Catrice Lumination LE Powder Blush C01 Flushed-Fiction

Normally I don't pay much attention to limited editions, I'm just put off by the whole concept, but when I saw this blush, it landed in my shopping basket in a blink of an eye. It's been a bumpy road with this blush and I only had it for a week or so. The reason why I'm posting a review so quickly (well at least for what I'm used to) is that's it's a limited edition item. It was love at first sight, then a disappointment and then I started liking it again - I told you it was bumpy.

So I have this one colour of blushes that I love and buy dupes of them with that defiant "They're not the same, they're similar" stance that secretly even I don't believe. Oh, the lies we tell ourselves to make us feel better *she glances at her ever growing mint green nail polish collection*. Some of you might have noticed it yourself if you saw this blush in person that it is similar to I'm Nuts About You from the Illuminating Blush range and it's also in the same colour family as my beloved Rose Royce from the Defining Blush range. Flushed-Fixion is a warm natural shade or kind of a muted pink and is only a hint cooler than Nuts About You, while it's less intense as well as less warm than Rose Royce. This translates into a lovely fresh, but subtle flush on the cheeks. Unlike the other two before mentioned blushes, this one has, as the name of the collection implies, a glowy/luminous finish on the cheeks Just think of it as Catrice's version of Max Factor's Creme Puffs. Basically this shade is what I wanted and expected MF's Lavish Mauve to be. Of course, Catrice likes to think that Nuts About You is illuminating, well not on my cheeks it isn't. But no matter, they got there eventually, even if it is a limited edition. 

So now to why things have been so bumpy. I obviously loved the colour straight away and shoved it into my shopping basket in 0.0002 seconds after seeing it, so I didn't check the pigmentation well. At home I discovered that the pigmentation is very poor and I needed several layers for the colour to show up. Naturally I was quite disappointed and even that illuminating effect was weaker than I expected. Thankfully, now that broke through the top layer, the pigmentation is much better. The interesting pattern is subsequently quickly disappearing, but I'm much happier with the blush than I was a week ago. The illuminating effect is nice as well, though you won't see it on my pictures because my poor Galaxy couldn't pick it up. It's more of a subtle to medium strength sheen, so some might be disappointed if they like super glowy cheeks, but for me it enough. As far as staying power goes, I don't think it's as good as Defining Blushes, but it's still nice, especially for drugstore blushes. 

In the end it did end up to be all I wanted Lavish Mauve to be, so just a simple natural-pinky blush with an illuminating effect. I'm glad this landed in my shopping basket. I got mine in Müller for 4.29 € and I've seen this collection in many places. There is also a very interesting highlighter in this collection that I'm still pondering whether to get or not, while Taya reviewed a bright pink lipstick from called Pink MATTrix.

Did you get or do you plan to get anything from this collection?

Have a great day!

Max Factor Creme Puff Blush 20 Lavish Mauve and 05 Lovely Pink

The moment these hit the market, they were dubbed as the Hourglass Ambient blushes dupes. The latter are highly praised by the beauty community, so hearing that a cheaper similar product exist definitely piqued my interest, though I was never sold on the whole dupe thing (if I applied the term dupe so openly as some do, then any baked blush would be a dupe for Hourglass'). I got two shades - I first bought Lavish Mauve that was on my wishlist for a while and then I was surprised by Max Factor when they sent me another shade called Lovely Pink. I must say I love the latter one a lot more. Only four shades are available in Slovenia, while there are plenty more in this range. The other two shades are Seductive Pink, which is similar to Lovely Pink, but darker and more pigmented (swatch by Nadja), while Alluring Rose is a bronze shade that is most shimmery and pigmented out of the four, and it just didn't look like it would work on me (review and swatches by Sara here)

The texture of these is kind of creamy when you swatch them with fingers, but it's still a powder. I don't find these terribly pigmented, though I have the lightest two shades, but this isn't a bad thing. The catch is that because these are sheer, you can apply a lot more and therefore you get more of that glowy effect, but it's not like a bag of glitter was dropped on you because the shimmer in it is fine. 

I like the staying power of these. A lot of blushes don't last terribly long on me, but these definitely manage to cling on for at least seven hours.

LAVISH MAUVE

Lavish Mauve caught my eye, when I first saw swatches of these and I expected a natural shade, something along the lines of Catrice's Rose Royce or maybe I'm Nut's About You, but I realized at home it is very different. It's a light cool toned pink on my cheeks, which is completely unexpected from what it looks in the packaging. Swatched on the back of my hand, it's a light pink-violet-mauve shade with subtle violet shimmer that gives it that cool toned reflection on my cheeks. Lavish Mauve is the least shimmery out of the four available here and there is a bit of that sheen on the cheeks, but it's definitely nothing special when it comes to the famous "glow" . This one looks more "natural" on the skin, while Lovely Pink is a shade that "pops" more.

LOVELY PINK

Lovely Pink is a light pink that is a lot more shimmery than Lavish Mauve. It's also a warm shade, so I prefer it on my cheeks. Actually Lovely Pink and Lavish Mauve aren't that different: they are both light pinks, just one is more cool toned and less shimmery, while Lovely Pink is warmer, brighter and more shimmery. In terms of glow, it's faring better than Lavish Mauve, but it's not exactly like a highlighter plus blush. Though I think there must be something wrong with my skin because I just cannot get the famous glow on me. I saw how this exact shade looks on Lippie Hippie and I am so jealous because it does not look as awesome on me by at all. So I started pairing it with a creamy highlighter and it's better.

These cost 12.79 € in Müller and are probably similarly priced elsewhere. I find the price very high for a drugstore blush, especially since Catrice's are so good for a third of the price. As far as the famous glow is concerned, Lavish Mauve is a bit of a disappointment to me, even though the shade itself is pretty, but I can get a similar colour for less money. Lovely Pink is already better and I've been wearing it loads this and lasts month, however, I don't get the same glow on my cheeks than apparently everyone else. I can see the shimmer in it when I swatch it, but there is much less of it visible on my cheeks. Still I love pairing it with a creamy highlighter and then it works well. If you're planning on getting these, I'd rather go with Lovely Pink than Lavish Mauve.

Have a great day!

*Shade Lovely Pink was sent to me, while I bought Lavish Mauve.

Kiko Velvet Touch Blush 07 Natural Rose

Though I'm a fan of cream blushes, I've only owned one in a stick form before this one, which I rarely used. This Kiko one caught my attention because of the shade as I wanted something more natural looking and not bright peachy or pink like a lot of cream blushes are. I'm a huge fan of shades like Catrice's Rose Royce and I'm Nuts About you, so a natural dusty rose colour and Natural Rose reminded me most of both these blushes, though there weren't many swatches of it online.

Contrary to what I expected, Natural Rose is in fact quite pink on me. It's a natural pink shade on my cheeks and I like it despite not being what I wanted. It's a nicely pigmented colour and one swipe leaves me with enough colour for a nice flush, while if I apply it with a brush, it ends up looking brighter and pinker. The finish is natural, so not dewy nor matte.

I also tried this on the lips and I think it's one of the most beautiful nude shades for my complexion. It's a nude shade, but not corpsy nude and it has a touch of warmth to it. It feels a bit dry on the lips, but it's not too uncomfortable and you can always wear a lip balm under it. I forgot to do a full face picture with this on the lips. 

The texture is buttery and transfers well on the cheeks in an even swipe, however, I find it's not as easy to blend it evenly on the cheeks with fingers. It's nothing major, but since you're swiping it directly on the skin and blending later, it moves the foundation around, so it can give a bit of a patchy effect, especially when it's fading. I find that it works a lot better if I use a stippling brush to blend. 

Staying power is quite a strange thing at this blush. If I use fingers it fades a bit patchy and fast, while if I use a brush it stays put a lot better and fades evenly. 

Packaging look nice and expensive, but the mechanism broke fast and the blush won't go back in unless I push it.

This is one of those blushes that is neither spectacular nor horrible and I do like, just not love it. I actually prefer this as a lip colour despite the dryness, but as far as cream blushes go these don't beat my favourite ones from Bourjois. I got this type of blush so I would have an easy-and-quick to apply product, but since I have to use a brush for a nicer finish, it turned to be not so quick. If you really like any shade of these, they are a nice buy. These cost 7.90€. 

Have a great day!