Blush Duos : The Beauty of Two Shades in One Palette! // Illamasqua Katie/Ambition & Lover/Hussy

Blush is a definite weakness for me, and so when one of my favourite brands brought out 2 blush duos, you can bet I was elated! I bought the Hussy/Lover duo before it officially came out with the Illamasqua I’mPerfection collection, as the two shades were often lauded on other blogs and I was aching to try them. I wear the orange-apricot Lover more than I wear the strongly pigmented Hussy, and I think it looks great with neutral eyes and a peachy lip.

The other newly released duo was atop my wishlist when it landed on my desk soon after the release. I love that Illamasqua paired a rare shimmer formula of Ambition with the pale pink matte Katie. Having the option of matte or glowy cheeks in the one palette is quite a cool concept, and I had been wanting to get my hands on Ambition for a long time so am glad that need was satisfied.

Katie, Ambition, Lover, Hussy

I have heard a few people say that Katie is too pale a shade to be included in a palette like this, but as I am extremely fair I am happy with the choice of blushes in each of these. Now that I’m looking at my swatches, I don’t know why I don’t wear Ambition and Hussy more often as they are simply beautiful! I have had great success with all of the Illamasqua products I have tried so far, particularly the blushes which I find blend beautifully and last really well on my cheeks.

Pros:

-Great for people who don’t find themselves finishing whole blush pans

-Easy to try two shades from a quality brand at a lower price ($39.00 AUD at Myer!)

-Popular shades from a known brand

-A good way to branch out into shades you might not have bought individually

Cons:

-Katie may be too pale for deeper skin tones

-Some may not like both shades within a palette

-Only two colour options at this point in time

-Hardcore beauty lovers might already own some of the shades

-Precision needed when using a larger blush brush in between both pans

What are your thoughts on the idea of blush duos?

Have you ever finished a pan of blush before?

*One duo was provided for consideration, the other I personally purchased. Honesty, always.

Lover & Shell

I wear this eye combo quite a lot, and it is most likely my favourite colourful eye look I’ve come across. I use two Inglot shades from my most colourful palette to make a shimmery deep orange eye, and though I know that some might think it over the top, I like to play matchy matchy and since I wear orange so much, it just works for me.  

 

I used to struggle to pair a blush with this eye look, but since I bought the Illamasqua Duo, Lover has been my go-to orange toned cheek colour. MAC Coquette was thrown through my brows and smudged under my lower lashline to ground the look, and I used TheBalm’s Mary Lou Manizer atop Lover to get myself glowing.

 

oh Mary Lou!

 

Still loving the nude lip trend, I chose fall back shade Nude Delight from Rimmel. Addicted to glossy lips, Mineralogie’s lipgloss in Shell* was plucked from the depths of my handbag and paired with it. I have been wearing this paraben-free shade a stack lately, and I love the way it is pigmented for a gloss, and takes my lips into a pretty nude realm rather than a sheer lip look like my other pale glosses can do.

 

Are you a fan of orange and peach tones? What blush do you recommend I try next to go with a look like this?

 

*Marked item was provided for consideration. Honesty, always. 

October Favourites

With the majority of my cosmetic collection tucked away, I was finding it hard to use and enjoy a lot of the stash. Now that the lovely Chris has put together my desk and storage, I’m relishing in old makeup finds and digging into some lovely products. Quite a large lot of favourites this month!

As always, Laura Mercier has held strong in my heart and I’ve been loving the Lingerie Cheek & Eye Palette. All of the shades have been getting love from me, and when I haven’t been wearing those I’ve reached for some pieces from my MAC stash. Jaunty is a stunner, and paired with the recently purchased Coquette my perfectly lazy day eye look is created (see the look here!) When I have a little extra time to put my face on, I grab for my essence gel liner in Midnight in Paris-gorgeous name, wonderful gel liner that really stays put. In October I cracked open a fresh tube of mascara, trying the new Impact Curl from Face of Australia. Love, love, love.

My beloved Illamasqua blush duo was well loved in October, especially the Lover pan when I wanted peachy perfection on my chipmunk-esque cheeks. If I craved a little pink action, my essence marbled blush in Swirlpool hit the spot, and my oh my does it make me glow in the best way. I’ve gone back to using a good base for my foundation, and it has made a big difference to the way my skin looks with makeup on. Face Base from Face of Australia is a lovely one, and feels like moisturiser but lets the foundation glide on and stops it from attacking any flaky patches. The Dermalogica MediBac Clearing Oil Free Matte sunscreen* also acts as a terrific primer, and though I have issues with the firm bottle, the formula is worth working for it.

Lips have been loving one of my favourite ‘my lips but better’ shades, the Clinique Chubby Stick in Whole Lotta Honey. If I hadn’t won this shade from Clinique online I don’t think it is a shade I would have gravitated towards, so am grateful to have had them choose something that suits me perfectly. I’ve also been liking pale pink lipglosses like Nars Turkish Delight and my Sportsgirl Liquid Lipstick in Luscious.

 What were some of your favourites for October?

Have you tried any of my favourites?

 

*Marked items were provided for review, and I won the Clinique Chubby Stick on my personal facebook page, so it has no blog affiliation. Honesty, always.

Viva La Colour with Kit Cosmetics!

I was lucky enough to be invited along to Kit Cosmetics to get my face made over, to celebrate the Mexican-inspired Viva La Colour collection they have instore. I went along with the beautiful Melissa , who has also blogged about the experience here. Kit is always one of my first stops when I visit the city, the staff are super helpful without being pushy and the range is kept fresh. The store stocks the Kit brand as well as other winners such as Mario Badescu, Smashbox and Too Faced. If you have never been into a Kit before, try and swing by- it's amazing in there!

Products in the Viva La Colour collection

My gorgeous MUA Caitlin was rocking a seriously bright face, including a fuschia lip using a lippy from the collection. I chose to incorporate bright eyes as well, but with a tangerine lip to mix it up a bit.


The empty Kit stand, as we were using most of the goodies!



My skin was cleansed-toned-moisturised before the fun began!



The base being applied.

I have the biggest lemming for the new foundation Caitlin chose for me, the new Mineral Liquid Powder Foundation ($44.95) I was matched to the shade Light, and I found that my flakies weren't accentuated and my skin looked great well into the night. Very impressed with the kabuki that was used, it was so soft I sighed when my foundation was being applied!

Colour was introduced

I was fascinated with the yellow that Caitlin had used on Melissa before me, and so we used that paired with the pink above, and lined the lower lashline with the purple from the top of the image. I don't usually choose purple for my eyes, so was happy that Caitlin had made me branch out.

'Wow Factor' eyeshadow



The completed look!



Caitlin, Melissa and Moi



A dopey face, but how bright is that shadow! Squee!



Flash made me super-shiny, looked much better in person. Was at home at this point, hence the change in lighting.

 

Caitlin and myself, in front of the gorgeous Viva La Colour stand

At the end of my makeover Caitlin asked what my two favourite products were, and wrapped them up for me! I chose the cheek and lip duo I'd been lemming for ages, and the Fire Lighter lipstick.


My beautiful gifts!



Fire Lighter and 'Pretty Cheeky' duo

Overall the whole experience was wonderful, and reminded me that bright makeup doesn't have to be scary and intimidating. With the right technique you can pull off looks you have always dreamed of, but you never know if you don't try! A big thank you to the EGPR beauties, Caitlin and the Kit team for having me.
emmabovary xx

*All images were taken with my camera and belong to me. I was a guest of EGPR and Kit Cosmetics for this event, and though I was kindly gifted two products it in no way affects my review of the experience.