My Blush Collection - Women of Colour Friendly?

Blush has recently become my favourite makeup product to apply.. After highlight that is. In fact I would choose to emphasise my cheeks and lips over eyes any day. There's just something about that little pop of colour and glow that is so satisfying to me!

I feel like blush is a little bit like nude lipstick- remember when we all thought it was a no go until MAC Chesnut? No.. Just me? Lolz. Most blushes, in my opinion, can be worn by women of colour. I have italicised this because I thought it necessary to emphasise the broad spectrum of shades that fall within that term. I have heard many times that some blush shades are not for women of colour- I think it is a little bit much to make such statements.. advise me on flattering shades, yes, but please don't tell me something is not for me!

I don't know, you may disagree with me on that one, however I think it all comes down to what you feel comfortable wearing. Remember that powder blushes are also very versatile- they can be layered, blended down to a soft wash of colour or built up for intensity and even used as eyeshadow. Obviously there are certain shades that will be more flattering on you but don't dismiss a gorgeous colour too quickly- because all it may need is a little extra blending or some layering! Take Nars Orgasm for example, it's one of those shades that is apparently not for women of colour. On fairer women of colour this can absolutely be a gorgeous blush with the gold shimmer giving a lovely glow. On deeper skin tones it works as a gorgeous highlight shade with a soft wash of colour- the warm gold shimmer is very complimentary on my skin tone for example. 

Below, I have linked some amazing posts/vids from other bloggers who have suggested certain blushes for women of colour with various skin tones: 

Deeper skin tones: Natalie from Discoveries of Self  and Danielle from TheStyle and Beauty Doctor

Medium to Deep skin tones : Lizzie from Britbeauty

Olive Brown to Tan/Medium skin tones: Hitesha from Hiteshashah and Jovita from Mr Jovita George

Leave links in the comment section to any great posts/vids you have seen .. it's good to share!! :D

My collection

I usually hate doing this but I decided to arm swatch all of these because I couldn't think of anything more painful than trying to show them on my face! Obviously no one will be applying these as heavily as I swatched them but hopefully you get a fair picture of what they are like :) (They will all feature in a What's on my Face? post at some point!)

First up is the Sleek Blush by 3 palettes. These blushes are super pigmented and intense, if you don't apply these with a light hand you will be blending for a lifetime. The pigment on these means they would all work well as eyeshadows too!

       L-R 1.FLAME- Furnace, Bonfire, Molten 2. PINK SPRINT - Pink Parfait, Pink Ice, Pinktini 3. PUMPKIN- Lantern, Squash, Pumpkin Pie

1. Sleek Blush by 3 - Flame 

Furnace - Earth toned peach with a hint of shimmer - the shimmer isn't too intense so this works as a great day time blush

Bon Fire - Warm, Matte red- intense colour that is a bit difficult to blend, once blended it's beautiful. (Dupe for Nars Exhibit A)

Molten - warm coral with gold shimmer- really gorgeous shade that gives a lovely glow. Very wearable on deeper skin tones, on fairer skin tones this is gorgeous when applied with a lighter hand 

2. Sleek Blush by 3 - Pink Sprint

Pink Parfait - deep matte raspberry - gorgeous on deeper skin tones - needs to be applied evenly with a very light hand or it can look a bit patchy

Pink Ice- bright matte fuchsia, reminds me of MAC Candy Yum Yum lipstick- a very bold shade that needs to be applied with a light hand 

Pinktini - matte muted raspberry- very smooth and the easiest shade to blend of the three

3. Sleek Blush by 3 - Pumpkin

Lantern- red toned coral with iridescent shimmer, quite similar to Molten in the Flame palette but it is a little pinker

Squash - satin light pink - not glittery but there is a sheen to it, applies smoothly and takes a bit more blending on me for it to be more wearable

Pumpkin Pie - bright matte orange, my favourite shade out of all three palettes- blends to a lovely glow although it applies a little chalky

L-R C.A.K.E Tropicana, Burberry Russet Blush, Kiko Beige Rose, MAC Raizin, Burberry Rose Blush, C.A.K.E Lucky, Nars Taj Mahal, Nars Orgasm

4. C.A.K.E Tropicana - Warm coral with gold shimmer- gorgeous blush! Really similar to Molten but applies much smoother

5. Burberry Russet Blush No. 01 - Medium terracotta with a slight iridescent and gold shimmer - would give a gorgeous warm look to fairer women of colour. I often mix this with MAC Raizin 

6. Kiko Beige Rose No. 106 - Muted medium brown with a slight iridescent shimmer, very similar to Burberry Russet Blush but a little cooler toned

7. MAC Raizin - Matte reddish brown, the blush that I wear on a daily basis! Stunning on deeper skin tones, applied slightly lower it can be used as a contour shade. 

8. Burberry Rose Blush No.03 -  Coral rose with slight shimmer , wearable on my skin if blended well. Goes well with a bold lip and can be blended with a bolder pink to make it a little more subtle

9. C.A.K.E Lucky - Muted plum pink with gold shimmer- applies very smoothly. Unique shimmer gives this blush an edge. I think this would be very flattering on tan-medium skintones

10. Nars Taj Mahal-Warm burnt orange with rich golden shimmer. The blush of all blushes...! (ultimate violation when I dropped this *welp*). Very pigmented and looks gorgeous on deeper skin tones 

11. Nars Orgasm - peachy pink with shimmer. Applies smoothly and gives a gorgeous glowy finish 

Similar shades

n.b. Kiko Beige Rose is a little more cool toned than Burberry Russet. Lucky is a more plum based than Orgasm but the shimmer effect is very similar. C.A.K.E Tropicana applies smoother than Sleek's Molten and is a little more golden.

L-R Sleek Molten, C.A.K.E Tropicana, Kiko Beige Rose, Burberry Russet Blush, C.A.K.E Lucky, Nars Orgasm

Jheez thank you if you read all of this! I am thinking of doing something similar with my lipsticks but I will probably have to break that up into different posts. What do you think?

What is your favourite blush shade??

'Be your own kind of beautiful'

Christine x

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