Blushers are scary when you're pale and faced with loads of different formats. Blushers that are creams. Blushers that are powders. Blushers that look like lip glosses and are called things like 'cheek ink'. Aside from how the eff you're supposed to put it on, it's then all too easy to end up looking like you're in a bad restoration play.
I took the new blushers on the market (The Blusher Market) and tried them on my incredibly pale face to see which ones are excellent, which ones are blah and which ones made me say 'Well that's a delight'. Apologies for the stone cold whopper on my cheek, it's been there for weeks and I don't know how to get rid of it. Any leads, tweet me.
Clinique Cheek Pop Blush
Price: £17
This is a lovely little powder blusher that, really excitingly, doesn't go on thick like you're in popular 17th century Ben Jonson play Volpone (l did English Literature OK and I need to make some use of it) so it's very difficult to balls this up. Like, so difficult. I put loads on my brush and it didn't go patchy on my dry central-heating-infused cheeks, plus the colour was really subtle.
Powder blushers aren't really my bag, but this actually tempted me to the Powdered Side, so it has to be good.
Maybelline Baby Lips Balm and Blush
Price: £4.99
My favourite. It smells like you're playing Dreamphone (very fruity, very 90s, very gel pen) and is perfect for people with dry or combination skin because it's a sort of glossy balmy cream which doesn't leave you feeling like a nan. That's the problem with powders, it just reminds me of nans applying it after a cold cream cleanse using those little hand mirrors with flowers on. Well that was a tangent I'm sure we all enjoyed, but back to the point: this is my favourite blusher. And not just because I fucking love Dreamphone (I know where he hangs around! It's not at the gym!), because the formula is so easy to use and glowy.
YSL Fusion Ink Blush
Price: £35
This is the most beautiful to look at, and the most intriguing, but the ink formula scared me. Mainly because (and you can't really see this in the vine) if you put it on in a patchy way, or don't blend it enough, then you're screwed. I view it in the same way I view lip stain: good for others, not for me. But in saying that, it was a lovely colour and felt nice. If I wasn't such a cack-handed moron maybe it would have worked out better.
Basically, before spending a whopping amount on this blusher you need to ask yourself the question: am I shit at putting stuff on my face or not? If not, then do it. If so, maybe go for one of the others.
Max Factor Creme Puff Blush in Nude Mauve
Price: £8.99
I love this! A powder foundation that's less pink-y and more natural looking, the sparkly sheen on it gave the end result a bit more dimension than your usual flat powder. And yes, that is the most professional sounding sentence I've ever written. This is good for oily skin, and also for those who aren't really into pigmented blushers. It's got pigment, sure, but a really natural one - good for contouring too.
In other words: I stole this and put it in my makeup bag along with the Maybelline one.
TooFaced Love Flush Long-Lasting Blush
Price: £20
This is everything you'd imagine from a powder blusher by an in-yer-face brand like TooFaced. Very pink, goes on very heavy, and is a bit much for me. I looked like I was in a production of Thomas Webster's revenge tragedy The White Devil (another excellent literary reference from me there)! But seriously, this is good if you're into very bright pink on your cheeks, but I'm not a huge fan so didn't really enjoy the experience. TooFaced have a topping mascara, and are also one of the most fun brands out there but probs save this for playing dress up. If that's something you like to do of an evening. And why the hell not, eh?
Summary: I stole the Maybelline one immediately so you should go and try it out, also the Max Factor one. Depends what your skin type is like. While Clinique was lovely, it didn't quite work as well as Max Factor in terms of powder formula.
Like this? Then you might also be interested in:
Follow Stevei on Twitter @5tevieM
This article originally appeared on The Debrief.