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. 

Naked Rose by Illamasqua // Swatches, Photos, FOTD

Naked Rose is a neutral beige pink powder blush from the new Naked Strangers collection, which has some of the most stunning imagery I've seen Illamasqua create thus far. I have a few bright blush shades from the permanent Illamasqua line, but as soon as I saw this muted shade I whipped out my purse and made it mine.

The Illamasqua powder blushes are all pigmented and soft, so you only need a small amount for a full flush of colour on the cheek. I find this blush a great flush of neutral pink for cold mornings, but I think I could get a lot of wear from this colour all year round.

The packaging of this is the same as all others from Illamasqua, it sits in nicely with the rest of my Illamasqua collection and the clear top means it is easy to recognize when I'm doing my makeup in the morning.

Illamasqua blushes last really well on my skin, I find they don't fade easily and blend nicely on the skin. I considered purchasing the cream blush from the Naked Strangers collection, but read some reviews saying that it was quite sheer so I thought this pink toned powder blush would work better for me.

I find that Naked Rose works really well with my pale skin tone, and I tend to use it for most looks without having to think about matching it up with rest of the makeup. I tend to use a really small amount and blend it right out to make sure I don't overdo it, I usually wear my blush quite heavy but this blush in particular can quickly go from barely there to full on, so it is best to work with a light hand.

Face: Bourjois 123 foundation in 51

Eyes: Maybelline Lash Stiletto mascara

Lips: Clarins Lip Perfector in 01 Rose

(Please disregard the jumble behind my in the FOTD, I took this photo in the spare room which is still filled with 21st and engagement gifts!)

I purchased this blush from the Bourke St Myer counter for $42 AUD.

*This product was purchased by me. Honesty, always.