Onward to the Sunday Riley blush swatches...there has been a lot of buzz about these cheek colors, particularly the shade "Blushing" which is sold out on Barneys.com earlier this week.
The blushes, which retail for $30, come in a basic color-range palette, but what makes the very special is how finely milled they are. One swipe, and your cheek is met with a luminous flush that is not the slightest bit powdery. Barney's in Beverly Hills had just received a shipment of the coveted "Blushing" shade and I promptly procured it for personal use.
On to the swatches...
The blushes come in six colors range in intensity from the perfect natural pink (Blushing), to a deep plummy berry (Dimples) with some fabulous options in between.
1. Blushing is shockingly pale in the pan and even to swatch, I thought it might be too light to show up (at first glance, it looks similar to Benefit's Dandelion or Giorgio Armani's Translumience from Spring 2011). However, once it has a chance to warm up on your skin, the most quintessential pinky rose appears, taking on a very natural life of its own. So happy I bought this...I can wear it alone or over bronzer on the apples of my cheeks and it is as if a moderate workout or brisk walk in cool air has touched my cheeks and made them glow--except I've only had to exert a very little amount of energy.
2. Honest is a nude/brown based warm blush with slight shimmer and a light wash of color.
3. Honeymoon Night is a deeper rose flush.
4. Intimate is a shimmery coral, similar to Nars Orgasm, but in my opinion, much more wearable. Because it is so finely milled, the shimmer is more glowy than it is frosty.
5. Rush is a darker rose/coral hybrid with no visible shimmer--this particular tester had taken some abuse and wasn't yielding the pigment I needed for a proper swatch. I suspect that a fresh one would yield a much deeper tone than you see on my arm.
6. Dimples is a dark plummy berry, suitable for darker skin tones or a more dramatic evening look.
Below: Sunday Riley Blush swatches in natural light
Once I brought my Blushing home, I took some photos so you could see the lovely case and soft sheath within which the blush is contained.
As mentioned before, the blush looks very light and soft in the pan, but it goes on with such a radiance and healthy flush, one can only try it to believe its magic.
I am delighted with these blushes, especially the one I own, and cannot wait to try Intimate for summer.