Hello my dears!  I hope this Tuesday finds you very well   By now, I’ve gotten into the groove and I’m hopefully nice and relaxed (all the free booze doesn’t hurt!).  Today I have some more of my blush collection for you: ‘reds’ and plums.  I put red in quotations because they’re not exactly red, but their of that variety so lets just go with that (anyone else find categorizing blush shades super-difficult!?).

We’ll begin with the questionable ‘red’ shades:

Clockwise from left: NARS Turkish Red, MAC Early Morning, CoverFX Garnet

Notice anything about my MAC blush?  Like the fact that it’s BROKEN!?!  I dropped it back in February, after I’d only had it for about a month, and you know there isn’t anything worse than dropping makeup and it breaking.  I was pissed. It makes me not even want to use it much, but I’m trying to get over that!!

Anyway.  Even though MAC’s Early Morning is described as a ‘peachy-pink,’ I find on me it looks much more like a peachy-red, and more of a burnished shade, so I pulled it in with this group.  It’s probably fairly close to NARS Torrid when worn, but I wanted things to look pretty and complimentary in the product shots, so…   NARS Turkish Red is a deep red cream blush, which I received in a swap last Fall – it’s now discontinued.  CoverFX Garnet is probably my oldest blush, as showcased by -*GASP!*- PAN!!  It’s part of the BronzedFX collection, but I feel it’s far too reddish to be considered a bronzer.  Its a great shade though; it looks fantastic with tanned skin in the Summer and great for a windblown flush in the Fall.

All swatches taken with flash.  Left to right: NARS Turkish Red, CoverFX Garnet, MAC Early Morning

As you can see, these blush aren’t exactly ‘red’ but they definitely have red tones in them.  Turkish Delight is a bit tricky to make work sometimes, but when it does, it truly looks stunning!  Garnet is just a great tone all-around with it’s brick-red qualities, and the shimmer isn’t so much that it’s gaudy.  Early Morning is a very wearable shade as well, as it IS coral (which works for most skintones) but with a faded, dusty tone to which you can wear very soft and subtle, or with a heavier hand to give the face a windburned look (which sounds weird but looks kinda great!).

Next, let’s take a gander at some of the plummier tones I have in my stash, which aren’t always the most popular picks because it can sometimes give a bruised quality, but can also be terribly flattering:

Clockwise from left: NARS Sin, Tarte Blushing Bride Cheek Stain, Bobbi Brown Velvet Plum

Plum blush actually looks quite lovely on my skintone, but like many I don’t gravitate toward them very often.  My first experience with plummy tones was with Tarte’s Blushing Bride Cheek Stain, a sheer deep plum, which I actually used first while staying with a friend in Toronto.  I loved it’s natural and glowing effect – but I find it’s lasting power and the stickiness leave something to be desired.  I also find it’s a bit too muted to show up much my skintone.  The other two shades here are just perfect though; NARS Sin, described as a ‘berry tone with gold shimmer,’ was a recent acquisition this year and it’s gives a great warmed-up look to my paler Winer face, and Bobbi Brown’s Pot Rouge in Velvet Plum is one of my favorite natural-looking blushes to use in the Summer.

All swatches taken with flash. Left to right: NARS Sin, Bobbi Brown Velvet Plum, Tarte Blushing Bride

I haven’t been wearing Velvet Plum much, which I hope to change when I come back from Jamaica – it really gives my skin a glow and looks super-natural and fresh.  Unfortunately, it looks like it’s been discontinued since the update to the packaging, so if you love it – you’re outta luck!  Sin will likely take a back seat until next Fall when my tan fades, as I suspect it won’t show up much on my darker skin.  As for the Tarte stain…I think it’s days are numbered.  It looks fantastic on my fairer-skinned counterparts, so perhaps I’ll leave it with someone who’ll give it a better home.  It just doesn’t get any attention and there’s still quite a bit left.

Part II finished on my blush collection!!  Be sure to check out Part I – Pinks and Peach/Corals – as well!

What are you’re thought so far?  See any glaring gaps in my shade selections, and particular products that I absolutely MUST own??