Just Checking In!!

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving!  And for all you non-Americans, I hope you had a great Thursday!  First, I want to apologize for the silence over the last few months, I've been so busy, that blush had to take a back seat to everything else.  Second, I'm going to try to do some blogging this weekend and keep at it. However, the format might change for a while.  I'm probably going to catalog all my blushes and do it in a blog format.  I'll go through brand by brand and take pictures and swatches of each one.  After that is done, I'll try to resume the different weeks of blushes.  I should have a little more free time after the first of the year.

I'll start with Becca and Bobbi Brown Blushes tomorrow.  TTYL.

Week 6, Day 7. Rose Blush--Laura Mercier Rose Bloom

Awww, I'm kind of sad that rose week is ending!  It was fun to see the different colors that makeup companies consider to be rose.  For day seven, I have Rose Bloom from Laura Mercier.  Laura Mercier is on of my favorite brands overall and the blushes do not disappoint.

LM Rose Bloom is a darker warmish, slightly brown rose shade.  It has more reddish-brown than the other colors this week and is fairly similar to Chanel Rose Petale.  I would almost call Rose Bloom a Reddish-Nude blush.  It would probably work best on medium warm skin tones, but should show up on everyone.

 The texture and pigmentation is excellent for the Laura Mercier blushes and I love that the blush will pop out for use in the LM palettes.  It is matte and glides on easily for a natural glow.

I hope you've enjoyed rose week, I did!  I'll be back in a few days with the first of my alphabet series.  Seven blushes that start with A.  Haha, I take it as a sign that I have too many blushes.  Have a great week!

Week 6, Day 6. Rose Blush--Chanel Tea Rose JC

First off, today's rose blush isn't so rosy.  Day 6 brings us another Chanel Joues Contraste blush--Tea Rose.  This is a Euro version, which means it is baked instead of the soft powder of the US version (except now Chanel is changing all the blushes to the baked style). 

See?  You can tell the blush is baked because of the variation in color along the surface of the blush, usually it's lines in a swirl pattern.  Baked Blushes are harder in texture, less powdery, and it is more difficult to pick up the color.

Chanel's Tea Rose is beautiful sheer rosy-peach, more peach than rose, but not really warm.  It is definitely a great peach for the cool-toned ladies.  It's a beautiful subtle color that looks very natural.  It's the palest of the week and rivals LM Rose Petal as the peachiest.  I don't see any shimmery bits, but it does impart a pretty glow.

Tomorrow we finish up the week of roses with Laura Mercier Rose Bloom.  Let me know what your favorite rose is?  What else would you like to see here?  Thanks for reading and have a lovely day!!

Week 6, Day 5. Rose Blush--Shu Uemura M Rose 19

Shu M Rose 19 is the brightest and the pinkest blush in this week of roses.  Of course, that is enough to make it my favorite.  If you know me at all, you know that I love pink and can't resist blushes that color.  This Shu blush is just lovely, it's a clear pinky-rose.

It doesn't have any brown or peach in it like the other blushes I swatched this week.  It seems to most closely match the definition of the color rose, which is supposed to be a mixture of pink and red.  M 19 is a neutral pink with a bit of red added.  It gives a lovely rosy glow on the face.

Shu M Rose 19 is matte, but the glow-on blushes from Shu Uemura have a special glow that makes them unique.  They glide on smooth and are very nicely pigmented.  I've never detected a scent with any of my Shu blushes.  I also love the palette system flexibility as with Bobbi Brown, Laura Mercier and Stila.

If you haven't tried Shu blushes, give them a shot.  I know the packaging doesn't appeal to some people, but the product makes it well worth the $23ish.  The glow-ons from Shu Uemura are among the favorites of my collection.  Tomorrow is Chanel Tea Rose JC, which takes a different approach to the color rose.  

Week 6, Day 4. Rose Blush--Stila Rose

I hardly every talk about Stila blushes, is this my first?  I really love them, but I have a tendency to forget about them.  In my effort to improve on that, today's blush is Stila Rose.  In the pan, it looks pretty much exactly what I imagine a Rose blush should look like.

On the skin, it's still rosy, but more of a brownish-rose with a touch of warmth to it.  It's a beautiful natural color that works great for the workplace or as an everyday blush.  There is a teensy bit of shimmer, but it isn't obvious at all and just lends a bit of a glow.

It has nice pigmentation and the powder is pretty smooth.  Stila Rose applies evenly and looks gorgeous and very natural.  If you collect blushes, like me, you'll appreciate the palette system for storing the blushes.  It's great to organize color families and they pop out into the little compacts for carrying in a purse or for travel.

Tomorrow, is Shu M Rose 19 a pretty pinky rose color and it might be my favorite of the week!  Let me know what themes you'd like to see here in the future.  Have a great weekend, Everyone!

Week 6, Day 3. Rose Blush--Laura Mercier Rose Petal

For day three of rose week, I chose a blush from one of my favorite brands, Laura Mercier.  This is one of the newer Second Skin Cheek Colors that can pop out of the individual palettes to be placed into a larger 6-pan palette.  This is LM Rose Petal--in the pan it looks just like the color in my head when I think of rose blush.  Very pretty!

 

It is really interesting, because on the skin it transforms from rose to more of a peachy color.  In fact, I'd call the color Peach, with a hint of rose.  I love Laura Mercier blushes, they're fine powders, but not super soft like the US JCs.  And they have just enough pigment to show up, but not look overdone.  I also find the colors to be very wearable. 

As you can see in the swatches, it's peachier, but not as red as Chanel Rose Petale JC and it really doesn't compare at all to Bobbi Brown Desert Rose--they are at different ends of the rose spectrum.

Tomorrow's blush, from Stila is more in keeping of what I would consider rose.  I'm loving all the blushes this week, I hope you are too! 

Week 6, Day 2. Rose Blush--Bobbi Brown Desert Rose

Bobbi Brown Desert Rose takes this weeks theme of roses in another direction.  Instead of a reddish-pink, Desert Rose is a mauve-brown pink color.  It looks very cool in the pan, but there is some warmth that comes through, making it more neutral.

 

The first thing I noticed with I swatched it was how smooth the powder was.  It's very finely milled and nicely pigmented.  Desert Rose glides onto the skin like a dream, it's really lovely! The color on my very pale/cool skin is a brownish mauve and when it is blended in it looks like a very natural nude color. 

It's also totally matte, which makes it perfect for work, or when you just need a simpler cheek color.  I love the Bobbi Brown palette system, it makes it easy to pick a blush for the day and even pop one out to carry in my purse for touch ups or take on vacation.

 

Tomorrow's rose blush is from Laura Mercier--Rose Petal, totally different from the first two roses.  It's fun to see how different companies interpret the color rose.

Week 6, Day 1. Rose Blush--Chanel Rose Petale JC

\To kick off the week of Rose blushes, I chose Chanel Rose Petale Joues Contraste.  When someone asks for a rose blush, it's always the first one that comes to my mind, even though looking at even just these roses, it isn't really the rosiest blush I have. 

I find that a lot of things labeled "Rose" turn a little warm on me, usually lipsticks, but blushes do too. Rose Petale is no exception.  This pretty JC looks like a warm rose in the pan and turns a peachy rose color on my skin.  It is a lovely color, but not the pinky-rose I prefer.  I think it is more of that pinky-rose color on warmer skin tones.

as you can see it, is one of the warmer roses of the week.  The texture is very nice.  I have the US version, so it is powdery and smooth.  Like all JCs, there is a very faint rose scent.  This is a very easy to wear color for most people and very little shimmer.  It just gives me a very soft glow.

Tomorrow, is BB Desert Rose--a completely different kind of rose!  What is your favorite Rose Blush?  Let me know what else you'd like to see!  TTYL!

Week 6--Seven Days of Roses

This is going to be my Rose week.  I am in love with makeup that bears the name of Rose or, even better, has a rose imprint or design.  Here is a pic of some of my rose-inspired makeup to get you in the mood.

To get back on the subject of blushes, I found that when describing rose colored blush, the word rose is used to describe many colors including pinks, fuchsias, reds, even going into the brown family.  The color rose usually refers to a shade between pink and red, but really, roses come in all colors.  For this week, I'm going to limit my blushes to ones that bear the name of Rose.  I'm sure that I could do a whole week on Chanel Roses, but I'm limiting myself to just 2 Chanel JCs.  So here are the rose blushes for Week 6:

For blushes that bear the name Rose, I've already done a few,  Chanel's Orchid Rose and Dior's Rose Diamond and Antique Rose.  This is what I'm covering this week:

1--Chanel Rose Petale

2--BB Desert Rose

3--LM Rose Petal

4--Stila Rose

5--Shu M Rose 19

6--Chanel Tea Rose

7--LM Rose Bloom

and the swatches for the week:

I hope you enjoy this week of rose colored blush.  I know I'm looking forward to it!  Cheers!

Blog Sale, Most Wanteds, and Cute Pictures of Oscar

Hey, I just wanted to let you know that I added a few more things to the blog sale.  I've also started a most wanted page, where I post the blushes that I'm interested in adding to my collection.  

Finally, hold on to your seats, I have something that I know everyone wants (haha!).  New pics of Oscar!  Yay.   We went to a dog event called Woofstock this weekend, so he's sporting his tie-dye bandanna.  Here are some pics of my boy.  Here, Oscar is smiling.

Another one where he's smiling (while he's sitting).

Yet Another Smile!

Oscar sure is a happy boy!

Wait, here's a serious one! Yay!

Finally, everyone needs a snack!

Thanks for looking and have a great day!!!!

Week 5, Day 7. Chanel Blush--Tempting Beige JC

Awww, I'm sad that today is my last day of talking about Chanel blushes.  But, look at all the pretty sparkly bits in today's blush--Tempting Beige!!  Yay!  This is one of my favorite blushes to look at in the pan.  It is a creamy milk chocolate brown with specks of shimmer--what's not to like?

This really is a lovely color.  On my skin, it is a very wearable nude--a warm toasted rosy-brown color.  Very pretty, but probably more suited for warmer and darker skinned ladies.  The shimmery bits barely show up on the skin, unless you use a ton of it.  But, please don't use a ton, Tempting Beige is one of the more pigmented JCs that I have.

Besides being VERY pigmented, the texture is so nice and beautiful.  The powder is lightly rose scented, and very soft and silky since it is the US version.  Here's one last look at this weeks Chanel lineup.

I hope you've enjoyed the week of Chanel JC blushes, it was fun for me because they are among my very faves.  I love the special glow they give and the subtle rose scent.  Next week, I'll be moving from the Rose scent of Chanel to Rose blushes.  It'll be Seven Days of Rose Blush. =)

Week 5, Day 6. Chanel Blush--Caprice JC

Chanel Week is starting to wind down and for day 6, I have an older Joues Contraste blush, Caprice.  In the pan, Caprice is a cool rosy pink, but it's one of those blushes that looks different on the skin and can vary from person to person.

Sometimes, I check out reviews and see if the color I see is how others describe it as well. Well, the reviews are all over the board on how to describe this color.  Some described it as cool, pale pink and others as pure peach, and others said it doesn't show up at all.  So, I think this is one of those blushes that looks different on each person and I'll do my best to describe how it looks on me.

In the pan, it is a cool dusty rose color, but on my cool, very pale skin, Caprice looks warm peachy-rose with some brown.  I can see a few sparkles in the pan, but nothing really noticeable that shows up on the cheeks, except for a nice gentle glow.  The Caprice JC is fairly well pigmented and the powder is nice and smooth.  It still has a slight rose scent.  Overall, I like it quite a bit, but it isn't nearly as cool and pink as my favorite blushes are.

What color does Caprice look on you?  Tomorrow, I finish the week of Chanel JCs with Tempting Beige, yay! 

Week 5, Day 5. Chanel Blush--Orchid Rose JC

Orchid Rose is today's beauty--and boy is it beautiful!  This is one of those lovely Chanel JCs that works for a variety of people and most seem to love. 

 

Day 5 of Chanel Blush week brings us to Orchid Rose.  From the name, I would think it would be a bright purply-pink, but it is very different from that.  The color is a complex peachy-brown rose color with a moderate amount of shimmer.  The color varies quite a bit depending on the skin tone of the person wearing it.  It can lean more tawny, peach, or pink.

The shimmer is very fine and gives a lovely glow--it shouldn't be too much for anyone.  Obviously it has the rose scent and the smooth powder consistency of all the US Chanel JCs.

Orchid Rose is a lovely blush and I think everyone should at least give it a try to see how it looks on their own cheeks.  Tomorrow is day 6 and time for a DC'd blush--Caprice. 

Week 5, Day 4. Chanel Blush--Petilant JC

Today's blush is an old JC.  I'm not sure how old, but it is a beauty.  For Day 4 of Chanel Blush week, I present Petilant (which means sparkling in French).  It might be old, but it still has the delicate scent of roses and gives off a good amount of color. 

This version is baked, so the texture is harder than the US versions.  But the powder that comes off is very fine and pigmented.  I see a tiny amount of shimmer in the pan, but on the skin, it has the slight glow that JCs are known for.

The color is a little hard to describe, I would call it a warmish raspberry pink.  It is a lovely color and goes on very smoothly and evenly.  A sweet friend at MUA has been wanting this one forever, but it's so pretty that I can't quite part with it yet.  Maybe this up-close view will make her change her mind and kill the desire for it.  It's #4 in the picture below.

I hope you enjoyed seeing this old JC!  Tomorrow, day 5 of Chanel JCs, is Orchid Rose.  Let me know what your favorite blushes are and what you'd like to see here!  TTYL!

Week 5, Day 3. Chanel Blush--Fantasia JC

Today's blush is Fantasia, which I've had in my collection for a while, but just tried for the first time today.  The color isn't super appealing to me because I always seem to reach for the pinks.  However, I must say that this color is really beautiful.

The color is slightly warmer than Mocha, less plummy, and more of a reddish terracotta color.  It buffs out to a warm rosy-peachy-brown.  Not really like the pinks that I usually lean toward, but still a great color.  I imagine it would look amazing on ladies with a golden tan.

It has the same subtle rose scent of all the Chanel JC blushes. The texture of the now DC'd Fantasia is very soft and powdery and it gives a great glow. There is a teensy bit of shimmer, but it is very subtle and not glittery at all.  The glow that JCs give is something that makes these blushes really special. 

It's very hard to capture the glow in photographs, but it is my favorite quality about Chanel's Joues Contraste line.  Sometimes Chanel adds other shimmer, glitter, iridescence, but there is always the base glowiness.  If you haven't tried one, do yourself a favor and pick one up and see what the fuss is about.  Tomorrow is Petilant, an old Chanel JC, for a sweetie at MUA!

Week 5, Day 2. Chanel Blush--Pink Explosion JC

One of my newer acquisitions is this beautiful new blush from Chanel as part of their Fall 2010 collection.  It is Pink Explosion and is a pretty, medium shimmery pink.  

The newer Chanel blushes are baked and will continue to be from what I've heard.  The color of Pink Explosion is a coolish rosy-pink with tiny little silvery shimmery bits in it.  It's not too glittery when applied, but it is noticeable.  Because it is baked, the powder isn't quite as silky smooth at the older US versions.

In my experience, because they're baked, it is more difficult to get the powder onto the brush, but the powder that comes off is very fine and pigmented.  I just have to rub the brush a little more and harder to get it to apply decently.  The advantage of the baked is that I don't have to worry quite so much about over applying my blush.  I've heard the baked are more shimmery, and if it's true, it's only translates into a slight bit more shimmer on the cheeks.

Tomorrow's blush is Fantasia JC.  It's not one that I normally reach for and I look forward to trying it out.

Week 5, Day 1. Chanel Blush--Mocha JC

It is Day One of Seven Days of Chanel Blush and I present my newest one--Mocha!  I must admit that this Joues Constraste blush looks rather brown and dull in the pan.  Actually, exactly the chocolatey color I would think of as mocha.  However, when applied to the cheeks, it is not dull at all!

Even though it looks a bit blah and brown in the pan, it is a beautiful slightly shimmery plummy brown.  It buffs out to a very soft plum color that is very wearable, even for the ultra pale.  It has a tiny bit of shimmer, but it really just shows up as a gorgeous glow.  This is a US version, so not baked like the Euro ones, and the powder is very fine and silky smooth to apply. 

Each day this week, I'll talk about one of the qualities of JC's that make them special.  Today, I'll start off with something simple, the smell.  There is a subtle distinctive rose smell when I open my JC's.  So in addition to seeing the glowy loveliness inside, I enjoy a subtle day-brightening whiff of rose!  The smell varies in intensity in all my blushes, but always fades when applied to my face.  I can never discern any scent at all except when I first open the compact.

Tomorrow, is one of the Chanel Fall 2010 blushes, Pink Explosion and I'll try to explain the differences between the baked and non-baked versions.  Do you have any ideas for future weeks?  If so, let me know what you'd like to see!  =)