Reaching Beyond the Realm of Spring with Blush Horizon de Chanel

Spring releases are my biggest weakness. With all the enchanting, water-colour inspired shades arising in the form of makeup, I find it difficult to resist their prettiness. One of the most anticipated pieces this season is the Blush Horizon de Chanel, and it is the star product of the Harmonie de Printemps 2012 collection.

"The luminous hues of sunset are now captured in one elegant highlighting face powder. Subtle gradations of rose, coral and peach can be applied on their own or blended together, to highlight and sculpt the face or achieve an overall warmth and radiance." ~ Chanel's description

* photo taken with flash to illuminate the golden shimmer *

The Blush Horizon consists of assorted strips in luminous pinks, peaches to berries and plums. The top half of the blush has a sheer and shimmery white strip, which is meant to highlight and impart a soft glow. The lower part is peachier with a mix of berries and is the more pigmented half of the blush. Ultrafine golden shimmer is strewn across the blush and I believe it goes all the way down through the pan. It comes with an angled brush in its own velvet cover but I didn't find the brush usable as it is rather small.

theBalm Frat Boy Shadow / Blush

theBalm has gone and done it again and this time with the Frat Boy blush! I sincerely hope this is the last of the "Boy" series because the names are getting quite absurd. Frat Boy was only made available locally slightly more than a month ago and it completes the Boy blush line-up, for now at least.

Name aside, I still love that magnetic cardboard packaging with the cute retro print. The Frat Boy cover seems to evoke the spirit of fun and youth and um,... American football.

My Small Collection of MAC Limited Edition Blushes

I don't own many MAC blushes and the few that I have in my stash are from previous limited edition releases. I got them just because they seem to be a little more unique than most of their regular blush range. I also purchased them at the time of release so I can avoid having to hunt them down on eBay if I changed my mind ;-)

theBalm Down Boy Shadow / Blush

I think it's safe to say that I'm very fond of theBalm blushes. I previously reviewed Hot Mama and Cabana Boy, both of which I love dearly. The quality of their blushes is just lovely. They are silky, pigmented and long-lasting.

Down Boy is a cool-toned bubblegum pink with a very subtle light-reflecting glow. This is now my go-to blush for days when I'm in a rush (and this happens everyday) because it's so easy to wear and goes well with almost anything.

theBalm Cabana Boy Shadow / Blush ~ A Hot New Love

When I first heard of theBalm's Cabana Boy blush, I immediately thought of the Club Tropicana music video by Wham! Do you remember George Michael in his little white Speedos? Yeah, that's what I'm talking about. He may not have been a cabana boy in that video but he definitely embodied the look of one.

Cabana Boy was released back in Summer 2009 and is one of the few blushes available in theBalm's permanent line. The product is housed in a sturdy cardboard compact with a vintage imagery printed on the cover. Doesn't it remind you of some old paperback romance? Hands up if you used to read Mills & Boons :-)

Sweet Macaron Delights with Majolica Majorca Puff de Cheek

This post may seem a little late since the Majolica Majorca Puff de Cheek blushes were released in Spring 2011 as part of their Sugary Trap collection. However, I have seen these products available at a few Watsons and Sasa stores, so you can still obtain them locally.

My face used to be quite ruddy and it has only improved in recent months. Although I couldn't really wear blush before, I kept buying them because I cannot resist their prettiness. And the Puff de Cheek blushes were so cute that they all had to come home with me.

The tin casing is modelled after a French macaron and it is really adorable. The Puff de Cheek is available in four colours but I have only seen three of them so far. The one that's missing is the pale highlighter shade (Vanilla Macaron #82).

Melliesh Blush in Elegant Rose

That's right, people... I have gone a little blush crazy. I love blushes, I really do. But I could not use them regularly for the longest time because I used to suffer from redness and my complexion was rather splotchy. Using blush before just made me look extremely flushed and almost clownish. It wasn't a look I was particularly fond of. However, in recent months, the ruddiness of my face seemed to have reduced and I can happily wear blushes again.

I came across Melliesh when I went to Hong Kong in May. I have never heard of this Japanese brand before but I like the fact that it's a simple, no-frills sort of blush.

theBalm Hot Mama! Shadow / Blush

Can you believe this is the first time I have written about a blush on the blog? Although I have a few blushes, I couldn't really use them because my face and cheeks used to be really splotchy and red. But after a change in my skincare regime, the redness have reduced and I can start wearing cheek colours without looking like I've been slapped in the face.

I really like many of theBalm products because they have all been working very well and are pretty good quality stuff. I am already a fan of their Shady Lady eyeshadow palettes and have been using them regularly for work. Recently, I've been checking out their other powder products too and snapped up Hot Mama! because it looked like such a gorgeous blush. I did a little bit of research and discovered many have likened it as dupe to NARS Orgasm blush. This is not good news to be me because I have used Orgasm many years ago and did not like it.

Thankfully, Hot Mama! suited my skin tone better and I don't think it's the same as Orgasm because it doesn't make me look like a dirty, oily mess. I don't have any NARS blush to do a comparison with now because I binned them a long time ago after the stupid rubbery packaging started disintegrating.