Soft Sculpture

Illamasqua Zygomatic was totally an unplanned purchase. I had already bought Naked Rose on holiday in the US less than a month earlier, and thought that effectively eliminated Zygomatic from my mental wishlist (it was a choice between the two of them, and I'd made mine). But what happens when Illamasqua decide to lower their Australian prices, making a blush almost the same price as in the US? You know what happens. An innocent trip to the Illamasqua counter in Myer, to merely check out what's on offer, with no intention to buy, of course. Until I decide to try some Zygomatic on my cheeks, and the rest is history.

In the pan, Zygomatic looks like a medium rosy brown, kind of like a dusty pink but more brown-leaning. I've been getting more into neutral blushes rather than the usual pinks and peaches I gravitate towards, and Zygomatic is exactly what I'm after. Though it swatches quite brown, it actually appears more pink on my cheeks. The effect is quite subtle and natural looking. It's not a bright or warmed up pink, it's more of a toned down, neutral pink that melds with the colour of your own skin. If built up, it can start to look more brown than pink, so I prefer to apply it lightly. I usually apply this with my fingers, mainly on the apples of my cheeks and then blending outwards and upwards, but I've tried it with the Ecotools baby kabuki brush and it worked well, though it dispersed more product over a wider area. This is a cream blush, so it's a little messier than a powder, but it texture is non-sticky and it's easy to blend.

I think this is the perfect blush to add really natural, subtle colour to your face. I often find blushes are too dark, too red, too shimmery, too bright, too difficult to apply — but Zygomatic is none of those things. This sophisticated pinky nude is soft, understated and easy going.