Tom Ford Cheek Color in 05 Ravish

Sorry for being a bit MIA.  Spring Break ended up being a bit longer than I expected ;).  So, today's review is for the Tom Ford Cheek Color in Ravish.  I don't know that there are any official descriptions of the colors, so you're stuck with mine.

In online swatches, Ravish tends to look much cooler and pinker than it shows up in real life, at least in my experience.  It's a very warm almost sort of rosy tan with slight gold sparkles.  I don't think the sparkles generally translate to the skin at all and I think that sheered out on the cheeks (at least on my cheeks) it is a lot less orange leaning than it looks in these swatches.

Ravish is one of those colors that looks pretty boring in the pan, but it just looks lovely on the skin.  It has this luminous satin finish with the slightest hint of shimmer.  The texture of the blush is buttery soft and it blends and sheers out beautifully.

It's Tom Ford, so you know the price point is going to be painful - and it is, $56.  Ouch.  But it does contain a very hefty 8 grams of product.  And the packaging is to die for, like all Tom Ford products.  Even being on the pasty side of pale, this is one of my favorite blushes and I reach for it often.

Overall: 10/10

Bobbi Brown Shimmer Brick in Nude Glow

The Bobbi Brown Nude Glow limited edition Shimmer Brick launched with the Bobbi Brown holiday 2013 collection.  Technically it's a highlighter, but I knew from looking at it that on my skin, it would be a blush. 

I'm not overly familiar with Bobbi Brown shimmer bricks.  I've had one in my collection for years, but I never use it.  The other one I have is the little strips and I just hate the form factor of it.  I much prefer this type of presentation with the four big blocks of colors as opposed to all the little strips.  Also, since these are fairly sizeable blocks of color, it is much easier to use the shades individually as face or eye colors.

together on the left, individual swatches on the right

I've seen swatches of this product from bloggers who are much warmer and much darker than I am and on them it looks very pale pinky champagne.  On me, not so much.  Not that I'm complaining.  On my skintone, it is definitely champagne colored, but much warmer and darker.  This product is absolutely not a highlighter on me, but it is a very lovely blush.

individual blocks swatched, top row, then bottom row

all blocks swirled together.

Despite being called a Shimmer Brick, there isn't a lot of shimmer.  The colors are very metallic and definitely impart a whole lot of sheen, but there isn't any actual chunky glitter in it.  The product is soft and blends out easily.  The texture seemed consistent across the palette.  That's something I'm always worried about with products that have different shades mooshed up against one another.  I find it super annoying when some shades have a completely different texture and color payoff to others in the pan.  But this shimmer brick was very consistent in texture and color payoff, both of which were excellent.

This Shimmer Brick  contains 6.5 grams of product, which is a good amount, though not overly generous.  The product retails for $45.  As of the writing of this review, it is still available at some online retailers and I saw it on counter last weekend, so it's still out there.

Overall:  8/10

MAC Extra Dimension Blush in Autoerotique

I am a huge fan of the MAC Extra Dimension blush formula and when they debuted last Spring, I picked up all of them.  The Magnetic Nude collection that launched around the first of the year had two new blushes, Autoerotique and Pleasure Model.  I decided to pass on Pleasure Model, but I picked up Autoerotique.

Autoerotique is described by MAC as "dirty coral rose", which I guess works.  It's a medium warm pinky-tan that leans ever so slightly orange.  The blush has a satin finish and contains just a bit of shimmer by way of fine gold glitter.

The blush applies evenly and smoothly and sheers out easily.  I didn't think the glitter was particularly noticeable on the skin and I got great wear time out of it.  The formula on autoerotique is noticeably different from At Dusk.  I feel like At Dusk sort of melts into my skin and that isn't really what I get from Autoerotique.

Autoerotique contains 6.5 grams of product and is limited edition, but as of the writing of this review is still available from MAC and several other retailers who carry the line.  I purchased mine from Nordstrom for $25.

Overall:  8/10

It Cosmetics Live, Love, Laugh Vitality Face Disc

Before we jump into the post, I just want to let anyone who bothers to read this blog know that I am working to address my lighting issues.  Sometimes it seems okay, but as we get into winter and natural light is less readily available, it becomes a bigger issue.  Lately it seems like my swatches are just not showing up true to life.  I'll keep you posted.

And moving on to the lovely :D ...

For Christmas I received this beauty as a present from the lovely Ollie, though I think his mom might have helped him pick it out ;).  Please notice the big thumbprint in the highlighter where I couldn't refrain from trying it out before I took pictures.

Here is the It Cosmetics official word on the disc:

Live, Love, Laugh Anti-Aging Vitality Face Disc is all about that healthy look of vitality for the face and body! This disc is substantial in size and has a jumbo mirror inside ― it's an all-in-one makeup must-have! The waterproof matte bronzer, illuminating highlighter, and anti-aging vitality blush shade are naturally pretty, yet infused with cutting-edge anti-aging ingredients hydrating ingredients, including hydrolyzed collagen, acai, green tea, and vitamins A, C, and E. Talc, paraben, sulfate, mineral oil, petrolatum, synthetic fragrance, and phthalate free. Hypo-allergenic and non-comedogenic.

It certainly is substantial in size.  To paraphrase Ollie's mom, it's bigger than the blue banana.  That's not  a bad thing, but just be forewarned, it is large.  Very large.  This does mean that it has a large mirror, and tons of product, which are definitely pluses.  The packaging is similar to NARS in that it is a black rubberized packaging.  I'm not sure if it's susceptible to becoming gummy over time, but I'll let you know.

(daybulbs)

And here is where we get to the lighting issues.  Sigh.  The bronzer and the blush swatched very true to life, but the highlighter didn't at all.  In real life, it is a very subtle champagne color, not the chunky gold that you see in the photographs.  As soon as I get my lighting figured out, I will update this post.

(natural light)

(more natural light)

The blush is a gorgeous coral color with a satin finish.  The bronzer is matte and waterproof.  On me, it's a little too warm to use as a contour, but it's great for adding all over warmth.  The highlighter, as previously mentioned, is a soft shimmery champagne color.

All of these products wore fantastically well on my dry skin and hadn't faded noticeably at all by the time I took them off at around the 10 hour mark.  I can't speak to how waterproof the waterproof bronzer is, but if the opportunity ever presents itself, I'll let you know.

The It Cosmetics Live, Love, Laugh Vitality Face Disc contains a whopping 22.22 grams of product and retails for $38 wherever It Cosmetics are sold (which, I believe is the It Cosmetics website, QVC and Ulta).

Overall:  10/10

Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powder in Mood Light

I picked up the Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powder in Diffused Light when the line first launched and I was not impressed at all.  It was a translucent powder.  A fine powder, but nothing special and certainly not special enough to justify the $45 price tag.  I eventually got rid of my Diffused powder and wasn't interested in learning more.

Then I saw Dustin Hunter's video overview of the line.  Like me, Dustin is on the pastier side of pale and he mentioned that he liked Mood Light as a blush.  I swatched it in Sephora one day and it swatched dark enough on my skin that I was intrigued.

In the pan, Mood Light looks like a very gray purple color.  Like Diffused Light, it doesn't have any detectable shimmer.

The pictures here do not do this product justice.  It definitely has a color.  A subtle color, but still noticeable on my skintone.  I could see deeper skintones using this as an all over setting powder.  That wouldn't work for me at all.  I'd look crazy.

On my skintone, this works as a blush, subtle and natural looking, but with enough oomph to provide definition.  It has good wear time.  I get a good six hours out of it before it faded at all and nine hours before it was gone.

Like the other Ambient Lighting Powders, Mood Light contains 10 grams of product and retails for $45.  It's a baked powder, so it does require gentle handling as it is easy to break off a piece of the product.  Mood Light is available wherever Hourglass is sold.  I picked mine up at Sephora.

Overall:  8/10

MAC Extra Dimension Blush in At Dusk

I picked up all (yes all *cringe*) of the MAC Extra Dimension blushes that launched with the In Extra Dimension collection earlier this year.  One of my favorites out of that collection, At Dusk, is launching again with MAC's Magnetic Nude collection, which hits counters and websites the day after Christmas.

I know that all of the big beauty blogs have already reviewed this, but both Christine from Temptalia and Karen from Makeup and Beauty Blog are very warm toned and considerably darker than me, so their swatches look nothing like what the product looks like on me.  I figured I would put some swatches out there in case any pasty pale people were wondering what it would look like on them.

The color is described by MAC as a mid-tone rose.  To me, it's pink.  When I think of rose, I think of something a bit darker in tone, edging towards berry.  At Dusk is pink.  On my cool, pale skintone, it is cool, but not crazy blue based.

(diffused natural light)

(daybulb CFLs)

This is one of those shades that I absolutely love because it can provide definition and color without making your look all about the blush.  It's just lovely and on me, it looks very natural.

The Extra Dimension blush formula is nothing like the Extra Dimension MSF formula.  The blushes, to me, are somewhere between a satin and a matte.  They have some dimension to them, but they're not shimmery at all.  They have fantastic pigmentation and texture.  They apply very evenly and they wear well.  I have dry skin so most blushes do wear well on me, but I get a solid ten hours out of these before they are noticeably faded.  This is hands down my favorite blush formula from any brand.

 The MAC Extra Dimension blush in At Dusk is (of course *sigh*) limited edition.  It will launch at counters and online in North America on Dec. 26, 2013.  The Extra Dimension blushes contain 6.5 grams of product and retail for $25.  If you haven't checked them out yet, I would highly recommend them.  I plan on picking up the other two blushes in this collection.

Overall: 10/10

Terrafirma Natural Blushing Minerals blush in Antoinette

A while ago, I had a haul from Terrafirma Cosmetics (not an affiliate link).  One of the items I picked up was a sample of one of the Radiance Glowing Mineral Blush in Antionette.  

I'm going to take a moment here to say how much I love  that Terrafirma offers sample sizes of most of their products.  I have plunking over the cash to buy a full size of a product without having seen it in person.  And Terrafirma doesn't skimp on the size.  It's a good size sample and definitely enough product to be able to really try out the product before committing to a full size.

Antionette is described as a "warm coral".  Personally, I don't think there's much coral about it.  I think it reads pretty straight up peachy.  That said, it's a gorgeous color.  It has good pigmentation and staying power and despite being one of their Radiance blushes, it wasn't overly shimmery.

I swatched it next to Milani Luminoso because that is another blush in my collection that most closely resembles Terrafirma's Antionette.  The colors are very similar, however, Antionette is not as shimmery as Luminoso (thankfully, as far as I'm concerned).  Antionette and Luminoso are both mineral blushes.  The biggest difference is that Antionette is loose and Luminoso is pressed.

I also swatched Antionette next to Milani's Corralina so you can see just how not-coral Antionette is.

Overall, I was really impressed with the blush.  I think it's a beautiful color.  It performed well and it has a great price point ($12.99 for 20g volume/4g wt).  As I mentioned, I just picked up the sample size, which is $3.50.  As a general rule, I'm not a big fan of loose mineral blushes, but the colors and finish on the Terrafirma blushes is definitely impressive enough for me to use them often.

Another thing is that Terrafirma often runs sales, so if you're interested at all, I would encourage you to sign up for their emails.

Overall:  8/10 (just because it's a loose powder).

Rouge Bunny Rouge Original Skin Blush in Orpheline

Quite a while ago, I picked up an assortment of Rouge Bunny Rouge products from Beautyhabit.  One of the things I picked up was their Original Skin Blush in the shade Orpheline.  Purchasing from Beautyhabit is considerably cheaper for people in the US than ordering direct from the Rouge Bunny Rouge web boutique, but even at a discount, this blush was still $28 for 3.5 grams of product.

The packaging is nice.  It's the high gloss black plastic packaging that most of the Rouge Bunny Rouge products have (the lipsticks are packaged in metal).  It has a nice sized mirror and closes securely.  The print on the top of the compact is mirrored in the product itself.

Rouge Bunny Rouge describes Orpheline as "Medium, warm strawberry with an illuminating radiance - Best on medium warm skin tones"  In person, it's not an overly warm pink and on a personal level, I find it super irritating when brands tell you which skintones something works best on.  As far as I'm concerned, makeup is about self expression and you should wear what you want.

The product has good pigmentation and it wears well on my dry skin.  I got six hours before it seemed to fade at all and around nine hours before it was really faded.  The color is nice and I do like that the pattern is actually embossed into the powder.

My gripe with this product is the price.  $28 for 3.5 grams of a pressed product is really expensive in my opinion.  And Rouge Bunny Rouge isn't a luxury brand.  It's mid range.  It's very much on par with MAC in terms of product and packaging.  So compare that with a MAC pressed blush, which is around 6 grams of product for $21 and these blushes just aren't a winning proposition for me.

Overall:  5/10

NARS Pierre Hardy blush in Boys Don't Cry

I apologize in advance.  As I catch up from my hiatus and backlog, I'm sure I'm going to have most posts like this about items (to borrow a term from PinkSith) You Can't Have.

This is the NARS Pierre Hardy blush in Boys Don't Cry.  It released in Spring 2013 with the NARS Pierre Hardy collaboration collection.  The color is described by NARS as "grapefruit pink".  It's a chameleon color (meaning it's not true to pan at all, imo).

The gold is just an overspray that is quickly wiped away, but in the pan the color looks very coral leaning toward orange.  

On the skin, it leans much cooler and pinky red.  To me it is almost a watermelon pink.

After the overspray is gone, the blush has a satin finish.  It is incredibly pigmented and vibrant, a little dab will do ya.  The wear time is great.  Easily 8 hours before it fades.

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This limited edition blush palette is larger than a regular NARS blush (.16 oz) and contains a whopping .45 oz of product.  It has the typical rubberized NARS packaging, which means it is going to be dirty and fingerprint covered in about half a second and in a couple of years it will get tacky and gross.  SIGH.

You can still find some of these on eBay and occasionally on Amazon.

I picked mine up in the Spring at Sephora for $41.

Overall:  8/10