Since it’s a well-known fact that blush addiction is 1) contagious, and 2) that it spreads quickly, I thought I’d leave you with a little *something* while I’m away this week – my gift to you   It’s truly scary how quickly one can go from owning a handful of blush to moving into double-digits in an alarmingly quick fashion.  At the beginning of the year, I think I had 8 (plus a handful of highlighters and bronzers, so around 14 total), and in three short months I have pretty much doubled that number – yikes!!  I was so easy to judge when it was someone else, but I see how quickly things can go downhill.  It’s a fun ride slippery slope, but gosh are there ever some beautiful shades out there!  It’s so easy to fall prey to their powers.

The first installment in what will be a week-long series, are my pink and peach/coral shades.  It blows me away how some of these looks so similar in the pan, yet look nothing alike when swatched/worn.  I played around with the groupings a bit, but am fairly satisfied in how I divided them in the end.  Let’s begin with the pink blushes:

Clockwise from top left: Benefit Bella Bamba, Chanel Blush de Horizon, MAC Madly Magenta, theBalm Down Boy

MAC’s Madly Magenta, a matte cream, is really too violet for this grouping, but it’s the only one of it’s kind in my stash, so it’s joining the team.  I bought it well over a year ago, but the other three were bought or acquired over the past four months. Benefit Bella Bamba is a shimmering ‘watermelon pink’; Chanel’s Blush de Horizon is a shimmering cool-ish pink, and theBalm’s Down Boy is a matte baby pink.

All swatches taken with flash.  Left to right: Benefit Bella Bamba, Chanel Blush de Horizon, theBalm Down Boy, MAC Madly Magenta

Over the past few months, I’m coming to realize that what looks like one thing in the pan might be something else entirely when worn.  I thought for sure that Down Boy would look chalky on me, but it doesn’t at all – it’s just a lovely subtle pink flush.  I was surprized and slightly disappointed to see how close Bella Bamba and Blush de Horizon was, though Bella Bamba does have more pink pigmentation.  I’m still working on MAC’s Madly Magenta…maybe when I’m more tanned I’ll figure it out.

Next up, we have my peach/coral shades – my favorite color of blush.  I find myself always looking at these when I’m shopping, but so far I’ve been able to stop myself from buying more, until I can confidently say it’s a color I do not own.

From top left: NARS Torrid, Illamasqua Tweak, theBalm Hot Mama, Make Up For Ever #12 First Kiss

I know that Illamaqua’s Tweak (described as a deep hot pink) looks far too pinky to be here, but it’s too warm to be included with the ‘pinks’ group, and again it was one of a kind, so here it is. It actually wasn’t so far off from NARS Torrid, a ‘warm coral’ with shimmer, so it seemed to fit.  MUFE’s First Kiss HD Blush is a bright apricot (which is the only recent *purchase* out of this group), and theBalm’s Hot Mama is a pinky-peach with shimmer.

All swatches taken with flash.  From left to right: theBalm Hot Mama, MUFE #12 First Kiss, NARS Torrid, Illamasqua Tweak

It still blows me away every time how light Hot Mama is, when it looks so similar in the pan to Torrid.  Also, comparing Torrid in the pan to Benefit’s Bella Bamba, they look so close, and yet Torrid swatched/worn is SO much deeper than it looks – it’s shocking.  I was also surprized at how much more orange-leaning MUFE’s  #12 First Kiss looks when compared to other shades – when I bought it I thought I might have repeated something else in my stash.  I’m please to know that I didn’t

As a bonus shot, here’s what Illamasqua Tweak looks like when worn (on me):

Sunlight

Artificial light

In these shots, it looks like it should be with the pink family, doesn’t it?

So, there you have it – Part I of my ever-expanding blush collection!  I hope you enjoyed it – stay tuned tomorrow for Part II!!

Do you own any of these shades?  Were any swatches surprizing to you too?  What is your favorite blush shade?