La Femme Blushes

La Femme Blushes in Z-Palette

I purchased these little gems from makeupmania.com for 2.87 each. These are for the pans only so you can customize into a z-palette or a pro palette of your choice. They also come in cases for 3.50 each. Still a major deal considering how well these perform. These gems are so pigmented. I just dab the tip of my brush in the pan and I get so much color; enough for both cheeks. They blend really easy and they aren’t chalky. The texture is super smooth and they have a good range of matte shades and shimmer shades for every skin color. They are just beautiful. They can also be used as an eyeshadow, AND scrape off some powder, mix with some gloss; you got yourself a nice lip gloss. I am in love! The price can not be beat. It’s such a great addiction to any makeup artist’s kit or just to have in your personal arsenal. I WANT MORE!!!

I used them recently on a shoot and I was very satisfied with their performance. I think they last so much longer when layered over a cream blush.  I did notice some fading after about 4 to 5 hours of wear. I was very satisfied with the website, makeupmania.com for my package came really quick and the shipping wasn’t ridiculous.

Top row- Red, orange, peach, sienna, lilac champagne

Middle row- coral, Indian Rose, flamingo pink, terracotta, golden sunset

Bottom Row- golden rose, purple passion

My personal favorites are Red, Terracotta, Indian Rose, Golden Rose.

**Do you own any La Femme Blushes? Which would you recommend?

Red, Orange, Peach, Sienna, Lilac Champange

Coral, Indian Rose, Flamingo Pink, Terracotta, Golden Sunset

Golden Rose, Purple Passion

Illamasqua Cream Blush Brazen

How Gorgeous is this?!

I am such a huge fan of Illamasqua’s cream blush. It’s such a shame that Sephora doesn’t carry all of them. They have some beautiful shades on the Illamasqua site. And it’s a damn shame they don’t have a store in the US! Get on that Illamasqua!!

Brazen is a gorgeous red. It looks scary but I’ve never been one to be scared of a little color. I only need a dab of this to get a nice, natural flush. It looks so natural! When I, and most medium to darker skinned beauties with red in their skin, blush (yes we do blush), or exercise we turn red…not pink. Although I do love a nice pick blush, this looks so natural on darker skin. It looks gorgeous!
The blush blends beautifully and it isn’t sticky or oily. It doesn’t add oil to the skin or make it look oily but it leaves the skin dewy and healthy looking. I just dab one dot of this on my cheeks with my fingers and blend either with my fingers or a buffing blush. First use I made the mistake of applying too much(I looked like I had a bad sunburn-LOL) and I just diffused the color with some powder. And because its a cream, it can be worn in the lips in a pinch or if you’re traveling. I love multitasking products!! I wore this all day with minimal fading by the time I washed my face.

Have you tried any cream blushers from Illamasqua?

Beauty!

Wearing Brazen

Bobbi Brown Pot Rouge Calypso Coral

The Pot Rouge is made to be used as a cream blush and/or a lip color. It’s a really nice multitasking product, great for traveling because it is super compact thus doesn’t take up a lot of space or if you don’t want to pack a lot of makeup products.  The compact also comes with the convenience of a mirror if you need one in a pinch. The Formula is really light, creamy and packs a punch. Very little is needed to get great color. The product leaves the skin dewy and glowing like with most cream blushes. This worked really well with my oily skin also. I didn’t have issues with this making my skin oily and it comes in 10 different shades. I really wish they had more of a variety of shades but Bobbi Brown has like 5 more than Mac.

Calypso Coral is a beautiful shade of coral, perfect for spring and summer. If you’re like me you would wear this all year round if you wanted. The color isn’t super bright when applied lightly and it can be very subtle. I can see this working on every skin color. It’s beautiful on tanned or brown skin. It gives a nice flush of color to the cheeks that’s very natural. When I tried it on my face seemed to brighten up. I love that in a product! I didn’t notice much fading throughout the wear time. If you build it enough it should wear for, on average, 4 hours depending on your skin type. If you set it with a powder then it will last much longer but you take away some of the glow look.

I think this one is a must have if you love cream blush and if you love corals.

Cream blush tip: If you want to tone down the glow or the shine of a cream blush, if you’re looking to make your blush last for a long period of time or if you want a more vibrant cheek, apply a powder blush over the cream that’s complementary.

 

What is your favorite Blush? Cream or Powder.

RMS Beauty Samples from Spirit Beauty Lounge

How Cute and Personal is this!?

While doing a search trying to find new cosmetics brands to try out, I came across this brand, RMS Beauty on this website, spiritbeautylounge.com. The site only sells brands that are natural and organic. They are a green, cruelty free site who picks the products they want to sell that meets their criteria of natural, organic, and humane.

The Brand RMS has two products that caught my eye; Their Cream Eyeshadows and Lip2Cheek. Personally I love cream eyeshadows and blushes because they just look so much more natural on the skin. Professionally I really wanted more all around products so I don’t have to lug around so many products.

What I really liked about the site is that they sell samples to try before buying them. I really hate buying products before trying them first, especially if the products are on the pricy side. And when buying online, unless it’s free to return the products(thank you Sephora), it’s really not worth the hassle or the price to return cosmetics, in my opinion. So I thought this was a brilliant way to try these products. For $25, you get 9 samples from any brand sold on the site plus three free samples. I got them today and thought I’d share my goodies. I will test these babies out within the next week or so and do reviews really soon!

The shipping was really quick. I Ordered these late last Thursday night and they came today, Monday!

I was a little disappointed in the sample sizes at first sight because I really want to test them out and get more than 2 uses out of them, 4 at best. But I must say that I used one of the Lip2cheek shades today on my lips and cheek and I really didn’t use a lot of product. So I’m hoping I get a few uses out these! We shall see.  I am so excited! I love trying out new beauty brands!

I got 4 of the cream eyeshadows:

And 5 of the Lip2Cheek:

Mac Extra Dimension Mineralize Skinfinish- Glorify and Superb

Extra Dimension MSF Superb(L) Glorify(R)

Company Description: “A liquid-powder highlighter with prismatic reflections that sculpts, highlights and models the face. The cool, creamy near-fluid formula creates a luminous, well-defined finish. Wears 10 hours.”

Product: I feel these Mineralize Skinfinishes are different from the regular formula. The regular formula is smooth with great pigmentation but these are light and silky smooth with great pigmentation. They definitely give the face a luminous glow. They are creamy like butter but I don’t see how these are described as ‘liquid powder’. They are not like the magically cool powders. Anyhow, I feel you don’t have to build these up too much, unless you want to of course. They blend beautifully on the skin and the finish gives a nice metallic sheen, something the past MSF’s didn’t have. I noticed some glitter with Superb that I didn’t notice with Glorify, but Superb isn’t super glittery(yay). You still get a nice sheen with Superb. It doesn’t seem to accentuate the pores like some of Mac’s MSF’s and they smooth onto the skin. I can’t confirm nor deny if this lasts for 10 hours but I wore this for about 5 hours and the highlight didn’t appear to fade much. I love the new design of these and how they stamp MAC in the product. It’s different from the past MSF’s. Makes it more pretty.

Mac Superb MSF

 

Mac Glorify MSF

Superb is a shimmery peachy nude color. It looks very natural on the skin and it’s pretty subtle. It’s easy to add too much because you think it’s not showing up but it’s definitely there, especially when the sun hits you. It’s not too cool or too warm so I think this will look lovely on every skin color. Great color to highlight the cheeks, eyes or any other part of the body you care to attract light.

Glorify is a shimmery copper color. I really liked this one because it could be used as a highlight or a blush/bronzer BUT I hesitated a bit about buying it because it is almost dead on to Mac’s Amber Lights eyeshadow (about 90% similar) and I was thinking of just using that as a highlight/blush. I’m really trying not to buy so much makeup for personal use But because I have issues I just couldn’t resist this. So if you missed this definitely try Amber Lights! It’s just the texture that’s different and Amber lights has a bit more gold to it.

Packaging: These come in the usual round black cases with clear top but I feel like these are smaller than the past MSF’s. They store well and are travel friendly although I would travel with these with care because I did crack the top of one of my cases before. Luckily the product didn’t crack.

Price: I think the prices have gone up from $28 to $29 for less product, which irritates me. I love Mac but come on! Other MSF’s I have gave 10g of product but these give 9g. I mean I’ll probably never use all of the product but don’t go up on the price. If you’re going to give less product at least keep it at the same price! Just my little rant.

Wearing Superb MSF

Wearing Superb MSF

Mac Glorify MSF

Mac Glorify MSF

Final Grade: A-

Product 5/5

Packaging 4/5

Price 3/5

I’m sad that these sold out so quickly. People were not playing. They literally sold out at Mac Stores in one day. I had to go to Macy’s. So if you can find them at department stores, they are worth the splurge.
Has anyone gotten any of these and how did you like them?

Inglot Face Blush #43

Inglot Face Blush #43

So this is my first blush from Inglot. They had so many beautiful colors it was hard to choose one. I have so many good blushes already but I was dying to try one for the sake of saying I have tried them and to review.

The formula is really soft and smooth. It feels like butter to the touch. This blush is not chalky and the color is very strong! Super duper pigmented! I applied the color with a fan brush then used a clean blush brush to blend it out..and speaking of, it blends really nicely too.

The color is a very pretty magenta with golden shimmer. Don’t confuse shimmer with glitter because it’s not glittery at all.  This color reminds me of Mac Breezy blush, something I’ve been eyeing for some time now, but this packs a lot more punch. It’s Breezy on steroids! It really is gorgeous on the skin. I got lots of compliments wearing this. It looks absolutely stunning on medium to darker skin tones. If used lightly I can see this looking great on lighter skin too! OR just go all out if you want!

The color started to fade after about 6 hours of wear. After about 8 hours of wear there was still a slight flush of color on my cheeks. The tint looked just as beautiful as when first applied.

The cost of these are $12 for 2.5g/0.09oz of product. Mac blushes you get 6g of product for $20. I don’t see myself hitting pan on this anytime soon, even if it is a little less than half product when compared to Mac because you really do need very little to get color.

Quick Review

Product 5/5- The color is super vibrant and beautiful, the texture is soft and smooth and the color lasts a long time after application. You are left with a nice stain of color on your cheeks.

Packaging 5/5- Cute and compact, the top is clear and twists off. The top doesn’t seem to be cheap which is great because that means you can travel with it and it won’t break easily.

Price 4/5- The price is pretty reasonable I think for the product. I really like the formula and the texture of this blush and I love that I didn’t pay 20 bucks or more for this. In theory you don’t get much but you’re only paying 12 bucks for it so I think it’s a winner.

Color Before blending out

Makeup Forever Aqua Cream

Makeup Forever Aqua Creams are a super pigmented, long lasting cream. It’s a multi use product that can be worn on the lips, face and/or eyes. There are recommendations on which shades can be used where. I personally only use my shades on the eyes so I’m not sure what happens when you use them where they’re not recommended but I assume it could cause some kind of irritation. For example there’s a red shade that is only recommended to use on the lips and the face because red colors and pigments tend to cause eye irritation on some people and it stains the skin, but I have seen people use them on the eyes with no issues. Just test the product on the area before using first. OK enough formalitites. To the good stuff!

The formula is creamy, smooth and very rich in color and pigment. They all give off a nice sheen when applied, not  glittery. It doesn’t take a lot to get good color.  It is quick drying and water and smudge proof. On the eyes they can be used as a cream eyeshadow, a liner or as a colored base to make your eyeshadow more vibrant and long lasting. They can be used on the lips but I find them drying when used alone on the lips. They look better when worn under a lip balm. On the face they can be used as a cream blush or as a highlight. With 22 colors ranging from neutrals to bright bold colors, they create long lasting original looks. They blend very well but you have to work really fast to blend it to your liking because once it dries it will not move! They start to dry within 15 seconds and completely dry within 30 seconds.

I love using these as eyeshadow bases. Whenever I do wear color on my eyes the aqua creams make my shades stand out and look more lively and I can pretty much wear it all day and my eyes will look the same as they did when I first applied. I also like lining my eyes with them for a vibrant, water and smudge proof line. The only down side I’ve noticed here is that if you use too much product or if you add more after the color has dried it can look cakey and uneven.

In my opinion these aren’t as creamy and smooth as Mac’s Paint Pots but more than likely that’s because the aqua creams dry really fast and are waterproof. Paint Pots are not waterproof although they do last a while.

Aqua Cream #11 is a BEAUTIFUL gold color. This looks gorgeous with bronzes, greens, oranges or just about any warm colored eyeshadow you can think of. I think this would also make a beautiful highlighter for the face though I haven’t tried it in that way.

Aqua Cream #18 is a really pretty lilac color. It looks really pretty by itself or with other purple colors or even blue colors.

Aqua Cream #21 is my favorite! It’s a gorgeous torquise color. I also love this alone or with greens, blues and purples.

Isn't #21 just beautiful?!

Quick Review:

Product: 4/5- Creamy and smooth texture. Vibrant colors and waterproof.

Packaging: 5/5- Housed in cute, plastic small pots they are compact and store very easily.

Price: 4/5- The cost is $22 for 6g/0.21oz of product.  Not a bad price considering these are multi-use, used on lips, eyes and face.

Illamasqua Cream Blush-Betray

 

Illamasqua is a brand that is known for their bold colors, rich pigments and risque nature. With names like Excite, Lover, Libido, Laid, Betray and Hussy one can’t help but be curious! The brand is operated in the UK but luckily they have blessed us with their brand by making it available in the US at most Sephora stores. I absolutely love their blushes (powder and cream). Hands down, these are my favorite blushes. Their blushes pack so much color and feels good on the skin. The cream blushes can be used over foundation to get a good, bold color or used under foundation to give a nice glow.

Betray is a plum color with a bit of pink in it. Beautiful in color it adds nice color to the cheeks and brightens the complexion a bit. There is pink in the blush which makes it lovely on lighter skin tones but it also has some warmth to it which makes it beautiful on medium to darker skin tones also. This gives a nice glow that makes the skin look healthy.

The formula is creamy and super smooth. It’s not oily or greasy and it feels like you’re wearing nothing on the cheeks although the blush is very pigmented. The blush glides over the skin making blending effortless. Like all colors high in pigment it’s best to start off lightly then build the color to how you want it. It can be used lightly to make a soft, natural look or you can apply a lot of color to really draw focus to your beautiful face. I only wish they made more colors available to the US. There are 4 colors sold in Sephora stores but on the Illamasqua site you can find a total of 13 beautiful shades. Of course international shipping rates is what’s going to bite you but they sometimes have free international shipping codes.

After about 5 hours of wear the color was still pretty strong. After about 8 hours of wear I noticed just a bit of color left, enough to give a natural flush of color, almost like a stain.

The cost is $24 for 4g/0.14oz of product, same price as their power blushes. It is considered a higher end brand so it is pricy but worth the splurge if you are in the market for a good, solid cream blush. When compared to Mac’s cream blushes, I think these are creamier and the color range is better especially when you buy from the Illamasqua site. I think Mac lacks a good color range of cream blushes and when they do release pretty cream blushes they are limited. What’s up with that?!

Quick Review:

Product: 5 stars- The texture is creamy and smooth giving you a beautifully blended and natural look and it wears for a long period of time.

Packaging: 3 stars- Again, I love the product but dislike the packaging. It really doesn’t store well and its bulky. I wish it were more compact. I also wish the top was more reinforced with a more solid surface instead of having the clear top. It seems like the top could crack easily if you put it in your purse or if you travel with it often.

Price: 4 stars- Though a bit on the pricy side, I think they’re worth the price if you really want a good quality blush.

Nars Desire Blush

I’ve been on a Nars kick lately. I’ve been going through my makeup and I’m falling in love with certain products again. So here we go again!!

Nars Desire Blush is described as a delicate bright pink. It’s like a cotton candy pink. This blush is good to give a nice pink flush to the cheeks. This blush shows beautifully as a nice ‘baby it’s cold outside’ or a ‘I just had a great workout’ flush. For my medium to darker skin beauties, don’t think this won’t work for you because it’s pink. I was one who used to think, ‘well it’s pink it’s only for lighter skin ladies’. On the contrary, because it’s not a pale pink, this is GORGEOUS on you as well! Used lightly it adds great color to liven up the skin. Another gorgeous blush from Nars, worth the splurge if you’re looking for one!

This blush is matte so there’s not a trace of shimmer in it. Although it’s matte it’s not chalky. It’s so smooth and super pigmented, like most of Nars’ powder blushes. Because it’s high in pigment a light hand is needed. Apply the blush lightly then build it up to your desire(no pun intended). It’s so much easier to add color than to take color away.

I wore this color for about 5 hours before I noticed it starting to fade. There was still color present, like a stain, but not as strong as when I first applied. The stain looks pretty actually.  About 2 hours later, 7 hours in all, there was a little less color, almost non-existent.

Quick Review:

Product: 5 stars; the texture and feel of this blush is beautiful and smooth. The brighness of the blush gives a brightness to the skin and the pigmentation is excellent.  The wear time is also nice, roughly about 7-8 hours before the blush was completely gone. Pretty damn good for a powder blush!

Packaging: 5 stars; cute and compact packaging that can be stored easily. Not bulky. And with the handy mirror It’s good if you need to apply in a pinch.

Price: 3 1/2 stars; the price goes up a bit too often for my taste. I thought the blushes were a good value when they were $26 but now, at $28, not so much. It’s excellent but I don’t think they need to be so expensive. The more hype they get the more they go up. Really nice if you’re looking to spend some money. I’ll wait for the sales!

Illamasqua Powder Blush-Excite

Illamasqua Powder Blush Excite

A reader wanted to know more about Illamasqua blushes so I thought why wait to do it? So this is for you fancieland!

Illamasqua is a brand that is known for thier bold colors, rich pigments and risque nature. With names like Excite, Lover, Expose(sadly discontinued), Laid, Hussy, Disobey one can’t help but be curious! The brand is operated in the UK but luckily they have blessed us with their brand by making it available in the US at most Sephora stores. I have yet to try most of their products but I plan to in due time. I absolutely love their blushes (powder and cream). Hands down, these are my favorite blushes. These blushes are designed to brighten, enhance, illuminate and/or contour the face. The blushes are powder blushes are soft, smooth and delicate like a rose, but they pack a punch. They have intense color and are highly pigmented so a little goes a long way. The colors are bold, bright and flattering. There’s something for everyone here. Illamasqua blushes are all matte, though they have recently launched a few shimmer blushes.

Beautiful!

Excite blush is a beautiful coral with some peach to it. When I first saw it I immediately thought of Mac’s Ripe Peach Blush Ombre from thier spring collection in 2010. I missed out on Ripe Peach (I’m still sore about this) so I thought this would be a good dupe. Though Excite doesn’t have the peachy orangey swirl that Ripe Peach has, it looks pretty similar on the cheeks. This blush wakes your skin up, brightening the skin and adding a natural looking flush to the cheeks. It is GORGEOUS on medium to darker skin tones. On lighter skin tones I’m sure it will look beautiful also! One has to be careful when applying because if you add too much color it can look like a bad, fake tan. It will be too orange. You must use a light hand with this. Get some color on your brush and dust off the excess. It’s super pigmented. Better to build and add color than to take it off.

Swatched heavily(L); Blended(R)

It is a matte shade but it’s not chalky or cakey(It looks chalky here but only because I swatched it heavy to show the color). For a matte shade this color does a nice job giving a nice glow to the skin when used lightly. Excite is a brilliant name for it because…well, when you’re excited you have a glow with a nice flush of color 😮

very subtle color

This particular color wears for a good amount of time. I wore this for roughly 6 hours before I noticed slight fading. By the time I get home, about 4pm, I still see traces of the color so it’s not completely faded or gone. I left the blush on for a total of 8 hours just to test the wear time and there was still a slight presence of color. I actually like how the blush looks when it’s started to fade because it gives a beautiful, much more natural glow that looks likes it’s coming from within. I do however find that the lighter colors fade a bit sooner and won’t leave much of a trace of color behind. I would say the lighter colors wear for about 5 hours before I see some fading and and about 6-7 hours before I don’t see anymore color at all.

Quick summary:

Product: 5 stars- Great variety of shades, excellent pigmentation and texture. Excellent wear time.

Packaging: 3 stars-Despite my love for this blush I dislike the packaging. It really doesn’t store well and its bulky. I wish it were more compact. I also wish the top was more reinforced with a more solid surface instead of having the clear top. It seems like the top could crack easily if you put it in your purse or if you travel with it often.

Price: 4 stars- For $24 you get 405g/0.14oz of product. The amount is slightly less than Nars but it’s also $4 cheaper. And they haven’t increased their price since I’ve been following them. I think it is pricey and a bit of a splurge but it’s totally worth it.