Top 5 Blushes

So you may be a little confused about the title of this post, "Top 5 Blushes" when the photo clearly has six blushes in it, but let me explain - I'm an idiot and I couldn't choose! But there are only five formulas here so that's what I'm going with! I thought I'd start a "top 5" series on my blog, (sorry for cheating on the very first one) because I though it would be fun to work my way through my makeup collection and share my favourite products in each category with you guys.

You might notice that I've got a bit of a thing for high end blushes - I tend to think of certain beauty products as being functional or fun. For example, I like my liquid liner to be functional and the same goes for face powder. I want it light, non-cakey and to help control oil and since I know I'm going to use up these products they also tend to be drugstore/more affordable options. Blush on the other hand, is fun. I'm pretty sure if you owned one blush and used it every single day you still wouldn't be able to finish it up in a year, and considering you use so little of it and I never touch it up during the day I feel like it's an area of beauty where the experience of using it is really important.

Whether or not it's a conscious thing, a huge part of the appeal of high end anything (in my opinion) is the experience of using the product or wearing the clothes, etc. It's the way it makes you feel, which is why a lot of people save their high end products or their best clothes for special occasions. But when it's blush, something you're basically never going to finish up anyway, why not treat yourself and use the best stuff every day? Even if you just had three and rotated them they would last you absolutely forever so I really think blush is worth investing in because you're going to get to keep enjoying the experience for far longer than you would with a high end liquid liner or mascara. And also I just love blush.

So of all the ones I've tried, my favourite formulas and the ones that make me feel the most special are these ones. As for the shades, if you couldn't tell I tend to be most excited by bubblegum pinks and warm corals and oranges. I have quite a few NARS blushes but I think the colour that excites me the most (and the first one I bought after the standard Orgasm) is Gaiety. A super bright, blue-based pink that really brightens up the face and looks great on pale skin (though I'm sure it would look great on deeper skin tones too.) Similar but slightly lighter is the Dior Rosy Glow Blush which is meant to be a self-adjusting blush that adapts to your skin tone. Pretty sure it's just going to look like a matte, candy pink on everyone but as I only have one face I can't say for sure. Either way, it's beautiful and these two look really youthful and fresh when applied with a light hand.

Now, who can really go past the Hourglass Ambient Lighting Blushes? This one in Dim Infusion is a gorgeous soft peach that looks really natural on the cheeks and the satin finish leaves your skin with a soft glow. It's decidedly more subdued than the previous two options so this may be more for you if you're not comfortable with wearing super bright blush. As for Tarte's Tipsy, this is the blogger/YouTube favourite contender for the perfect pinky-coral shade. You can see it's got a much warmer tone to it than the NARS or Dior, with an almost reddish base it looks like you have really beautiful, naturally flushed cheeks.

Now for the two I couldn't pick between - Stila's Convertible Colours in Gladiola and Petunia. I realise in the photo that Petunia looks identical to Tarte's Tipsy but in real life it doesn't have the redness to it and it's just the prettiest mid-toned pink you could ever hope to find. As for the bright orange Gladiola, I remember when I was first getting properly into makeup and EssieButton was raving about it and that was the start of my love for orange lips and cheeks. It might sound and look a little scary to some people but you just have to trust me when I say it's seriously beautiful. The formula of these cream blushes is my favourite I've tried so far and the packaging that matches the shade is adorable too.