Favourite Autumn & Winter Blushes: Blogmas Day Four!

When the cooler months arrive, with that distinct chill in the air and that all too familiar biting wind that only the chunkiest of scarves can combat, I find myself reaching for one of two colour families of blusher; neutral or super bright. Before this year I would have said that I don't change my make up for the seasons, but I was wrong, I totally do without even really noticing! Autumn and Winter make up to me is either a bold cheek & nude lip or a nude cheek and bright lip.

Being the total blusher freak/weirdo/addict/obsessive (please choose any of the above or any other alternative you would like) I could quite easily mention 15 blushes here, but I won't. Instead I'll be good, restrained even. Maybe. No, to be honest I think you'll still need a cup of tea to get through this post, but I'll try not to ramble. I promise. I have 6 to mention, a good mixture of high end and more affordable options.

Starting with the more neutral shades, the ultimate for me is NARS Penny Lane cream blush. There's no denying that at over £20 these are pricey, but I think if you find a colour in the range that you really love, the formula won't let you down and I don't think you'd be disappointed. This is a cream to powder blush and it easily lasts all day on my skin without needing to reapply at all. The way I would describe this shade is that it's the blush that will go with any make up look, be it a nude and neutral to a smokey eye to a bright lip. When I'm wearing a red or bight pink lip shade this is the blush shade I will reach for 99% of the time.

A similar blush, with a slightly thicker formula and a considerably lower price tag is the NYX Cream Blush in Natural. This wears quite well throughout the day, not as well as the NARS blush but it's still a lovely product. Again, a very neutral shade with a touch more pink so this is one I reach for when I'm wearing a brighter lip. This stays slightly dewy on my dry skin throughout the day which is nice, if I want a more matte look this looks equally as nice when set with a little translucent powder or a similar powder blush shade.

Vivo Cosmetics Rosy is a beautiful baked blush, it's super affordable and the colour is a pretty soft pink shade when blended on to the cheeks. It's not heavily pigmented, but you can build the colour up to be pretty strong but it never looks too much. This is the blush I reach for when I want a really soft, girly and natural looking make up. This looks lovely with a shimmery highlighter on the tops of the cheek bones to give a fresh and awake look.

Prime Time cream blush from Topshop is one of the newer additions to my blush collection but I think it's absolutely stunning. This has a really lovely cream to powder formulation and I find these wear really well throughout the day. I get a touch of fading, but importantly it fades evenly so your blush never looks patchy or odd and you don't have to touch up if you don't want to. It looks pretty bright in the pan but on the cheeks is softens slightly. Don't get me wrong, this is a statement pink shade and if you're fair like I am you'll need to be careful when applying but it's not overpowering and I think this is a shade that will suit a lot of skin tones. At £6 I think it's a total bargain because they're such good quality.

Illamasqua Laid was a blush I looked at a million times before I finally got it and I am so glad that I did. This is a shade I loved during the warm weather and I love it just as much now. It's quite similar to Topshop Prime Time in terms of colour but I'd say this is ever so slightly deeper in tone. You definitely wouldn't need both, but I think they are still different enough to justify having them both, if that makes sense. Illamasqua cream blushes will always be my favourite cream blush formulation, if you have super oily skin I don't think they would work that well for you, but if you have dry skin these are beautiful because they're so dewy and gorgeous! It barely looks like I've used any because it's so pigmented but I reach for this all the time so although they're pricey, I think they're worth every penny! To see a more in depth review & pictures of how this looks on my complexion, click here!

Finally, Illamasqua Tweak powder blush is my ultimate Winter blush. I know it looks super scary in the pan and a few years ago I would have looked at this and gone 'woah' and put it back down, but this is stunning on the cheeks! It's a red based hot pink colour and the tiniest amount on the cheeks gives the perfect rosy glow, that I've just walked in from the cold look that I love so much. It has a completely matte finish without looking dry & if you're ever near an Illamasqua counter, give this a try because I bet you'll love it! I have a separate review & a picture of how it looks on my complexion & to see that click here.

What is your all time favourite Autumn/Winter blush?

xoxo

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