Fairest Of The Mall

Ok guys and dolls so it's week 4 of the soproject and this week it's all about blusher!

This is quiet an exciting one for me, as I've always been a bronzer girl but I've recently started getting into blusher and have gone a bit blusher crazy!

Blusher is normally a pinky shade or toned product that you apply to the apples of your cheek either on top of your blusher or on their own to add a wash of colour to your face as well as making you look "more human" - brilliant for them really early starts where you look a bit like zombie!

Because I wasn't sure what blusher shades would suit me, I started off with purchasing a few of MUA's £1 blushers. I wasn't expecting anything spectacular from these because of the small price tag, but I was so pleased with them that I repurchased the shade "Lolly" this is perfect for my skin tone and is a sort of peach colour which can warm up or cool down any face without it looking orange.

I also like the beauty UK blush and brush in shade no.3 upper east side. This is a shimmery blusher, in a rose gold colour. This is absolutely beautiful teamed with a dark smokey navy eye and nude lip. I am loving rose gold at the moment, especially in makeup because it's so A/W. This shade is also meant to be a dupe for the new benefit rocketer blusher. You can pick this up from SuperDrug for around £4.

I then thought I would get slightly more adventurous and try a cream blusher. These are now my favourite type of blusher because they go on so smoothly with a stippling brush or with your fingers. these also make your face look really hydrated because of the cream texture and feel really refreshing, because sometimes powder blushers can make your skin feel really dry! Cream blushers are also a lot more pigmented, so you will need a light hand when applying this and to build it up lightly. My favourite cream blusher is MUA's cream blusher in shade blossom This retails for £2 from any SuperDrug store or their website. I have also heard good things about the bourjois cream blushers but am yet to explore these!

Next up is a loose powder blusher, these are great if you want a very light coverage of blusher. I find this product is great to apply when you only want a really light flush of colour and if you don't want to wear heavy makeup. I've really become a fan of mineral makeup recently because they are natural and a lot better for your skin and the environment (check out my beauty pageant speech!) my favourite is the bare essentials loose powder blusher in shade pink petal. I think this colour looks beautiful with a brown smokey eye and a nude lipstick.

Last but not least, is a cream to powder finish blusher. This blusher has all the benefits of both a powder blusher and a cream blusher. It applies easily because it's a cream texture so just applies like your foundation but drys to look like you have applied a powder blusher (amazing!) my favourite is the ELF cream blusher in shade rose.

Swatches:

(L-R ELF Cream blush in rose, MUA powder blusher in Lolly, MUA cream blush in blossom, bare minerals loose powder blush in pink petal, beauty UK blush n brush in no.3 upper east side)

Hope you enjoyed this post hunnis, I am a blusher newbie so please be gentle! :-)

Xxx

Hi Hunni’s,

I am completely gutted that I missed last week’s SO Project which was on foundation. I was really looking forward to doing this, but I was on a training event at work all day (and night!) on the Tuesday so I missed it and forgot to do a post schedule (doh!). I did write a post yesterday though on how to contour your face lightly and discreetly using 3 shades of foundation.

So this week, it’s all about Bronzer (yay) Bronzer is something I use every day, I prefer using bronzer instead of blusher as I love the tanned ‘glow’ look, plus I haven’t managed to master the ‘anti-clown’ look with blusher.. (quickly goes on you-tube for blusher tutorials...)

Bronzer is a powder or liquid used to add some colour to your face – particularly popular in the summer for that ‘golden goddess’ look especially if you get one that has shimmer within it (beautiful!), people also use matte bronzer’s to contour their face. You can use bronzer all over your body and on your face.

How to use bronzer

I apply my bronzer to my cheek line to create a slight contour and then I dust the bronzer all over my face very lightly to give me some more colour. I prefer to use matte bronzers, as swiping a shimmer bronzer all over your face wouldn’t be a good look.. unless you were trying to resemble a disco ball! However, in the summer or for nights out, I do like adding a shimmer bronzer to my collar bone and my chest to just make me look (and feel) more golden goddess-y!

My favourite bronzers

My absolute favorite bronzer is the Rimmel Natural Bronzer in shade Sunlight I love this bronzer and have used this for years as my everyday bronzer. I think this is great for first timers, as you cant really go wrong with it, unless you have a REALLY heavy hand. This bronzer works perfectly for me as its Matte, has no shimmer in it what-so- ever and doesnt have an orange tint to it. This bronzer also applys really easy and blends well because the powder is so compact. You can pick this up from Boots or Superdrug .

My next favorite is a body illuminating bronzer from St Tropez its a liquid form so blends perfectly into your skin and smells.. gorgeous! I like to apply this on my collar bone and on my chest to add a subtile shimmer and bronze, in the summer or on nights out when I want to feel extra glam and S-E-X-Y! You can pick this up from St Tropez's website. The above picture makes it look more of a highlighter, but it has got a bronzing underlay to it.

Last but not least... The Bourjois Bronzing Primer. A-M-A-Z-I-N-G. I love this, its so easy to blend and smells beautiful, like chocolate (yummy!) I am going to Tenerife in 2 weeks and I will definatly be taking this with me because its very light and doesnt feel cakey or heavy on your face at all. I apply this after my foundation, with my stippling brush from Real Techniques by dabbing it lightly into the pot, and then dabbing it onto my cheeks and cheek hollows to add some colour to my face – then blend, blend blend! You litrally only need to dab your brush lightly into the pot, because too much of this, will make you look silly! Its VERY pigmentated so you really need to use a light hand. Like I have said before, I like this product because its a matte bronzer and has no shimmer within it. The only thing I don’t like is the size of the pot, I find this goes down quiet quickly but hey-ho! You can purchase this from Boots or Superdrug.