Guerlain Blush 4 Éclats - Sculpting Blush

i can't get enough blushes these days and slowly am trying out some designer brands. the Guerlain Blush 4 Éclats - Sculpting Blush in #07 Caresse de l'Aube arrived few days ago, this shade initially was part of the fall collection 2010 but was still available at the online shops i tried. i heard it was so popular that Guerlain is keeping it in the permanent line, but i couldn't find it at the counters.

the blush comes in the regular Guerlain packaging like the eyeshadow quads and singles, a compact in an organic shape that is looking like a melting gold bar. inside it has a full size mirror and a small angled natural hair brush, that is quite gentle and soft.
the blush itself is scented in Guerlain's signature Violet scent, it's quite apparent but will evaporate quickly after applied.
it contains 4 different colour coordinated shades in slightly different textures. the #07 Caresse de l'Aube consists:

• a satin light rosey tan with white microshimmer
• a satin pale pink with microshimmer
• a matte pale salmon colour
• a matte rosey beige

all shades are very light and transparent, they mix together to a peach with a rose hue and apply like a light bronzey flush. you could try to use two shades each, but normally i just swirl them altogether. the textures are excellent, very very fine and tender, the pigmentation is sheer but buildable. so you can go from a transparent barely-there wash to a healthy more apparent look, just like kissed from the first sun of spring. a very wearable colour, i can't imagine a look i wouldn't work with.

it goes on beautifully without any blotchiness and is very blendable. you can hardly get it wrong since it's so light and sheer. but still it gives great definition and really is scupting, i think also because of the high rate of brown/beige in it.
i have no other comparable shade in my stash, so this time: sorry, no comparison swatches.
the delicate satin finish gives a natural sheen to your cheeks, making them looking youthful and tight. it makes the skin of my cheeks looking sooooo poreless, i don't know how it does that.
i will definitely get another shade of this range if all of them are so fantastic, maybe a rose colour. the price of 44.95€ is really high, but remember you get 9g of product with this!
please notice that this is a light colour, it may perform like NARS Sex Appeal blush (which i don't have (yet) and can't confirm) and isn't working for deeper skintones such as MAC NC30+.

Guerlain Caresse de l'Aube in direct sunlight: top left - top right - bottom left - bottom right - mixed together

Guerlain Caresse de l'Aube in the shadow: top left - top right - bottom left - bottom right - mixed together

UPDATE

in this picture i'm wearing it:

I'm digging powders! part VII: Laura Mercier & MAC

finally a regular ABC-sequal to my powder series: we're going on with Laura Mercier & MAC!

Laura Mercier Mineral Powder

9.6g for 35$

i purchased this in order to the great reviews of some of my fave youtubers. i went for the shade "Real Sand" which would fit about a NC20ish skintone. the packaging is nice and sturdy, it comes in a plastic tub with a screw top and has a sifter that you can close by twisting the plastic insert. so you can also customize the amount of product that comes out and it helps to avoid it getting messy when you take it with you or don't store it standing upright.
the powder is very fine and has little shimmer particles in it, so it gives a natural coverage with a healthy sheen. you won't notice the shimmer as itself once applied. i don't use it as a mineral foundation, i find it too sheer for my skin issues and prefer the flawless finish of a good liquid foundation. but i like to use it as a setting powder or as a additional layer on a light coverage foundation. it has a glowy, almost dewy finish and doesn't get cakey at all.
a con for me is it's not great in oil-control so i think drier skins would get along with this very well.  oily skins like mine will need to retouch about mid-day.



MAC Mineralize Skinfinish/Natural (= MSFN)

10g - 26.50€/18.50£/27$

one of my first MAC products, bonded to a beautiful Paris-memory of the Champs Élysées and the big Sephora store of 2009.
this is in "Medium" for about NC20-25 skin, but i find this shade too neutral for my yellowish skinmtone. it's a baked powder, medium-fine, with a light-medium coverage and a silky finish. you can use it as a powder foundation applied heavier with a dense brush like a kabuki brush or lightly as a setting/finishing powder with a loose, fluffy brush. i like this to give light foundations some extra coverage and still have a natural glow. it has a even and flawless finish, also due to the silica that is contained. the compact is very convenient to be taken it you as a touch-up powder.
the MSFN also doesn't have much oil-control abilities, i find all the mineral products i used so far don't. but i sill like it for the finish is gives. this is coming to its end, i have about 3g of product  left, but would buy another, more yellow toned shade when it's gone.


take a look at my other reviews of the "I'm digging powders!"-series ;)
there are still some left, next time we'll do NARS :)

NARS blushes revisited?

i took a look at my old swatch post of my NARS blushes and noticed that the pictures aren't really true to colour, part of it because i was just starting with this blog and haven't done that much pics of my stash to get a feeling for it, another (big) part is because of the bad lighting back then in the deepest winter.
i have swatched them again, to see if it's any better, but am unsure if there is interest from your side. or should i wait 'til summer (or at least a really sunny day in spring) to do that again and give you those pics? what do you think?

FOTD purple+brown.

this eye make up is a little bit more colourful than i would normally wear, but the brown on the lower lash line brings it down to earth. how do you integrate colours into your daytime make up?

products used:

Vichy Aera Teint Pure #23 + BeautyBlender

Guerlain Météorites Powder Pearls #01 Teint Rosé + Artdeco skunk brush

Benefit Bella Bamba + MakeUpShow Blush Brush

TheBalm Time Balm Concealer in Light/Medium + Hakuhodo brush + Shiseido Brow Pencil in GY901 + Alverde Brow Gel + Catrice Liquid Liner in brown + Shu curlers + Maybelline Stretch&Define Waterproof + L'Oreal Volume Million Lashes

Urban Decay Primer Potion

MAC Silverwear (light lavender from 6 Beauties Play It Cool palette - upper left) in inner corner with MAC 242 + MAC Odd Couple (purple side) on the lid with MAC 242 + MAC Togetherness (purple stripe) in outer corner with MAC 222 + Artdeco #16 mixed with MAC Bronze (from 6 Dashing Lassie palette - lower left)  on lower lashline with MAC 239 + MAC 224 to blend.

Dior Rouge Dior in #298 Beige Indécise

MAC Fix+ to set

MNY eyeshadow 805A (I'm A Material Girl -LE) - dupe to NARS Cairo?

in the last few months, i discovered a love for medium neutral shades. no definite taupes, no browns, now smokey shadows like i hunted before (and still do), but very wearable, easy colours just a hint darker than your eyelids which give you a hint of distinct colour, like a slight gold or mauve or sand shade.
the MNY eyeshadow in 805A just falls exactly in the latter category and instantly cought my eye. it reminds me of NARS Cairo, a holy grail of me these days, and so i bought it for comparison purpose. it's part of a limited edition called "I'm A Material Girl" and available now at dm drugstores. it doesn't say how much product is in the pan, but at less than 2€ you needn't hesitate to buy back ups in case this shade becomes a basic.
but you can't expect much of the packaging. it's just worst. reminds me of toy-make up. i definitely suggest you to depot it into a palette.
it's a rosey light taupe colour. the white and pink shimmer is rather fine and boarders a satin finish. it looks darker in the pan than applied. the pigmentation is ok, very blendable and foolproof.
in direct comparison to NARS Cairo, i have to admit that they aren't dupes like i thought before, Cairo is more yellow-based but both have the same colour-intensity and a similar finish. if you liked Cairo, you'll like this too.
with a primer underneath, i have no problems with creasing or fading. as this is my first eyeshadow from this brand (MNY is the pocket money-friendly line of Maybelline, aimed to younger girls), i must say that i'm pleasantly surprised with the quality. but i would not buy more shades if they weren't absolutely unique, just because i already have soo many (high end) eyeshadows and sooo little storage space left that will only let special gems enter.

MNY 805A - NARS Cairo

MNY 805A - NARS Cairo

the big post about synthetic foundation brushes.

i loveloveloveloooooove to discover and try out tools for the perfect foundation application and got stuck on those with synthetic hair. i tried out some natural hair brushes (like the MAC 109, a Hakuhodo one, MAC 165 and also several flat top natural hair brushes) but found those not as suited for foundation application because of the following points:

• brushes of natural hair tend to shed short little hairs when used with liquid foundation
• they are just not as soft as synthetic brushes and are a little bit harsh when they are wet/damp and used with swirling motions on your face
• some tend to bleed dark dye and i'm afraid they could also bleed a little when are wet with liquid foundation and cause a greyish tinge on your complexion
• foundation residues build up on natural hair more than on synthetic hair.

i also tried dual fibre brushes (MAC 187 & co.) for foundation application. uhm, no. i just don't see thed need for loose synthetic fibres.
there are the stiple&swirl/only stiple/only swirl methods: but where is the advantage of the loose white fibres in comparison to a normal flat top or round synthetic brush? if you want a sheerer application, why don't just buff a little further?

so at this point of my foundation-brush-journey, i'm resting on the swirling-only method with not too densely packed, round shaped synthetic brushes with slightly flat tops. i use them to apply foundation in small circular motions, only with the tips of the brush head. so i get a thin and non-streaky, even application, quick and effective.

here are most of my brushes of this kind:

the HD-brushes by Sigma, already reviewed here. (42$ at the official Sigma website or various resellers, i won't link them as i'm not a big supporter.)

Hourglass foundation brush #2, already reviewed here. 47€, available on zuneta.com.

the infamous Sephora Collection Professionel Platinum Air Brush #55 (34$ at sephora.com, now for us german based via Hana/Mad About MAC on facebook).
the first i got to know and so for me "the mother" of this kind of round shaped rather fluffy synthetic brushes explicit for foundation application, and which revolutionized my foundation routine. i was on the hunt for dupes of this a long time, 'til somebody i knew bought the original for me on a US-vacation.

the newer hyped brush from Sephora Collection is the Professional Mineral Powder Brush #45 (26$ on sephora.com. i bought it from Hana, link above ;) )
i don't really like this brush. the hairs are too harsh in my opinion. how can you make a synthetic brush this harsh?! many love this for mineral foundation, though. so maybe the harsh hair help with working in mineral powder. but i don't use mineral foundation, so i can't see the benefits of this. also this harsh hair would cause extra microexfoliation on my dry winter skin and the finish wouldn't look good at all. i'll work with this in the summer again and will tell you if there are any improvements.

the Sigma ss190 (dupe for MAC's 190) i got in their Complete Kit. a standard paddle brush. this particular one is quite thin and flexible. i don't like it for foundation at all, streaky finish, hard to get it right. i use it for concealer, primer, moisturiser or a face mask at the most.

Louise Young LY34 Super Foundation Brush became really famous thanks to the great reviews by the pixiwoo sisters on youtube, so i needed (!) to try it. it is dense like a paddle type foundation brush, but round shaped and is tapered all around to a pointed tip. so it works as a hybrid of the two types, you can do strokes and swirls with it. because it is quite big, it makes foundation application very quick and easy. i would use it to apply moisturiser or primer first so it won't absorb too much of you foundation.
it's 24£ and available at louiseyoungcosmetics.com.

Essence Blush Brush, the cheapest of all, but still one of the best (so i have about 4 or 5 of them ;) ) and the closest dupe to the Sephora #55 Air Brush i could find. you can get these for less than 3€ everywhere Essence is sold. with several limited editions, they also came in a different version with sleek white hair and pink tips. i like the initial version the best, the hair is more structured so it gets and distributes the product better.
i also find the short handles very nice and easy to use (great for all myopic!) but also nice to take it with you.
i have never tried it with powder products or particularly for blush, so i can't rate the actual function.

the Ebelin Professional Powder Brush is an additional acquisition on my hunt for the perfect dupe of the (back then) unaccessable Sephora #55 Air Brush. you can get it for 3-4€ at dm drugstores. it's of really nice quality for a drugstore brush, you have to remember this product sector is very very poorly developed in germany, especially in comparison to the US. i find it a bit too fluffy, i.e. the hairs are too long for my likings. many girls use it in its hair's whole length and are totally ok with it, but i find it better when i put a scrunchy around it to make it a bit more dense. of course i would take off the scrunchy for washings.

Cover FX #170 Pointed Foundation Brush i bought this brush immediately after i read the title of a blogpost by Emma (birdsdecoratebranches.blogspot.com), stating that this could possibly be "the best foundation brush ever" (i am so easy to get hahaha). i was lucky to find a seller on ebay who could get this brush for me at a very reasonable price (i think i paid about 24Ca$, shipping included - while it would be 30£ in the UK).
it's a small and densely packed, round shaped, very pointed brush with sleek fibres. it's like a smaller and denser version of the Louise Young brush, or a gigantic eyeliner brush ;).
i don't really love it as Emma does, but it's really something special and i don't regret buying.

the Boots No.7 Foundation Brush i was very curious to try because Lisa Eldridge, who i adore, is the creative director of the brand and often uses it. and i don't think she'd use it only for promotion purposes. luckily i found a seller on ebay who could get it for me for about 10£ plus shipping.
this brush is a paddle type brush, but it is thicker than normal brushes and makes it more comfortable to use not only in sweeping motions, but also in circular motions and creates less streaks than the Sigma ss190 i find. it is beautiful to apply cream highlighter and to blend in under-eye concealer.

and finally the Blusher Brush 1 from Illamasqua (25.50£ on illamasqua.com) which is great for liquid foundation for everybody who loves/wants to try the MAC 109 for this, but struggles with the shedding. this is way better. if you liked the 109, you'll ask yourself "why did i?" after you've tried this. a great brush, i should use it more often!
it's a round dense and soft brush with lightly structured fibres and a rather flat brush head. it's great with contour powders, too. i haven't used it for blusher, though.
the design is very sleek and the quality is outstanding. the best next to the Hourglass brush, quality-wise.