Saturday 10 May 2014

SPOTLIGHT: Rediscovering Powder Blushes (Part 1)...

They say that the only constant in life is change :-) Well I love the fact that whenever I make myself a hard and fast rule (especially when it comes to makeup), I often find myself doing a total about-face somewhere down the track. And that's what happened with blushes. Years ago I decided to ONLY wear cream blushes - being an older chooky, I found that creams were far more flattering for my getting-wrinklier-by-the-day skin, and so I ditched most of the powders I had in my kit. But the simple fact is that there are HEAPS more shades available in dry blushes, the formulas have improved considerably, and after experimenting with using a cream base PLUS a dusting of powder blush over the top, I've found I can reap the benefits of both worlds...

So after making the decision to re-explore the makeup category I'd cast aside, I went in search of some reasonably priced products in fabulous colours to begin the exceptionally pleasurable task of rebuilding my collection, and here's what I found...


I still had an assortment of blushes that came with eye-shadow kits - some were ok-for-me shades, but what I didn't have was a range of pinks, from pastel rose through to bold magenta...

This Lacura duo (from Aldi of course) is called Soft Rose - two delicate pinks that give my cheeks a supremely natural and healthy glow. Love the packaging - a matte black compact with a mirror inside, and it comes with a baby brush (which I've tossed because teeny little blush brushes just annoy me), all for the bargain price of around $5. The powder is finely milled, has a slight shimmer, and while my brush easily picks it up, there's very little fallout. Actually so far I've only used the shade on the right, but the pale pink will come in handy as a highlighter...


Next up was essence "blush up" in Heat Wave - it's a stunning combo that graduates from orange to pink, and retails for $6.45. Love the sturdy clear perspex packaging, gorgeous colours on either side, and when you swipe both together, you get a fabulous silky coral. I'm a complete failure when it comes to swatching, but fortunately darling Sandy from Eyes For Makeup has some neat ones on her blog...


I couldn't resist this stunning BYS trio last time I was in KMart - it's called On the Bright Sidand retails for $7.95. The pink on the left is deliciously shimmery and the other two are almost-mattes (#3 has a slight shimmer). One of the nightmares us bloggers have is trying to capture on camera the true colours of cosmetics - flash, no flash, natural light, I tell you it's darn near impossible to get it right, but this first pic (natural light) is the closest I could manage. Can't wait to try out that one in the middle!

Taken with flash
And finally...I bought this MODELco blush from Coles when they were having a recent promo - the colour Amaretto Sunset is absolutely divine and perfect for autumn. Came with a mini kabuki brush too. This was the most expensive of the lot at $18, but I just had to have this shade - it's very similar to my favourite cream blush (Australis Chocolate Truffle) which devastatingly has been discontinued :-(


Left ModelCo Amaretto Sunset, right Australis Chocolate Truffle

I can't believe I've been blogging for almost 8 months, and this is the first time I've done a feature on blushes! I've a few more to share with you in the next couple of weeks, including the brilliant Benefit Hervana one that came in my Blogstar prize, so I'll be back with more soon 

Take care of you,
kats xxx

10 comments:

  1. Great picks Kat! Im sure they all look lovely on you! I especially love the Essence one, Ill have to pick it up myself when I've finished my spending ban- it's gorgeous! And congrats on 8 months of blogging, it'll be your blog-aversary before you know it! xx

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    1. Hey Monique, that essence blush is sure getting rave reviews by our blogging friends, you should definitely pick it up asap :-) And thanks for the lovely wishes - can't believe it's been almost a year already, my how time flies when you're doing what you love ♥

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  2. Gorgeous picks! I have the Essence one myself and love it, the mixed colour is just gorgeous! xx

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    1. It's delightfully different isn't it Jas? And so nice to have something colourful to get through the dark days of winter :-)

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  3. I love the amazing shades you can get in blush but I have been known to use them as eye shadows instead...orange and punk look amazing together :)

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    1. What a fab idea Fawn, thanks for the tip - this essence blush will most definitely find it's way into one of my EOTD's!

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  4. Pretty colours!!
    Blushers come in the most gorgeous colours. I have some theBalm blushers that are that pretty I don't want to use them LOL. Just want to hold them and look.
    The Lacura one sounds and looks really lovely Kats. I too think the lighter shade would be a nice highlighter. And that BYS palette is beautiful!! I want it just for its colours :D
    You could easily wear all those shades Kats. You look amazing in all colours. I love your collection :)

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    1. I'm pretty chuffed with what I've scored so far Gemma - honestly there's so many around these days, and for amazingly reasonable prices. TheBalm ones sound yummy - I have that problem too with some of mine, not sure when I'll get to the first swipe of the essence one lol... xxx

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  5. I desperately want that essence blush but my local priceline and target are out of stock
    Btw I tagged u in my recent post Kat http://makeupmeandyoyo.blogspot.com.au/2014/05/whats-on-my-bed-side-table-tag.html xx

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    1. Oh boo Varinder - hope they receive some supplies soon, it's just too gorgeous to not have it in your collection hon :-) And thank you for the tag my dear - I have a few little goodies to share ha ha...

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