the collection | blush

Clockwise from top right: Tarte Cheek Stain in Flush, Bobbi Brown blush in Desert Pink, NARS blush in Deep Throat, Jouer Tint in Peony, Tarte Amazonian Clay blush in Amused, Josie Maran Coconut Watercolor Cheek Gelée, Bourjois Blush Exclusif.

Mistinguette can be found in the middle of the top row. Deep Throat is directly underneath it.

Left to right: Bourjois Blush Exclusif, Tarte Cheek Stain in Flush, Josie Maran Coconut Watercolor Cheek Gelée in Poppy Paradise, Jouer Tint in Peony, Tarte Amazonian Clay blush in Amused, Bobbi Brown blush in Desert Pink, NARS blushes in Deep Throat and Mistinguette.

I was a bit of a late bloomer when it came to makeup. When I finally learned to apply it, blush was among my first purchases. In fact, I still own that blush over six years later: the Bobbi Brown blush in Desert Pink. I've worn it off and on again since then, but my taste in blush has gravitated toward lighter, brighter pinks since then.

Cream blushes are my true loves when it comes to adding a bit of a flush. I'm naturally quite redness-prone, so a little goes a long way, and I find that creams look the most natural. The Jouer Tint in Peony is a classically creamy formula, intended for both lips and cheeks, although I tend to reserve it for the latter. My one cream-to-powder option—a formula that I don't like as well as a traditional cream—is the Bourjois Blush Exclusif. I got caught up in the hype surrounding the Bourjois cream blushes, but when I finally got to the UK, none of the shades seemed to suit me. Fortunately, this came out around that time. It supposedly adjusts to your unique skintone—hence its name—but I suspect it just responds to the skin's pH. Nevertheless, it is indeed a bright, pretty pink that travels well. You can see that I've hit pan both on it and the Jouer Tint.

The Josie Maran Coconut Watercolor Cheek Gelée in Poppy Paradise has a formula unlike anything I've experienced before. It's a bright but sheer gel with a nearly balmy texture that feels cooling on the skin, a welcome sensation in this summer heat. Similarly, the Tarte Cheek Stain in Flush—which is a sample size, by the way—looks like an intense berry in the tube but sheers out to one of the lightest shades in my collection. It's not my favorite, but I like Tarte as a brand and was more than happy to exchange Sephora points to try another product of theirs.

Aside from the aforementioned long-lived Bobbi Brown option, the three other powder options that I use are the NARS blushes in Deep Throat and Mistinguette from this past Christmas's controversial One Night Stand palette and the Tarte Amazonian Clay 12-Hour Blush in the apparently now-discontinued shade Amused. Deep Throat is the only shimmery blush I use, and Mistinguette is the only shade I've used from its palette as I simply haven't yet tried the other shades and resisted swatching them as they hadn't yet graced my face. Amused, as you can see is by far the most pigmented blush I use, but when used with a light hand, it lasts very well on me.

So, there you have it: you've got me blushing in pinks of varying shades and undertones.