A recent rummage in my stash brought out a little gem – one I have totally forgotten that I had, and it is the Make Up Store’s blush in Spice Muffin. Make Up Store is a leading Swedish makeup brand that I feel is really underrated – I don’t often hear about this brand, but they carry a huge variety of blush, lipsticks, nailpolishes and also make my favourite brush cleansing soap (reviewed here). So do they deserve more attention?
Tag Archives: blush
Review: MUA Blusher in Shade 2
After running through several skincare reviews, I thought I should break it up with a review on a really cheap blush that I picked up some time ago. And by really cheap, I mean £1, which translates to roughly S$2.20. As I live in the most expensive city in the world, a blush that costs S$2.20 is insane!
The MUA Blusher in Shade 2 is a dusty rose shade, with some reflective fuchsia shimmers in them. When brushed on the cheeks though, the shimmers kind of disappears, leaving only a dusty rose shade. I’m quite glad that the shimmers are gone, because I prefer the dusty rose shade.
The packaging is really cheap – but at £1, something has got to go and I would very much prefer that they scrimp on packaging than quality. It’s very flimpsy, in a lightweight plastic casing and a flip up transparent lid. The top has come unhinged a few times when I open it, but can easily be fixed back.
The texture itself is soft, but quite powdery. I definitely have to tap off my brush to prevent having blush everywhere, before applying it. On the cheeks, it blends out nicely and does not look chalky. The pigmentation is good – one swipe is all it takes for average colour. Lasting power is on the low side though – it disappeared before lunch, making it less than 5 hours.
At £1 for 2.4g of product, I think the price cannot be beat. I really wanted to love this, but I don’t as I find it too powdery and a little too soft, so I don’t dare to travel with it or bring it out for touchups. I also find that the powder flies everywhere when I tap my brush on it. I don’t hate it, and I think for anyone on a tight budget this will work very well with a little bit more effort.
Rating: 3/5
Review: Kiko Soft Touch Blush in 112 Light Plum
It’s been awhile since I’ve done a review on the Kiko products that I hauled in Italy during Summer holiday last year, and it’s definitely not because I haven’t been using them or don’t love them. I’ve been using the Kiko Soft Touch Blush in Light Plum so often that it’s nearly a permanent item in my everyday makeup bag, and at €7.50 for 5g of product, this was a bargain!
The blush is packaged in a small round rubbery casing; the material reminds me a lot of NARS, which also means it’s a dirt magnet. I don’t have a problem with it turning sticky so far though. It’s extremely compact with a tiny mirror and does not come with brushes, which makes it so travel friendly and convenient to bring it everywhere as it literally takes up no space.
Like its name, the blush is a plummy shade with a matte finish, but perhaps a little more than “light”. The blush itself is very pigmented, with a texture that’s soft but not powdery. Being as pale as I am, one of my biggest worries is that it will look exactly like what it does in the pan! But this was easy to blend, and with a soft brush, this works out nicely to a soft plummy color on my cheeks. That said, it also builds up well and I believe it can look like the pan colour if you ever decide that you need such strong cheek colour!
I think the lasting power is great; I had this on before work and by noon, more than 6 hours later, I could still see some colour on my cheeks! Really love this and highly recommend it! Now my only regret is not grabbing more when I had the chance as it’s very hard to get from Singapore.
Rating: 4/5
Midweek Peek #8: Current Top 3 Favorite Blushes in My Collection
I own tons of blushes – I don’t just have them in large quantity, but I also have a huge variety. I have pinks, corals, outright oranges, berries, even true red; I tend to switch around my blushes quite a lot, depending on my mood and eye makeup, so my favorites change quite often. Nonetheless, here are my current top 3 favourite blushes in my collection!
Not in sequence of preference; first up is the Chanel Blush Horizon de Chanel – a limited edition blush that appears as stripes of rose, coral and peach, but when blended together comes as a soft pink shade on me that looks so natural. Estee Lauder Illuminating Powder Gelee Blush in Tease gives such a lovely glow without looking too glittery or metallic; looks lovely on top of other blushes but just as pretty on its own as well. MAC Mineralize Blush in Gentle is a raspberry shade that I go to when I need a bit more colour on my face and it comes with a lovely sheen too.
Hope you’ve enjoyed this little peek at what’s my current favourite blushes; what are your favourite blushes now?
Review: Bobbi Brown Shimmer Blush in Coral
The Bobbi Brown Shimmer Blush in Coral is described on the official website as “a soft coral”. To my eye, it’s a medium-dark coral, leaning more towards orange, with gold shimmers.
My favourite part of this blush is the packaging – it is very flat and square, with no wasted space or useless cheap applicators. It’s plastic, with a clear window on the flip top, but has no mirror. The blush pan can be easily lifted out and reassembled into a larger palette. I just love how travel friendly it is, and how little space it takes up!
The texture is soft and silky smooth, but it is not powdery at all. The pigmentation is amazing, and I find that applying it sheer or full on actually gives different effects – applied sheer, it pulls more coral-pink, but with a heavier hand, it appears more orange-coral. As it blends out easily and evenly, I don’t have to be too careful about applying too much like some other highly pigmented blushes. Despite the shimmer, I don’t find it emphasizing my pores; I really like how it gives me a lovely summer glow.
Coral lasted well past eight hours on my cheeks without fading. For 4g of product, S$42 does sound pricy but I think the quality makes it well worth it.
Rating: 4.5/5
Review: Sleek Blush in Life’s a Peach
Sleek’s Life’s a Peach is the second blush that I picked up from the brand after hearing so much about their blushes. I bought this online for US$5.99 before shipping for 8gms of product.
The packaging is the same as the blush in Flushed that I’ve just reviewed – very simple with no useless applicators, and comes with a good size mirror. This is also very hard to open though with an extremely tight clasp.
Life’s a Peach is like its name, a peachy shade with matte finish. It looks pure orange in the pan, but comes off more peachy. This is not as pigmented as Flushed so it’s easier to apply and a lot easier to blend.
In terms of texture, I find this quite dry and chalky, even more so than Flushed, so application is not as smooth and can look powdery on if I applied too much. The lasting power is also not as great – I’m not sure if it’s because of its lighter pigmentation, but it’s totally gone by mid day.
Between the 2 Sleek blushes I own, I think the quality for Life’s a Peach is not really there. I’m not sure if I got a bad batch or what because it doesn’t seem to quite live up to all the raves it has received. Disappointed.
Rating: 2.5/5
Review: Sleek Blush in Flushed
Sleek’s blushes are pretty popular with the online community; I’ve seen lots and lots of reviews on blogs and youtube raving about these blushes, so I had to pick some up for myself! One of the first ones that I tried is Flushed.
The packaging is very simple and, dare I say it, sleek. There are no useless applicators, or wasted space; the entire plastic packaging is filled with the product, with a good size mirror. It is very hard to open though; the clasp is extremely tight, so don’t attempt it with freshly manicured fingers.
Flushed is a deep berry red. This is a very pigmented shade, and it doesn’t blend very well once it’s on the face, so some care is needed in application; I have to use a very light touch and tap off the brush to get rid of any excess powder before swiping on my cheeks. In terms of texture, I find it slightly on the dry side so application is not as smooth, and looks a bit powdery on. This lasts a really long time on me, well past the 8 hour mark.
I like it and I enjoy the ‘flushed’ look it gives me, but I’m not as wow-ed by it in terms of texture and ease of application as what I had expected after all that hype. The pigmentation is great and lasting power is awesome, but it has its flaws and isn’t exactly all that is hyped out to be. I bought mine online for US$5.99 before shipping for 8gms of product.
Rating: 3.5/5
the fabulous nerd 