lifetime. Go in light-handed with this one or you’ll be visible from galaxies far, far away!
I am presently panning my NARS Killing Me Softly palette and Bobbi Brown Shimmerbrick. I have 2 blushers left in the palette- Gilda and Outlaw. I prefer Gilda.
Tom Ford Soleil Glow Bronzer in Gold Dust, the large pan – this is truly the best Bronzer I have ever had, it is smooth, it’s not cakey or budging, it stays all day long and the color is perfect for my light skin with warm undertones.
Dior Backstage Glow Face Palette in shade 001 Universal – the mix between the gold and the white one is beautiful. It lingers so well on the skin and it doesn’t cake, which is so important when highlighting the face.
The Balm Downboy blush – the perfect pink for a tiny little bit of color in your cheeks; I find it easy to apply and very pigmented, so I use just a tiny amount.
1) Tarte Amazonian Clay Blush in Savored (LE): This shade is a bit hard to describe. A light, slightly ruddy, coral with a hint of shimmer. It’s not Tarte’s most pigmented blush, but it works fine for my pale skin. It’s also the only Tarte blush I’ve ever had that develops some hardpan. I like the color, which functions as a neutral, and it blends really nicely. B-
2) Apocalyptic Beauty Highlighter Powder in Ghostly Pallor (LE): All of Apocalyptic’s HLs are amazing, but this one is special even by its standards. It’s a loose powder in a very pure, silvery white, see-from-outerspace metallic. I swear it’s made out of unicorn essence. A little goes a long way, and it blends like a dream. If this ever comes back, I’m snagging another jar. A+++
3) Ulta Blush in Mauve About You (LE): A lovely shimmery mauve. This came out in a gift set a couple years ago. I have no idea if they bring those back. The blush is really nice quality. It’s pigmented, soft (but not powdery), blends really well, and is not at all chalky. I’d put it up there with most mid-range blushes. A