Transitional.  Transitional?  It’s a word, I checked, but I’m not sure I’m using it correctly….

Haha…I had to post this, I googled ‘confused face’ and this came up.  Awesome! (photo credit: iStock)

ANYWHO.  What I’m trying to say is, Illamasqua’s Cream Blusher in Crush, a gorgeous deep berry/wine, is the perfect shade to take you from a flushed, wintery look to a pretty, fresh pink look appropriate for spring.  So, it can transition well between seasons.  Ahhh, see what I’m sayin’??

Last month (which seems like AGES ago now), I was reading all about Amy’s hankering for a fabulously deep, rich-toned blush, and as you do when you’re a beauty fiend, I got it in my head that Crush was going to be THE dark berry I needed in my collection.  Lo and behold, while scoping it out on the brands site, it turned out to be majorly on sale, as was a beautiful cool-toned fuchsia gloss called Divine (which I will review soon!), so I sucked it up and paid the shipping costs to buy the both of them.  It ended up only costing me like $37CAD with tax and shipping, so I still saved a bunch (both the blush and sheer lipglosses are regularly $28CAD approx. and shipping $13 approx. on the site).

When my package arrived, I opened it to find delicious goodness – Crush was exactly what I was hoping for!

At first glance, this shade looks intense, I know.  And truth be told, the first time I went to wear it, I was like WHOA!  It can get pretty hardcore, as evidenced by the swatch below.  However, as long as you remember that you only need the *tiniest* amount to get a full-on flush, you’ll be good to go.  I tend to be heavy-handed with blush because a) half the time the shades I wear are better suited to fairer skin, and b) because I FRICKIN’ LOVE BLUSH and just want to smear it everywhere.  In any case, I just can’t get all slap-happy with this blush, and the results you get from taking a bit more time to get it right make it all very worthwhile.

The consistency of the blush is soft, smooth and sort of gel-like – likely because of the inclusion of petroleum.  I didn’t like the idea of that at first, but I have found that this hasn’t made my skin oily or clogged my pores at all, so no harm, no foul (it also contains fragrance, but so far it hasn’t caused me any grief, thankfully!).  In fact, this blush wears terrifically, lasting all day at almost the same strength as when first applied, which I think is due to the way it melds and clings to the skin.

This is an intense shade, no doubt about it, but it can be sheered out beautifully – my application method goes something like this: after applying foundation, very lightly dab a stippling brush into the pan, then dot it along the cheek / cheekbone on both sides of the face.  Go back and buff it out for the desired look, and then go over the edges to soften with your foundation brush.  I also patted right over the blush with my foundation brush to make sure it looked as natural as possible.

‘Scuse the plain look, I was going for a run, and was running TO a coffee shop to meet friends, so I didn’t want to go totally bare – LOL! 

Better?  This is me today – I didn’t show a full-face because my hair is all sorts of crazy today for some reason, but you get the gist.

Ahh, this blush is just so great!!  Love, love, love.  And see how it gives me a pinky tone?  I think that with a slightly more concentrated application, it could look more wintery/windblown, but with it’s cream-gel texture and by keeping it more subtle, it is totally spring-appropriate too.  The sheerness keeps it fresh and happy

Ingredients for your perusal!

If you’re in the market for a cream blush and/or a berry blush, I would start your hunt with Crush!!

Have you hit the jackpot on a sale item lately?  Do you own a fabulous berry blush?