elf HD Blush

ELF HD Blush
(L-R) Encore, Showstopper, Diva

EyesLipsFace (elf)'s HD  Blush had been on my watch list for a while. Touted as being a credible, affordable dupe for MakeUpForever's HD Blushes, I - like many other UK make-up lovers- waited impatiently for them to reach our shores after watching / reading about them on the internet.

These blushes are sold in the UK for £3.75, earlier this year I managed to get my paws on three of the five HD Blushes: Encore / Showstopper/ Diva, taking advantage of elf's 50% discount on all Studio products. I found these blushes to be creamy in texture and was initially scared of just how pigmented they are. To say a small amount goes a loooooooooong way is an understatement and necessary to avoid wastage. As you can see from my swatches, I placed a relatively small amount on my arm and had an obscene amount left over. A stippling or elf's power brush is a must for application to avoid staining your fingers. You need to ensure that you blend, blend, blend in order to avoid coco the clown cheeks. It would be a good idea to practice before using the blush directly on your face. 

Pros

• Highly pigmented and colour choice of the above blushes = excellent for WOC. 
• Extremely affordable at £3.75 for 10ml and value for money due to amount required.
• Long lasting
• Multi use- I've seen YouTuber's using the excess on lips as stain or base for lipstick. 

Negative

• Pump dispenser allows for wastage, heavy fingers beware.
• Availability- website regularly shows popular colours as being out of stock. 

Overall I am a fan. I am confident that I will be ordering Superstar once it shows as being back in stock and am really proud of elf for bring us a product that could have remained in the land of high end brands to the masses, at an affordable price point without compromising on quality.

I wish more brands would be as honest elf in their pricing to consumers. 

Have you tried HD Blushes  what are your thoughts? 

Blush Crush - IMAN COSMETICS’ Luxury Blushing Powder: Sable

IMAN COSMETICS’ Luxury Blushing Powder in Sable has been an obsession of mine since checking out a YouTube video on blue eye shadow. Seeing the makeup artist use it as a contour on the eye to help blend out the shadow had me drooling; the richness of the models skin tone and the gorgeousness of the blue against the reddish - brown had me intrigued. Thankfully the beauty gods were smiling on me, and a quick hunt around my local Black hair &beauty suppliers had this blush securely in my possession- result. 

I’m not a massive fan of sparkly blush and so the matt finish really appealed. Playing around with the blush I have come to love it as a contour / non sparkly bronzer / eye colour. This blush has lasted on my skin during the warm summer months and I couldn’t resist taking a swatch of it on my cheeks in the natural light. 

I love the fact that that I have gotten so much use out of this one item and it has re-ignited my 'soft-daytime' look. As a lady of colour, I love the fact that this line has produced such as cracking product!

Have you got a favourite multitasking item?

Make Up Academy: Mosaic Blush

 

Superdrug has had a few good offers on its MUA (Make Up Academy) line and I picked up these two mosaic blushes as part of the two for £4 offer. I have already posted my love of their blush in No. 3 and was keen to try out their mosaic line. 

English Rose

I had English Rose in store and had liked the depth that the two lavender sections added to its pink colour. This was by far my favourite of the two. 

Sun kissed Glow

This reminded me of MAC’s mineralised skin finish products and despite my heavy handed swatch, produced a subtle golden sheen. I have been using it as a highlight on the inner corners of my eyes and under my brows. 

Results

Despite the initial chalkiness, these mosaics offer a decent colour payoff for a superb price point. I was concerned about the ability of the colour to translate from the pan onto my skin and was pleasantly surprised at the results. 

On the whole I remain a fan of the MUA line and will definitely be purchasing more products in the future.

Sleek MakeUp: Blush

I typically don’t wear that much make during warmer months and find myself reaching for a bit of powder blush when I want to add a bit of colour to my face. Sleek's blushes, famed for their super pigmentation, are always in my makeup bag and so I thought I’d share a few of my favourites singles with you. 

 

Whilst I don’t tend to worry about touching up - seriously, the pigmentation is that good, the sleek (pun intended) black packaging makes each blush suitable for even the smallest of clutches / purses. 

Initially, I had a love-hate relationship with Pan-Tao as it doesn’t show up on my skin when bare, but I have learnt that it mixes well with blushes and to use a heavier hand.

 

On the whole I recommend these blushes to all women, irrespective of your colour,  as they are excellent value considering the quality!

Have you purchased any of Sleek’s blushes?

Blush Baby - NYX Blushes

Before La Femme I was a big fan of NYX's blushes. NYX was the first US brand that I formed an obsession over; I used to watch countless YouTube videos and stalk out reviews before finally placing an order via ebay.

When my order arrived, some six day later, I could hardly contain myself; skipping all the way to the Sorting Office with my red card out, ready to claim my prize. 

Again I used ColouredBeautiful/ AfricanExport for help in selecting colours and their recommendations were spot on! Thank you ladies xxx
 The Colours:

Coca: Red brown colour is my go-to blush.

Desert Rose: Lovely deep pink blush, looks super on deeper woc.

Cinnamon: Nice yellow / orange colour, I have to confess that I don't reach for this blush as much as I do another similar colour I have in a NYX kit I randomly stumbled across in my Local TK Maxx. That said, it is a good colour for woc to have and but I tend to have to build it up. Glad I purchased it though.

NYX Blushes

Copper: When I first tried this blush I was like, it is a golden shimmery mess but now I find myself making peace with it and using the golden colour to highlight the tops of my cheeks and eyebrows.

Pinched:  Similar thoughts to Copper, shimmery mess, but has come in useful as an alternative peach / pink colour highlight.


These blushes last for a good eight hours on my cheeks and the colour pay-off is very good. I am glad I made the purchase and am hoping to try the cream blushes soon.

If you have any suggestions for other colours in the powder or cream blush, drop me a line below.

BMLxx

La Femme Blush

There is a LOT of hype surrounding these blushes on the Internet and I first stumbled across them via Youtube  - thanks Colouredbeautiful / DestineyGodly / AfricanExport.

La Femme is a professional makeup brand popular in the US for the quality and price of it's products, in particular, blushes. With a MAC (powder) blush costing anything from £17.50 ($28.10 USD), having a product that is on sale for  $2.50 (£1.55) online (price varying if in an individual pan or refill) certainly pique my interest.

 

La Femme is not a brand readily available in the UK and having decided that I wanted to try these blushes I was disappointed that there was an absence of swatches online, particularly on Black  (women of colour / African - Caribbean) skin. Eventually I deiced to act on the suggestions that the aforementioned makeup gurus on YT and placed on order for six via MakeupMania. I opted for the individual pans as I dislike bulky and cumbersome makeup palettes (I am not a professional and so do not want to carry around twelve blushes when on holiday).

 I managed to get my hands on the majority of the colours I wanted with the exception of Russett and Orange. 

La Femme Blushes Swatches (natural light)

Colours:
Sienna:  This redidy brown blus is a must fave for women of colour. If I can't decided what blush to wear, then I know I will look good with this on. Recently I have opted to wear this on with NYX's Cocca for added colour depth and it is amazing.
Magenta: Lovely vibrant blue pink (similar to Sleek's Santorini for those of us in the UK)
Cinnabar: Lovely golden colour, I tend to wear this in the summer months.
Golden Sunset: Rich coral red colour, again an excellent summer colour on woc.
Bordeaux: Now this purple/ plum colour looks very blah in the pot and in swatches online but Ebony, of ColouredBeauitful, waxed lyrical to the point that I took a risk and I am glad I did as it is gorrrrrroeous on! You can see from the swatch that there is a lot of shimmer / glitter but on my cheeks this absorbs into my skin and takes my look up by several notches
Framoseia: Almost neon in it's brightness pink with shots of glitter, definite staple for my deeper skinned ladies.

La Femme Swatches (Flash)

Products:
The products lived up to their hype, extremely pigmented, long lasting and excellent finishes. You only require a small amount- seriously; what ever you normally use halve it, then halve it again as it you will not need all of that product and then tap off the excess. The blushes have a tendency to appear powdery and may bleed into other colours if in a pan without a suitable cover. However, the pigmentation means that you can use them on the lips and eyes to. 


The only negative I have about the product is that there was a absence of  UK companies that sold the brand but this has changed since I last purchased my blushes 18 months ago.


I will definitely be repurchasing La Femme Blushes and would like some suggestions on which colours I should get.

What do you think of these blushes?