A Makeup & Beauty Blog – Lipglossiping

I picked these Paula Dorf Cheek Color Cream Blushes up from eBay a couple of months ago and have only gotten around to swatching and playing recently.  They’re sheer, a little greasy-feeling and build nicely to create a natural-looking flush of colour.  My dry skin tolerates these well.

Cha Cha and Dollface will be wearable on most skintones whilst Disco is warmer and more suited to darker skintones than mine, although it is actually the sheerest of the three and with a bit more practice, I may be able to make it work once Summer comes around.  Maybe.  The Paula Dorf Cheek Color Creams have no discernable smell and apply smoothly with a stippling brush – fingers don’t seem to work quite so well for me with these.

I won’t blather on seeing as this is supposed to be a swatch post rather than an indepth review!

Do you prefer cream or powder blush?

I first heard about this new indie brand via Sirvinya’s blog and immediately fell in love with a couple of the eyeshadows featured in her swatches.  I hot-footed it over to the Victorian Disco Etsy page and ordered a batch of sample baggies to have a closer look myself.

Despite the Christmas rush, I received my order (from the U.S.) after only a week – not that I’m saying it’s unusual to receive products promptly from an indie retailer, but… well… you know…

The shadows are finely-milled and well mixed, they apply smoothly and blend beautifully when applied with a dry brush.  With mineral eye shadows, I tend to pat the lid colour on with a wet brush and apply the crease colour with a dry, blending brush to soften the edges and (usually) smoke out.  I haven’t experienced any application issues so far with my usual method.

On with the swatches! (…and official colour descriptions) – these have been swatched with a damp brush on dry, bare skin.

Archduchess: Medium dusty purple with violet, gold and blue sheen
Baroque: Light brown with gold flecks and sheen
Ewok Pajama Party!: Straight black with gold and violet sparkles, slight purple sheen
Lightsaber: Medium blue with a violet sheen
Luna: Deep strong black with a very prominent gold sheen and sparkles
Millenium Falcon: Deep silver with red, purple and 3D sparkles

Pannier: Deep brownish taupe with violet and gold flecks
Powder Wig: Bright metallic white with purple flecks
Revolutionary Ball: Black with a deep blue sheen
Sailor Mars: Rusty red with a pink sheen
The Fett: Deep purple with a light violet red sheen
Tuxedo Mask: Deep reddish black with purple and gold sheen

Pannier bleeds a green tinge around the edges of the swatch and I’d say that some of the colour descriptions are a little off but the shadows are really very, very beautiful.

My top picks are Revolutionary Ball, Sailor Mars, Tuxedo Mask, Ewok Pajama Party!, Archduchess, and Luna.  So, err most of them really.

Here’s a quick FOTD – I’m wearing Millenium Falcon (wet) on the lid with Tuxedo Mask (dry) blended softly into the crease and under the eye.

Also wearing: Kevyn Aucoin The Sensual Skin Enhancer  |  MAC Angel Lipstick  |  Illamasqua Sob Cream Blusher  |  Clinique High Impact Mascara

Any of those swatches show a shade with your name on it?

I picked this Estee Lauder blush up recently from the lovely Perilously Pale‘s blog sale and fell immediately in love with it once it dropped through my letterbox.

As a very pink-skinned thing, I used to be scared of anything that was warmer toned.  I still struggle to wear peach tones on my eyes and lips, but as a hint of blush?  Peach tends to look the most natural against my skin and is my favourite for toning down the redness that already exists in that area.

Estee Lauder Peach Nuance is a gradiated blush that swirls together to create a very pretty flush.  I would assume this shade will suit most skin colours.  If you’re bothered enough, I’m sure you could be selective about applying the peach segment/pink segment individually but I just use the entire gradiant swirled as one.

The blush has a matte finish with a silky texture that applies evenly and blends effortlessly.  It builds pigmentation quickly on my pale skin but if you’re a heavy-handed type – you’d probably get on well with this as it’s hard to overdo with just a single swipe.

Priced at £24.00, the Estee Lauder Signature Silky Powder Blush range looks to have some very pretty shades that I have added to my ‘must go and obsess over at the counter’ list.  It’s a long list.

Do you favour pink cheeks or peachy cheeks?!

As I write this, the webshop for Fyrinnae is open.  It won’t be for long… that’s about as certain as death, taxes and all that other stuff.  From a convenience and CS point of view, they’re not my favourite company to deal with but it’s undeniable that they make some very, very pretty shadows indeed.

Here are some of my favourites:

Yep, it’s all about the neutrals and purples as far as I’m concerned!

If I had to narrow it down to my three most used Fyrinnae shades?  I’d say: Knickers in a Twist, Forbidden Lover and Beholder.

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Do you love Fyrinnae?  What is your most used Fyrinnae shade?

I have the inimitable Pink Sith to thank for this Swatch Saturday.  When she told me all about it’s magical powers of taupeness, I knew I had to have it.  I’m not even gonna bother with a review, just read hers… it answers all the questions you’d ever need to ask.

Oh taupe haters (I know you’re out there), look away now.

Love it.  And I should bloody well think so too at £19.50.

Having said that, it’s a shade that I know is gonna see a LOT of use.  I’m already wearing it today smudged along my lashline as a liner.

Chanel Taupe Grisé #87 is Limited Edition, so if you think it may be for you too… head down to your nearest counter to have a play.

One of my favourites, it’s a sheer… which meant that I didn’t like it for about a week when I got it.  Until I discovered how easily it layered… and THEN discovered how easily I could use it as a crease colour without giving myself Panda eyes!

A cool toned violet/brown taupe with a hint of shimmer.  Urgh, even just describing it makes me wanna take it out and wear it right now (it’s 2am and I’ve washed my face already).

It’s my versatile friend that makes it possible for me to do subtle smoky daytime looks.  Without it, I’d be screwed.  I’m not being melodramatic, stop looking at me like that.

Thanks Francois, you’re the best.  No, really.