The Blush Files : 7 Days of Blush (evidence from a blush fiend)

My obsession with blush has been well documented (just take a look inside my overspilling blush drawer to see!) and those who have gone shopping with me in the past have adamantly labelled me a blush fiend. Some people have a penchant for beautiful lip products (see Norlin and her wonderful #lippyaday challenge!) while others have a skincare stash to rival their local Kit Cosmetics. My soft spot is definitely for those pretty pans of colour that warm up my face, and I find them the most fun aspect of makeup application. I challenged myself a while back to wear a different blush pan each day for a week, to get used to rotating what I wear and to get Tarte Exposed out of my clawing hands for once! Here are the spoils of my challenge, which was a success!

 

As well as my rosy neutrals, I threw a few brighter pinks into the mix for the week to give my cheeks a good pop of colour. Chanel’s Pink Explosion was naturally involved, and I love the shade stippled on with my Samantha Chapman for Real Techniques Stippling Brush. Truth be told, I absolutely love using that brush for the majority of my blushes, whether cream, powder, pigmented or not. BYS Pink Velvet was another pink that got a turn, I adore the BYS blush formula and even the packaging is sturdy (especially when compared to their lipstick casings) Illamasqua’s Naked Rose is one of my favourite blushes, and the matte dusty pink looks great against pale skin like mine.

 

Milani Berry Amore is a shade that took me a while to get used to, but the gold veining really works when used with a light hand. I did cheat slightly during the challenge, as I used my staple blush on one of the days where I was running out of the door to work. Tarte Exposed is a neutral rosy blush that is too beautiful for words, Chris bought it via eBay for me as a Christmas gift and I fall more in love with it every day. See, blush fiend!

 I also tried out my Korres Pink Zeas May blush for the first time, and really like the wearable pink shade. The final choice for my 7 day challenge was a mix of two Bourjois shades, I first applied Rose D’Or before topping my cheekbones and the apples with Lune D’Or, just to play around with it and see if I could change the shades up a bit.

 

So, has my status of a blush fiend been upheld, or do I need to do more to convince you, dear readers? Which blush shade would you nab from this loot given the chance?

 

*All of these blush pans were bought by me, or given as gifts from my fiancé. He knows the way to my heart is through my chipmunk cheeks ;P Honesty,always. 

A Subtle Pop of Bright

Despite being one to embrace bright shades in all aspects of makeup, I know that many are wary of busting out of their shell and moving away from neutral tones. When it comes to eye makeup, most people I know (non-beauty bloggers!) lean towards champagnes or greys for their day to day eye look. I've come up with a subtle look that is safe for work but adds a bit of brightness to the face!

By using a small sweep of colour close to the lower lashline, you add a great frame to your eyes and it still allows you to work with neutral shades on the upper lid. This time around I chose a gorgeous turquoise shade from my Rimmel palette, and paired it with champagne tones from the same palette topped with some Napoleon Perdis eye dust in Starlight.

This look was done quite a while ago, and if I were to recreate it I would all more liner to the top lashline to balance out the contrast of shimmer and matte shades. I would also love to try it out with a foundation rather than the tinted moisturiser I used in this look, just to create a smoother canvas to work with.

I think the pop of colour is a really great idea, and would work with anything from an electric orange to a mossy green shade. I know a lot of people are afraid of wearing blue shadow, but I think wearing it in this way is a great stepping stone to braver, brighter looks!

Products used:

Dove Essential Nutrients Tinted Moisturiser in Beige

Maybelline Dream Matte Powder

Milani Baked Blush in Berry Amore

Lancome Hypnose Doll Eyes mascara

Clinique High Impact mascara (for lower lashline)

Rimmel Eyeshadow Quad

Sportsgirl Liquid Lip Colour in Wow!

Napoleon Eye Dust in Starlight

What do you think of this subtle pop of bright?

November Favourites!

November started out pretty crappy, but I slowly got back into the swing of things and began to put more effort into my makeup again. Here are the things I loved the most during November! Quite a delayed post but everything is still a winner so I didn't see why I shouldn't post it anyway:)

Dove Tinted Moisturiser SPF15 in BeigeI

I usually despise tinted moisturisers, as many others with bad skin probably do,too. This, however, evens out the redness in my skin and once set with powder, is my favourite everyday face. It's slightly scented in a sort of creamy way, and doesn't ever cling to dry patches. Without powder it's pretty dewy, but once the powder hits it looks great. I find I'm less fussed about my appearance than I have been  in the past- I want to look my best, but I'm not going to get crazily fanatical about it. I love who I am, and I feel like this product just makes me look like a less tired version of me :-) I 'borrowed' this from Chris' Mum, doubt she'll get it back.

Maybelline Dream Matte Powder in Light 4-5

This powder has been the star player of late, I am head over heels for it. I had heard people rave and didn't bother to check it out, but when Priceline had a Maybelline deal on Candice grabbed a few things and got this for me (how good is she, seriously!) It works perfectly with my Dove Tinted Moisturiser or Bourjois Healthymix foundations and I generally reapply after lunch with a fluffy brush to neaten myself up. It doesn't appear cakey even when I'm lazy and neglect to blot, so it's perfect for 'on the go'. The perfect finisher for my face!

Loujene Eyebrow Kit

I had been using a mixture of shades from Urban Decay's Naked palette for my brows but it began to feel like a waste, plus the colours were never a perfect match. A Japanese $2.80 store similar to Daiso opened up near my work a few months back and I picked up this eyebrow duo on a whim. It has a cool yet slightly annoying slide out design and comes with a brush (yet to use) and I find that the dark shade with a tiny touch of the paler brown is my perfect eyebrow shade. The powders last forever on my brows, too, and I set it all with my Ardell clear brow gel.

Botani Spirulina Salt Scrub*

I am a self-confessed scrub enthusiast, and when I was offered the chance to try out this bad boy I hopped right into it. The smell, ohh the smell. I have a full review and special surprise coming up for this, so I'll leave it at that. *goes off to slather on the scrub*

MAC Lipstick in Plumful

I only have a handful of MAC lipsticks and this one is definitely one of the best I've chosen. I purchased this heavily discounted from the Estee Lauder staff store and am so glad I did- it's a little bit wintery with its plum tones but the shot of raspberry in it makes it great for hot weather,too. It applies like a dream and looks excellent on, if I do say so myself.

Inglot Eyeshadow Palettes

The review of these will be coming up next week. I love the pigmentation of Inglot shadows and am content with the shades I own (Chris chose the bright palette and most of the neutral!) It has a little bit of everything and the fact that it's all in a colour family contantly gives me new ideas as to what shades to pair with another, which is something I often need help with. Adore these, would love it if Santa decided to bring me more Inglot!

Milani Berry Amore Blush 
 This Milani Baked Blush shade was thrown in my Cherry Culture basket due to my lack of restraint and disdain for a single item in an online basket. It turned out to be my very favourite from the three I chose, so I am very happy for this affliction! It's a gorgeous berry shade as the name would suggest, and the gold veins that run through it bring light to my face without a whole ton of sparkle. Adore this, have worn it almost every day this month.

Smashbox Lip Enhancing Gloss in Overexposed*
As I said in my review of this gloss, it's a perfect everyday lip shade and it goes with so many looks. The smell is to die for, and as with all Smashbox glosses I've tried, the formula is top notch. Highly recommended!

***

So that rounds up my most loved products for November, I am a little (or a lot) in love with all of these and would love to know if you have tried any of them, too?

(*The items marked with an asterix were provided for consideration for review, which in no way influenced their placing in my November Favourites. Honesty, always.)

Milani Baked Blushes Haul ft. swatches, first impressions + extras

Quite a while ago I made an order with Cherry Culture, and thought it was about time to share with you what I bought!

I had been eyeing off the Milani baked blushes, and Tiffany from WillWorkForMakeup's posts here, here and here pushed me right into the lap of Cherry Culture. It was my first purchase from them, and though it took a little while (can't remember exactly how long) I was content with the shipping and delivery.

Luminoso(05), Corallina(08), Berry Amore(03)

I figured that since I was paying for shipping anyway, I might as well make the most of it and throw 3 Milani shades into my basket, even though I wanted Luminoso the most. Turns out it was a great gamble, I have fallen in love with Berry Amore.

Corallina with arm swatch. This is the shade I've had the most problems with, as it can be quite glittery and unnatural looking at times. Still think it is really nice, though.

Berry Amore atop previous shade, and looking very 'bronzery', in the next swatch it looks closer to actual colour. It leans into a plum shade with some neutral running through it, I think it's super pretty in person.

Luminoso atop the two previous shades. This is the one I've heard spoken of most from the baked blush range, and I do like it on. It's a strong peach shade and unlike anything I have in my collection thus far. I haven't worn them all enough to warrant a full review just yet, but they are all very pigmented and can be a tad powdery sometimes.

Tilt ya head!

Just another shot of the shades swatched, in order from left: Luminoso, Berry Amore, Corallina. Taken in natural light next to window.

I'd seen people blogging about this and thought for such a cheap price I had to throw it in with my order. I chose the NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil in Milk to use underneath some of my bright eye shades to enhance them, but am still playing around with it and haven't decided if I like it yet.

Milk Swatch :)

Cherry Culture were also kind enough to throw in this free Bubble Gum lip balm with my order! Thinking of gifting it to my neice though, as I have too many balms as it is.

*

I was pleased with my first order from Cherry Culture, and will happily buy from them in the future. I've been liking the blushes and am glad to have been able to get my hands on them, as it is notoriously hard to down here in Australia as some of you may know.

Have you purchased from Cherry Culture before, or tried the Milani baked blush range?

emmabovary xx