L’Oreal Innocent Flush

My Five Favourite Coral Blushes

For anyone else, or at least most of us, selecting your favourite coral blushes would not be a strenuous task involving a great amount of deliberation, however, I have a serious addiction to coral blushes of a sheeny luminous variety. Here comes the lowdown, beginning with the most expected choices:

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1. NARS Orgasm Powder Blush ($35/0.16 ounces) OR $218.75/ounce | review

Officially described as “peachy pink with shimmer”, this sheeny pink coral blush provides a strong golden glow with golden shimmer running throughout. As with all of my favourite blush choices here, I love the smooth texture and instant luminosity of the blush but this one is particularly easy because the pigment builds slowly and easily. I don’t believe that this shade is the most universally flattering blush out there like the previous hype would suggest but it is flattering even with its pinker rosy lean on my moderately fair warm toned skin. Out of the bunch this shade has the most visible shimmer but it’s not the most reflective of them all. This is perhaps the lightest shade of the bunch so it’s only suitable for fairer skin tones.

2. MAC Stereo Rose Mineralize Skinfinish ($35/0.32 ounces) OR $108.35/ounce

I’m sorry for this, including a limited edition product that is not currently available but this “coral with golden bronze shimmering nuances” shade is a longtime favourite of mine with an amazing sheeny smooth formula so I had to include it anyway – but luckily the cult favourite shade seems to be repromoted every year or two so I’d keep your eye out if you’re interested. It has impressive pigmentation for a Mineralize Skinfinish and no visible shimmer particles and a flattering rusty lean to it. The permanent MAC Mineralize Skinfinish in Cheeky Bronze ($35/0.35 ounces) is extremely similar but has more of that bronzy copper hue to it and MAC Style might be even closer, but a bit different in formula. It’s suitable for fair skintones to the entire spectrum of medium skin tones.

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3. MAC Frost Powder Blush in Style ($26/0.21 ounces) OR $123.81/ounce | review

This ‘frost’ blush is nowhere near as frightening as the name would suggest, it doesn’t have any sort of dated or unflattering shimmer particles or overly intense sheen. It has that flattering strong sheen that is similar to MAC’s Mineralize Skinfinishes but without that baked mineral formula. It’s a peachy coral with strong golden sheen throughout that is luminous in the best way, providing that golden luminosity and doubling as a highlighting product, accurately described my mac as “coral peach with warmth”. The blush has a lovely smooth texture with a nice sheen to the cheeks, a glow and a hint of overall warmth. It has kind of a orange-y lean so it’s not suitable for fair cool skin tones or among the palest of complexions, but it would be flattering for most – either as a blush or as a highlight for those with deep skin tones.

4. Hourglass Ambient Lighting Blush in Diffused Heat ($41/0.15 ounces) OR $273.33/ounce

This rather expensive blush has the least shimmer in it but it somehow manages to give just as much radiance without the shimmer particles and it reads as a satin, likely because of the Diffused Light powder that the blush is marbled with. It’s  described as a “vibrant poppy” and while I agree with the vibrant part of the name – it’s definitely vibrant and with the most pigmentation of all of the included blushes – I would describe it as more of a pinky coral mixed with a watermelon hue. Also, while it’s pigmented, it can be applied sheerly with ease. It’s a more unique colour than the rest, perhaps the least traditionally coral, with neutral rather than warm undertones and the same brightening effect. This unique shade would suit fair skin-tones with a light hand all the way up to those with the lighter end of deep complexions.

5. L’Oreal True Match Blush in N3-4 Innocent Flush ($15.99/0.21 ounces) OR $76.14/ounce

In the last two years I’ve discovered a great number of amazing drugstore products along my trials, however, blushes are among the most difficult products to find excellent versions of on a budget but this one performs along with much higher end offerings. It’s a more muted version of MAC’s Style that has a touch more pink along with the peach that flatters fairer skin tones (up to medium ones) and a slightly less intense golden sheen. The texture is smooth and it provides that luminosity that I search for while still lasting all day long. It’s incredibly versatile, providing that glow and sheen that brightens the face while being easy to wear with more intense eye makeup and lip colour.

From top: NARS Orgasm | MAC Stereo Rose | MAC Style | Hourglass Diffused Heat | L'Oreal Innocent Flush
From top: NARS Orgasm | MAC Stereo Rose | MAC Style | Hourglass Diffused Heat | L’Oreal Innocent Flush
 What’s your favourite coral blush?
Maggie, x.

 

 

The Daily Face #15: Warm-Weather Makeup

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Contrary to the general pattern as of late, today was a gorgeous warm sunny day – but not so warm that makeup would be a no-go, of course. I’ve gotten into a bit of a different daily routine – but not too different, you know me… – with slightly different daily staples and I thought I would share the warm-weather centric makeup.

When it’s been warm and sunny, I’ve been reaching for the authentic Skin 79 Snail Nutrition BB Cream, as it offers good coverage with some added radiance and great sun protection – without using chemical sunscreens that make my skin burn and all that jazz. My skin has been pretty good so I went straight onto under-eye brightening with the magical Bobbi Brown Corrector in Light to Medium Bisque. Because sunscreen-heavy products tend to produce somewhat of a sheen, I made sure to dust the MAC Studio Careblend Pressed Powder through my t-zone.

Despite rambling on about more traditional bronzers frequently in posts as of late, the slightly warm-toned MAC Harmonyhas reigned supreme for adding for adding colour and shape and in the last week or two, I’ve been reaching for the L’Oreal True Match Blush in N3-4 Innocent Flushthat I previously dismissed as lacking longevity and any sort of novelty; while it’s not going to knock out MAC Stereo Rose etc. as my favourite coral blush with that golden sheen, I had misjudged this one as it does have good longevity, pigmentation and texture. As of late, I’ve also consistently been going for highlighter, namely the long-since unavailable MAC Mineralize Skinfinish in Semi-Precious Pearl. Because I tend to find that the BB Cream can sit on my skin slightly unevenly, I misted my face with the Nyx Dewy Finish Makeup Setting Spray – I’m undecided on my final verdict on this setting spray, if you were wondering.

I’m now convinced that the L’Oreal Superliner Brow Artist in Blonde is certainly worth of praise – it seems a little dark for it’s name as it works for my medium-brown hair but the ashy-toned pencil-wax duo, paired with the mini-brush creates easy but naturally-defined brows. I suspect you’ll hear more on this on a later post… Because shadows need a base or primer of some sort, I grabbed for the ever-popular Maybelline Color Tattoo in Bad To The Bronze but the real star of the show is the Dior Grege Quint that I picked up a few weeks ago (and featured it in a haul-type post) and have hardly put down since. I’ve ignored this quint in the past despite knowing the great quality of these shadows as the offerings looked neutral and boring but that could hardly be farther from the truth – the shades are surprisingly versatile for daily use with their variety of finishes. The sheeny grey shade was patted onto the outer-half of the lid, the ivory was applied to the inner corner region to lighten it up and the dark matte chocolate brown was blended into the outer corner and further used as liner. Since finding the L’Oreal brow pencil, my MAC 266 has been freed-up and I’ve fallen in love with using the brush with shadow as slightly-smoky liner. For mascara I’ve been consistently reaching for the Revlon Bold Lacquer Mascarathat I recently picked up as it provides easy adequate volume a la Benefit BadGal Lash and is not an absolute bitch to remove.

I’ve been feeling a coral lip lately, especially with the grey-toned shadow and because my lips are kind of in rough shape at the moment, I went for the hydrating and forgiving MAC Lipstick in Dreaming Dahliathat of course is no longer available for it was part of the MAC A Fantasy of Flowers Collection.

Thoughts on this ‘look’? What have you been reaching for lately?

Maggie, x.