I go through phases where I love colour on my cheeks and times I absolutely hate it. Lately, I’m loving it! With the weather changing, I’m using darker plum tones that still give a bit of pop. Here are some of my favourites that work on darker complexions. The Dior blushes might be limited edition, but you can still fine them at some retailers.
In order from left to right:
Hourglass Ambient Lighting Blush – Mood Exposure $24 or $40 / £24 or £38 (available here)
Dior Rouge Blush – 783 Confident $44 / £36 (available here)
Dior Nude Luminizer Blush – 11 Plum Pop $48 / £35 (available here)
Nars Blush – Blissful $30 / £25 (available here)
Cover FX Monochromatic Blush Duo – Sweet Mulberry $38 / £30 (available here) [photo: matte, shimmer, matte topped with shimmer]
I love all of the blushes listed, but since this is a top 5 post, I’ve ranked them. Note the longevity is similar for all of the blushes listed. I typically can wear them for 4-6 hours without reapplying.
1) Dior Nude Luminizer Blush in 11 Plum Pop is truly my favourite of the bunch. It’s a deeper plum, with brownish red and pink tones. The shimmer is so fine, it gives a natural sheen to blush. The formula blends so easily. It’s a gorgeous blush that will work any time of year. The sheen of the Luminizer blushes is enough that I sometimes skip highlighter. I’d even consider this one a duo or multi chromatic blush; it looks a different colour depending on the angle. If you can find this, get it!
2) Dior Rouge Blush in 783 Confident has more of a berry tone when applied than the others. It’s a bright, bold, vibrant matte blush with a hint of shimmer, that’s barely noticeable. You have to be careful applying this one because there’s a lot of kick-up when dipping the brush into the pan, and also when applying. It’s very pigmented. You only need to tap the brush into the pan lightly, tap off any excess then apply to the face. Otherwise, you won’t get a precise application. Love this blush!
3) Cover FX Monochromatic Duo in Sweet Mulberry is a beautiful combination, a traditional matte blush paired with a baked gelee shimmer in the same tone. I usually wear either just the matte or both, never the shimmer alone. The matte shadow is a soft powder, with a lot of kick-up. It’s another one you have to be careful applying; just tap off any excess powder on the brush before applying to the face. I was losing sunlight when I took the solo photo of this one, but it is a nice subtle shade. It does show up on my complexion as shown in the group swatch photo.
4) Hourglass Ambient Lighting Blush in Mood Exposure, just like the rest of the Hourglass blushes – infamously difficult to swatch. Mood Exposure is a soft neutral plum tone, that works well with any look. I apply it lightly to avoid getting an ashen tone. This blush barely made the list, as it wouldn’t work for complexions darker than mine. Hourglass recently released a darker blush, which I’ll probably try at some point. However, it’s more of a rosy tone. If you are able to swatch the Hourglass blushes before buying, I suggest rubbing/blending it in with your finger so you can see the true tone of the blush on your complexion. This is my most used blush on the list, but since it’s too light for deeper complexions, it’s not my number 1. I’d love to see Hourglass do a deeper plum colour. Darker bronzers would be great too!
5) The Nars blush in Blissful is a more muted version of Plum Pop. The formula of Blissful isn’t as smooth; it’s more powdery and requires more work blending. Blissful is a unique plum colour, with blue shimmer. The blue shimmer will show up so I apply this very lightly or as a topper for a matte blush. This is probably my least used blush of the bunch.
I hope this post is useful. I struggled when buying them to find swatches on my complexion, especially blended swatches. Most people don’t wear blush to the same opacity as a finger swatch! I’ll be posting similar posts in the coming weeks for different base colours. Those might be harder to narrow down to just 5 since I have so many red and orange blushes.
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Sincerely,
AC
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