My Blush Collection

I received a request last week to share my blush collection, and I thought that was a great idea. One of the main notions I try to stress is that blushes largely look the same when they are applied onto the skin. Therefore, owning a ton of blush really doesn't make a lot of sense. And even in my collection, which is not small by any stretch, there is some slight overlap. However, I feel strongly that everything in my collection is distinct enough to stay. And I have no intentions of adding more to this collection. 

By Terry Sun Designer Palette Light and Tan Vibes

I'll start with this palette of sorts since I usually don't count this as one of my blushes. I absolutely love this product. This is my favorite bronzer, just slightly edging out my Hourglass bronzer. And the blush is also incredibly beautiful. I swirl all three colors together in the blush (rather than using the top as a bronzer and the bottom as a highlight) and it creates a gorgeous peach-pink on my skin. It looks on me the way I think NARS Orgasm looks on others. 

Tarte Exposed

I've written about this blush before. This is a favorite for many people, and every time I tried it on at Sephora, it looked like nothing on my skin. And I really didn't understand how it was the perfect blush for so many people. I later realized that the harsh lighting in Sephora washed me out and that all the testers I had seen had hard pan on them. If you're not familiar, "hard pan" is when the top of a product gets a hard film on it that renders the product essentially unusable until that part of the product is removed. When I finally got my hands on a brand new blush and applied it onto my skin, I realized that it was the perfect "go with everything" blush for my skin tone. I typically wear this blush when I either don't know what to wear or just can't be bothered to think about it. 

NARS Goulue

This is a mini blush that's about the size of a NARS eyeshadow. I received this as a "perk" (eyeroll) from Sephora for being a VIB Rouge member. I wasn't planning on hanging onto this blush, but I actually really like it. It's, again, slightly pink-peach on my skin, but has more depth. I enjoy this, but I don't know if I would have paid $30 to buy a full size. 

City Color Cosmetics Be Matte Blush Blackberry

This blush surprised me quite a bit. It is $6 and is pretty great. It's a cool-toned mauve, and it actually looks great on my skin. It reminds me in color a lot of one of my favorite blushes—Hourglass Mood Exposure—but is completely matte. This blush doesn't last as long on me as some of my other blushes, but the wear time isn't bad either. I don't think this is a good blush "for the price." I think this is a good blush, full stop. 

theBalm Balm Desert

I believe I've written about this blush before as well. I was really in want of a natural blush, and it seemed as though the search would never end. Since I have warm-toned skin, I thought Becca Wild Honey would be the perfect blush for me, especially since it was receiving a ton of hype. It didn't look terrible on me, but it was not at all what I was wanting. It was very warm on my skin, and I was wanting a rose-brown blush that was primarily brown but had notes of rose. I also tried Benefit Dallas and Too Faced Pink Leopard before trying Balm Desert. This product is mainly discussed as a bronzer, but I've never tried it as one. It has always been a blush in my collection, and it is absolutely perfect and exactly what I wanted. Similar to Tarte Exposed, I wear this blush when I don't know what to wear or don't want to think about it. 

theBalm Cabana Boy

I know this may look similar to NARS Goulue, but it is actually much cooler and raspberry-toned. I really wanted a blush like NARS Sin that was a mix between red and purple, leaning more toward purple. However, most purple-toned blushes don't look that great on my skin. Cabana Boy was exactly what I wanted, and I wear it when I wear cool-toned looks. 

All of the above blushes are loves in my collection. I have whittled down so many blushes over the years and I feel very confident in my entire blush collection. With that said, the following blushes are what I consider my "favorite."

theBalm Frat Boy

Frat Boy makes me so happy. For years I tried to wear pink blushes only to layer product onto my face and it not show up. Or to put cool-toned baby pink blush onto my cheeks and look washed out and sickly. When I finally realized that I have warm-toned skin, I honestly felt as though I would never be able to wear pink blush and would be unable to find any that flattered my skin. Then came Frat Boy. I was shocked when I first tried this on because it showed up on my skin, was pink, and flattered me. To make matters even better, there's no shimmer in it and it doesn't emphasize my skin's texture, but it doesn't look flat on my skin either. I really can't say enough good things about this blush. 

Marc Jacobs Lines and Last Night 

This is the newest blush to my collection and has already jumped to being a favorite. I bought this blush to replace Laura Geller Cantaloupe, which was the peach blush in my collection. Although I really liked Cantaloupe, because of its formula, I felt the product was difficult to pick up and be able to build. Because of this, I recently decluttered it from my collection. I still wanted a peach blush in my collection, and I decided on this from Marc Jacobs. And I have to say, this is one of my favorite blush formulas ever. The staying power is phenomenal, and I absolutely love the finish it gives my skin. The color is also really flattering on me because it has more pink than orange, but is still peach. I love it. 

Hourglass Mood Exposure

This is a longtime favorite. This is the blush I am wearing today, and every time I wear it, I ask myself why I own other blushes at all. (The reason is that sometimes other colors look better depending on my eyeshadow or clothing.) This was one of the first blushes I ever came across that completely flattered me and made me understand why some people are crazy about blush. It's a mauve, so it's somewhat similar to theBalm Cabana Boy or City Color Blackberry, but it doesn't look similar to either (none of them look similar, really) when applied onto the skin. But I think this is a perfect blush for warm-toned olive skin. 

NARS Exhibit A

I wrote an anti-haul post about the holiday blush palettes from NARS and specifically wrote about Exhibit A. This was the reason I wanted one of those palettes in the first place because it was a favorite of mine when I owned it years earlier. I went through a period of time (well over a year) when I wore nothing but this blush. And I loved every moment of it. When I wrote that blog post, I realized that I was willing to pay $30 more than the cost of this one blush to get it and five other blushes that were pretty but that I didn't want enough to buy on their own. And I realized that my money would be better spent just buying the one item I actually wanted. So shortly after I wrote that post, I repurchased Exhibit A. And it has been a love affair ever since. It's a tossup between this and Mood Exposure for my all-time favorite blush, but it I was really pressed, I would probably say Exhibit A. Having it back in my collection has really made me realize how much I love it and how flattering it really is. I (obviously) use a very light hand, and the color is lovely on my skin and incredibly unique without calling attention to itself. I love it.