Fall Flush

Seasonal makeup can be a little clichéd (summer's all about bronzed, glowy skin and brights, winter is matte textures and darker, moodier colours), but part of me always looks forward to the weather cooling down and the days getting shorter just to bring out my autumnal blushes, lipsticks and nail polishes. Last year, I loved the trend of wine/dark berry lips, but lately I've been itching to bring out the more plummy and rosy blushes in my stash that mimic the flush of briskly walking in the chill.

l-r:Benefit Dallas, Rimmel Genuine Plum, NARS Sin, Bourjois Rose Éclat

Benefit Dallas
I've always associated Dallas with cooler weather as I find it a bit too dark and brown-toned for summer. This is one of those blushes I always wonder why I don't wear more often each time I reach for it. It looks a bit blah in the pan, but I think the colour really suits Asian skin tones and the rosy tan shade gives a subtle sculpting effect while adding a touch of luminosity to the complexion. It almost doubles up as a wintry bronzer while the colour remains relatively neutral (think NARS Douceur), but still earthy and enlivening.

Rimmel Lasting Finish Soft Colour Mono Powder Blush in Genuine Plum (170)
This was a blush I purchased without having access to a tester because I loved how it looked in the pan. It was the most pure, medium-toned, slightly purplish but bright berry colour that just screamed autumn. On my cheeks, I find it fairly similar to NARS Angelika, except that it's matte, slightly darker and more fuchsia. I'm usually not partial to these kinds of darker, berry pinks, but Genuine Plum is such a quintessential autumnal colour that there's definitely room for it in my blush drawer.

NARS Sin
One of the most famed blushes from NARS, I wanted to love Sin but I really struggle to make it work for me. It is the single most pigmented blush I own, and not in a good way. I need only the lightest touch and furious blending to avoid the appearance of muddy, bruised cheeks. I was hoping that the distinctly purple tone and gold shimmer would elevate Sin to something special, but to the degree I have to blend it, the shimmer's mostly lost and it just looks like an ordinary berry red. Lasting power however is excellent, consistent with my experience of NARS blushes in general.

Bourjois Little Round Pot Blush in Rose Éclat (15)
Less reddy pink/fuchsia than Rimmel Genuine Plum, Rose Éclat is like a combination of Genuine Plum and Benefit Dallas. It still has a bit of that burnished, warm, earthy quality that autumnal blushes are known for, but it's a bit more rosy-neutral and brown than something more berry or mauve/purplish. The texture with this baked blush is slightly patchy and on the dry side, not as smooth or pigmented as the previous three. There is a barely detectable shimmer running through but it's predominately matte.