Bargain: MUA Blusher - 'Shade 6'!

We all love a good bargain, don't we?! Well i have one for you today. MUA blushers cost only £1 (you can get them online or from Superdrug). MUA are known for their cheap yet good quality products and this is no exception.

The blushers come packaged in a long, thin see-through case made of plastic so you can easily see the colour through. They are so small and sleek which makes them good for travelling with. For the price the packaging is really nice and good quality. No complaints so far..

As for the colour, this is what attracted my eye straight away. In pan in looks like a plum infused with lots of gold shimmer. But when transferred to the face it's much more purple (the pink tones aren't really evident) although it still manages to look pretty natural. It blends into the skin easily and adjusts to your skintone to give you a lovely deep, glow. The shimmer appears on the lighter parts of your cheek (cheekbones) so it's like a highlighter and blusher in one - pretty and timesaving!!

When looking at this blusher in store it reminded me of a certain Nars blusher that i have my eye on... 'Sin'. So obviously i had to buy it. 'Sin' is also a purple/plum shade with lots of gold shimmer. I can't say they are exact dupes because i don't own them both but looking at swatches online they are really similar. MUA do some great high-end dupes and i'm so glad i got my hands on another. It has definitely  saved me £20. Who needs 'Sin' now?..

I've heard lots of good things about MUA's blushers and this one definitely lived up to my expectations. It's highly pigmented so i do have to be careful not to add too much to my brush as it can be easily built up but once it's on, it's on. I find sometimes the purple in the blusher doesn't come out as bright as i'd like and may be slightly overpowered by the shimmer so i add a little spray of MAC Fix+ to my brush and this really helps to bring out the colour even more.

As you can tell, i highly praise this blusher and don't really have any faults with it. My only criticism would be the fact it does create a lot of fallout. The powder is so smooth and soft that a lot of excess powder can occur - i just pat this up with my brush and use that on my cheeks. So it isn't too much of a problem and can definitely be excused considering the £1 price tag.

Have you tried this blush or any of MUA's? What do you think of them?

Natural Collection Blusher - 'Peach Melba'

I have a pretty little blusher to share with you all today - Natural Collection blusher in 'Peach Melba'. Natural Collection is available from Boots and the blushers cost a mere £1.99 (bargain!). 

Natural Collection isn't necessarily a brand i tend to go-to, due to bad experiences when i was young girl, but i'd heard so many good things about this blusher that obviously i had to give it a go. 

The first thing i noticed about this product to be honest was the flimsy, plastic packaging. It's not very sturdy but i guess you're only paying £2 so you can't complain too much. On the shelves most of the blusher pans had come loose from the pot so i had to search for one that was all sealed! But, if you can cope with the not-so-great packaging then i think you're on to a winner.

The powder is milky, soft to the touch. Literally so smooth and soft! Due to the softness it does produce a bit of fallout in the pan but if you tap that up on your brush then there is no problem what so ever.

As you can see, it's a dusky, mauve pink shade with a peach undertone (hence the name). It's so versatile - it literally does look different on everyone! On me, it looks very natural you really cannot tell i am wearing blusher it just adds a healthy flush of colour which i personally love. It's good for those you days where you have dramatic eyes or lips so don't want too much on the cheeks. I find myself reaching for this on nights out. The pigmentation isn't the best but nor is it bad. It just depends how bright you want it too look. I think on dark skintones it may look a bit ashy as it would look a little pale, it's more suited to light/medium skintones.

However, you can't really go wrong for £1.99 it's a great addition to my collection as it's probably the most natural coloured blusher i own! It's also nice and compact to shove in your makeup bag to take out and about with you. After all, if it breaks or gets lost you've only lost £1.99 and not the prices of MAC or NARS.

Have you tried this shade or any others from Natural Collection? What do you think?

Seduce - Illamasqua Cream Blusher!

Illamasqua Cream Blusher - Seduce - £16.50 - available online (currently out of stock)/in store/counter

I absolutely love the names of Illamasqua's blushers - this one is called 'Seduce' and it really did reel me in. This was the first colour that caught my eye and upon swatching it i fell in love. 

I stupidly left the shop as i wasn't sure i wanted to spend £16.50 on a cream blusher and when i finally decided i wanted it a few hours later the shop was shut :'(

However, my lovely boyfriend surprised me with this a week later because he knew how bad i wanted it (THANKYOU MARK!!)

As you can see this is a bright, fuchsia pink - there is no other way to describe it! It has a 'dusky' tone to it as apposed to a 'neon' which i think means it is more wearable and natural looking! It may look bright in the pan but when applied to cheek it looks so natural and adds a healthy, dewy flush. What i love most is it can be worn, under foundation for a subtle glow or on top of foundation for a more vibrant effect. It can also be built up to the desired intensity, so it can be worn by all skin tones, light to dark.

I apply this with a stippling brush as i find this the best method, but you can apply it with your fingers or any other brush that you find works for yourself! It lasts all day - 8hours-ish on my oily skin - so i don't think anyone will have a problem with how long this lasts. But setting it with a powder blusher in a similar colour with obviously make this last even longer (perfect for a night out). Illamasqua's cream blushers have a dewy finish which i personally prefer, if i wanted a matte finish i'd rather just get a powder blusher to be honest. 

You can clearly see how natural it looks on the skin above, it adds the nicest hint of colour! I have fell out of love with pink blushers recently, opting for a peach/coral cheek, but i make an exception for this shade. The dusky finish is 100x more flattering than the more bright, neon options. 

Does this make me want to purchase more Illamasqua cream blushers? YES YES YES. 

I like the look of 'Crush' a deep plum shade!

Unfortunately Seduce is out of stock on Illamasqua's website for the time being :( 

Neon Rose - Topshop Cream Blush

There has been a lot of buzz about Topshop's cream blush's from many bloggers - so i picked one up quite a while ago now and have tested it out more than enough, here's my opinion of it...

Packaging: I forgot the take a picture of the compact shut! But the packaging is a white, rubber material with black polka dots (very cute) but it does tend to get dirty very easily - so if you're a clean freak, beware! The compact is small, travel friendly and as you can see has a decent size mirror prefect for taking out. 

Consistency: This blusher is cream in the pan but dries as a powder on the cheeks! I didn't realise this til' reading blog reviews and so when i bought this i was expecting it to give me a nice glow and it didn't - it finishes pretty matte! Although this is definitely more natural looking than a powder blush.

At first, i'll be honest, i hated this (strong but true) and couldn't find a way to make it look flattering! With my fingers it was just too neon. The perfect way is too apply this with a stippling brush (for me anyway) - it blends easily and smoothly onto the skin - so play around with it. Oh, and i find this applies best over foundation and/or powder - not underneath it just seems to fade and disappear.

Colour: 'Neon Rose' by name, neon by nature! It's a bright, pink coral shade which adds a perfect pop of colour. If your a pink/coral blusher fan i highly recommend this but unfortunately it's not entirely flattering on my skin tone. By all means it is not unbearable, it just requires bronzer on my cheekbones to warm it up. So if your dark-skinned this is a probably a no go, but i can imagine this being very flattering on lighter skin tones! It can be worn as a light flush or built up to make a statement!

left cheek - blended                                                  right cheek - applied more heavily 

 Length of wear: This lasts a pretty long time on my oily skin - around 6/7 hours which i think is great! It can easily be topped up through the day which means it will obviously look brighter for longer! 

This blusher is available from Topshop in store (doesn't seem to be online) - it's £8 (not too bad price wise) - the shade i have is 'neon rose'.

Overall, would i recommend this? Yes for lighter skintones. Would i buy this again? Maybe, i do prefer creamier, dewy cream blushers but i may try this in a different shade - this shade isn't the most flattering for me!