NYX Stick Blush in Pink Poppy Review, Photos and Swatches

To think that about a year ago, I'd never tried any NYX products and now I use them nearly every day!

Cream blush. My goodness, I love a cream blush. As my skin ages, I find I like using cream blushes much more than powders. They give a softer effect, and don't catch on the fine hairs on my cheeks like powders do. Plus they give a soft and natural flush to the skin.

I especially love them in the summer, when my battle with the oily bits of my face is at its fruitless peak. My cheeks are normal in the summer, not oily and not dry, so when the rest of my face looks like a oil slick due to sweat and oil, powder blush looks especially incongruous on my oil-free cheeks. I tend to go lighter with my makeup in the summer, and cream blush looks very natural and light.

This post looks at one of NYX's Stick Blushes - Pink Poppy, a neutral pink. It reads on the cool side, and definitely works for my cool-toned skin but I could see it working well on warmer skintones as well.

The Stick Blushes are 6.2 g each, and cost $6 each. Here's what the NYX website has to say about them:

Add a touch of color with our creamy and extremely pigmented Stick Blush! Available in eight rich shades! Apply and receive the perfect glow every day!

NYX Stick Blush in Pink Poppy

NYX Stick Blush in Pink Poppy - ingredients

The Stick Blushes come in a stubby little twist-up tube, and the size and application-ease make it very easy to carry them with you.

NYX Stick Blush in Pink Poppy

There's not a tonne of product in these little tubes (6.2 g), but I really don't need to wear much of Pink Poppy to get the effect I want. I am fair-skinned so a little colour goes a long way, for the most part.

In the photo above you can see a teeny bit of gold sparkle. That's accurate, though I don't find that the sparkle reads on my cheeks at all. 

Here it is swatched on the back of my hand (NW15 skintone). All you do is twist up the tube a little and swipe it on. Below there is one swipe of Pink Poppy. 

NYX Stick Blush in Pink Poppy - swatched

The texture is smooth and a little tacky. Sort of gel-like. It is very easy to blend and the more moisture on your skin, the easier the blending. It dries as it sets but never looks artificial. You could use a brush or a sponge to apply and blend this, but I typically use my fingers. The warmth of my skin helps to soften and blend this into my cheeks.

See? Here it is on my face. It looks incredibly natural. The gold sparkle doesn't look artificial, and isn't really noticeable at all, but perhaps is adding to the skin-like smoothness in effect. I love how natural this looks on me.

In terms of longevity, it doesn't last as long as a powder blush, but I don't see much fading at all. Perhaps because my cheeks don't get oily, I don't look in the mirror at the end of the workday and see a tired complexion. If your skin is oily on your cheeks, I'd recommend topping the Stick Blushes with a powder blush. It'll help it to last longer. I do this sometimes too, if I want a more dramatic effect. 

Well done, NYX! I love Pink Poppy!

Grade: A

Marc Jacobs Shameless Bold Blush in Obsessed: Review, Swatches and Photos

When Sephora had their VIB sale recently, I picked up a polish (see my review of Petra, here) and a blush from the brand new Marc Jacobs make-up collection. The Marc Jacobs collection is available only at Sephora stores and Sephora.com and consists of foundation, concealer, powder, highlighter, bronzer, blush, eyeshadow, eyeliner, lipstick, lip gloss, mascara, nail polish and brushes.

The Marc Jacobs Shameless Bold Blushes (taken from the Sephora website) are vivid, silky and deliver bold colour and unprecedented vibrancy. They're inspired by Marc's tattoo and meld with your skin enabling you to sculpt perfect contours. The formula is infused with bio-lipids and essential amino acids, which create the powder's ultra lightweight, silky texture and ensures a seamless application. The blush comes in a silk faille pouch with a portable angled blush brush. 

They are 0.15 oz each and cost $36 CDN and $30 US.

The blush shade I chose is Obsessed. It's described as warm pink. 

Silk faile pouch

Blush compact and mini angled blush brush

The pouch the blush comes in is a nice touch. I have carried it with me in my purse and it nicely protects the compact and the brush it comes with. As for the brush, these I would normally toss in order to use my regular make-up brushes, but this one is different. It is tiny, yes, which is my only issue with it. You have less control with a small brush, I find. But the bristles are luxuriously soft and rather than just a even length brush, it's angled, which makes it perfect for applying blush. You can carry the blush and the brush around with you in the pouch and touch up whenever you need to!

I actually haven't used any other brushes with this blush yet, that's how well this mini brush works.

The compact comes with a little removable plastic cover (pictured over the blush in the photo above). It helps to keep the interior of the compact clean.

Add caption

Obsessed is a gorgeous, glowy pink with a hint of peach to it. It's got some shimmer to it, but it's just a beautiful shimmery shade. I couldn't resist it. 

Pigmentation-wise, it's on the low side. I have fair skin, so that doesn't bother me too much. It shows up pretty well on me, and with blush, a little goes a long way on me. 

It looks so pretty on the skin, not powdery or chalky. It blends beautifully and is buildable if you want more pigmentation. 

Here it is swatched on the inside of my forearm (NW15 skintone). 

As you can see, the shimmer is visible, but not heavy. It looks quite natural. The swatch above was done using the accompanying brush.

And here is it on my cheeks. 

Pretty, right? It's the perfect, barely-there cheek colour for pairing with a bold lip colour which is my make-up look these days. 

I used the side of the brush to gently dust it across my cheekbone and then used the top of the blush to blend it up and across my temple. I've been wearing it every day since I got it and I absolutely love it. It lasts on my combination (oily/normal) skin for approximately 10 hours before it fades away. 

I haven't tried the other blushes in the collection, but I suspect these would work best on fairer skintones as Obsessed does on my skintone. 

Grade: B (I love it, but it is low on pigmentation)

C.

Bright Pink Pigment: Five Ways

I've owned MAC's New Fixation pigment for a little while and I've never used it. So when I was challenged to do a post on how to use a bright pink pigment, I thought, why not. Let's see what I can do. 

I got New Fixation at a charity bag at one of the Estee Lauder Warehouse sales held in Markham, Ontario. I've never used it. It is described as a bright fucsia red with soft pearl and it was a limited edition product. If you're interested in a similar pigment colour, check out MAC's Fuchsia pigment. 

MAC pigments are loose powder pigments and come in a multitude of colours. They retail for approximately $25 CDN. MAC pigments are multi-use products. They can used as is, and mixed with other mediums for different textures and consistency. Some pigments should not be used on the lips and eyes but MAC is pretty good at labelling which are and which aren't. A little pigment goes a very long way. The photo above of the loose pigment on a tissue is what I had left after all of the product I used below. Unless you're using a pigment colour to mix with body lotion or making nail polish, it's likely one container will last you quite awhile. 

First thing I tried was using it as a blush. I tipped the product out onto a tissue (photo is at the top of this post) and worked it into a blush brush, just as I would with a pressed powder brush, but more carefully. Pigments are concentrated colour so a little goes a long way. New Fixation is a bright fuchsia, so this was going to go on intensely if I didn't go softly. 

Here it is applied to my cheek before blending. It's pretty intense. 

After blending, it's still bright but much more subtle. Most definitely a good blush colour. You could also blend New Fixation (or any pigment colour) with a cream, like a concealer or  foundation or moisturizer to mute the shade and create a cream blush.

Next I tried it on my eyes. I am not someone who wears bright colours on my eyes in large quantities. I tend to keep it pretty simple. Pink eyeshadow can make you look sick and tired since pink is how your eyes look when you get sick or are tired. It's also not great it you have dry eyes since they'll look even more bloodshot and irritated. So I tentatively persevered, applying it to my lid, concentrating it on the outer corner and blending it out towards the inner corner and up to my crease. Pairing a bright colour with black is always a good trick, so I used a black pencil liner along my lashline. This is obviously an edgy look, hot pink and black making me think of the 1980s and punk rock. 

But not quite enough on its own, so I added a bit of black to my crease as well as some black pencil underneath my eye and on my waterline. 

I was impressed how much I like the bright pink as an eyeshadow. It didn't make me look sick or (more) tired. The black pencil also has a touch of sparkle too it which helps to make this look a bit more edgy.

I was liking the way it looked so much, so I added more New Fixation. The black in my crease became more purple underneath the fuchsia and I liked it even better. I'd totally wear this eye look out to a concert. 

So success on the cheeks and success on the eyes. Let's try lips...

Pigments can be mixed with almost any medium. Below, I've mixed it with a lip balm for a sheer, soft rosy effect. 

I topped a red lipstick with some of the pigment by pressing it onto my lips. It matted the lipstick and gave it a velvety effect as well as adding a bit of pink-purple colour. 

Finally I blended New Fixation with some soft pink lipgloss. 

Bazinga! That's a bright lip gloss. 

This is probably the truest New Fixation appeared when applied, colour-wise. It read quite cool on my eyes, and was muted as a lip balm. 

So there you have it. Five ways to wear a bright pink pigment colour. Have I inspired you? I wonder how many different ways I could wear a blue or green pigment? Probably not five...

C.

MAC Trés Cheek Preview

Everyone loves when you blush. Fashioning your choices: A new sextet of M·A·C blush powders. Go hip in bright red-orange, or add a glorious touch of peach, pink or lavender – each shade staying as bright and un-beige on the skin as it is in the palette. With a formula that’s seamlessly sheer and unabashedly buildable, what do you get? A look that says Très Cheek.

Available April 5, 2012.

Powder Blush in Full of Joy
Lavender (frost)
$24 CDN/$20 US

Powder Blush in Immortal Flower
Bright peach (satin)
$24 CDN/$20 US

Powder Blush in Lovecloud
Bright mid-tone pink (satin)
$24 CDN/$20 US

Powder Blush in Modern Mandarin
Red-orange (satin)
$24 CDN/$20 US

Powder Blush in Peony Petal
Bright blue pink
$24 CDN/$20 US

Powder Blush in Pink Tea
Neutral beige pink (satin)
$24 CDN/$20 US

Benefit CORALista Review and Swatches

CORALista is one of Benefit's newest bestselling boxed powders. I received a sample of it recently and thought I'd review it since it's winter here and this is a box of summery-glow if I ever saw I saw one!

Also, I'm impressed with the sample - it's a good size (3g) and the container can be opened and closed. 

CORALista is a warm coral-pink and like all of Benefit's boxed powders, sheer and shimmery. The full-size comes in a box with a mirror and with a brush.

And here it is on me. Benefit's boxed powders range are quite sheer and CORALista is no exception. On fair skin like mine, it can be worn alone as a blush, but on darker skin tones, it'd work better as a highlighter or on top of another blush. 

I love the warmth CORALista gives my skin and it makes for a great shimmery blush. What do you think? Have you tried CORALista?


C.

Tom Ford Beauty: Wicked and Love Lust Cheek Color Review and Swatches

"Makeup is the most potent way for a woman to transform herself. It is how she achieves true glamour and makes a fashion statement with her face." - Tom Ford

Do you love Tom Ford? Because I do. Ever since the mid 90's when Tom took over as creative director at Gucci he's had my attention. I loved the skinny hipster pants, slinky jersey dresses with cutouts and the Gucci logo g-string swimsuits. But what frequently caught my eye at Gucci (besides the logo g-strings!) was the makeup he sent down the runway. I remember one look he did with Pat McGrath where she had painted the models eyelids liquid gold and contoured their creases with a bit of brown shadow - gorgeous, sexy, bold and very inspiring!

Fast forward almost twenty years later and Mr. Ford finally has a full range of luxury cosmetics to add to his empire of fragrances (I wear Black Orchid). On a recent trip to NYC I made a point of visiting Bergdorf Goodman to check out the brand new high end line which had launched that very week.

First before I get into the actual product review I want to say something about Tom Ford Beauty...it is expensive. Very, very expensive. Anything in the Ford brand empire is to be considered a luxury item, and the makeup line is no exception. Eye shadow quads retail for $78.00, blushes $55.00 and lipstick $48.00 (all prices US). That being said the first night Tom Ford Beauty launched at BG they sold $52,000 worth of product. Think about it.

Tom Ford Cheek Color in Wicked and Love Lust

My original plan was to pick up the eye shadow quad Sahara Haze, however when I got to the tiny counter (which was continuously, and annoyingly mobbed by customers) I started to waffle. I'll admit the price made me waffle, and not because I wouldn't spend $78.00 US on an eye shadow quad I loved, but because I wasn't 100% sure I loved it. Sahara Haze is pretty, don't get me wrong, but a few of the shades were sheer and I wanted my Tom Ford Beauty experience to be perfect like Mr. Ford himself.

Tom Ford Cheek Color in Wicked and Love Lust

After much, much waffling over the eye shadow quads I turned my attention to the Cheek Colors, and that was love. I picked up Wicked, a cool, bright pink with a pink sheen and Love Lust, a pinky coral with a golden sheen. The Cheek Colors are very finely milled and have very strong pigmentation but are sheer. 

How can a product be simultaneously sheer and pigmented you ask? Well through very fine milling of pigments you can get a product that deposits a lot of color without opacity. I actually think this is the strongest point of the blushes, it helps them look very natural, like the color is coming out of the skin and not sitting on top of it. The blushes also have an incredible sheen which naturally highlights bone structure without having to add a highlighter or making you look like a glitter bomb.

The texture is smooth but quite powdery, and they tend to kick up a lot of product when you use them, so I recommend patting the surface with a brush to minimize the loss of product. This is the only aspect of the blushes I am not in love with as when you use them, they tend to spread blush dust everywhere. However, and most importantly, they do not look powdery on the skin. Please note that these look significantly better in real life than they do in the photos.

Wicked and Love Lust (top no flash, bottom with flash), NC 40

The packaging for the Tom Ford line is sleek with a dark, glossy burgundy brown case with a gold monogrammed clasp on the end. One unique aspect of the packaging is the way in which the compacts open. Unlike most compacts, these do not have a button to depress. You simply pull the top half up. 

So here's the million dollar/$55.00 question: are they worth the price? In terms of quality and performance I would say yes. Wicked and Love Lust are unlike any other blushes I own and I own at least 30 blushes from numerous brands both high end and low. Does this mean I think everyone needs to go out and buy these? No. Obviously this is the type of purchase you make when you want and are willing to pay for a luxury item. If you do decide to splurge though, I think you will find that these blushes will become ones you reach for again and again.