Made You Blush

Blush is one of those make-up items that I've always viewed as pretty essential. If I only have time to put on a few key make-up items, it'll usually be a spot of eyeliner, some blush, and lipgloss. Blush, to me, should achieve the look of naturally flushed cheeks, as if you'd just ran a few blocks or just came in from the cold. I love the rosy look.


Photo courtesy of Revlon.com

I went through a phase for a while where I got tired of powder blish and began experimenting with cream formulations. My favorite for a while was Revlon's Skinlights Color Lighting Blush (in Rosy, $7.99 at drugstores). It was my go-to blush for a good year or so, but eventually I started to dislike the shinyness of it (the "dewey look" it tried to achieve). So, several months ago while on a trip to Vegas, I decided to splurge and try out the Benetint Pocket Pal ($18, available at Sephora), which I'd had my eye on for a while.


Photo courtesy of Sephora.com

I immediately loved the stain-- it was just enough to give a subtle flush, but could also give you a bolder look if you applied more of it. I found out quickly that it's best to layer it if you're trying to go for more color, as the liquid dried quickly and can be harder to blend in well if you apply too much at once. You also have to be pretty careful when using it-- it's called a "stain" for a reason. I'm not real crazy about the color it gives me when I use the stain on my lips-- it looks a bit too bright and even slightly orange-y on me for some reason. But I love the color it gives my cheeks!

Unfortunately, the gloss end kind of... sucks. The gloss is frankly kind of hard to apply, it doesn't feel good on the lisp, and doesn't seem to last very long. I was quite dissappointed, especially since I'm a bit of a lipgloss fiend. It's not very cool to pay $18 for a product and have half of it be useless. I'm still quite happy with the stain (as a blush) and will get my use out of it. Though I doubt I will buy it again when it's all used up.