The Compact Rouge ($38) by Edward Bess comes in three shades: After Sunset, Love Affair (coming soon) and Island Rose. It’s a multi-use product for lips and cheeks and comes in a small mirrored compact. I usually find “multi-use” products more suitable for only one of the uses they are intended for. Cream products for lips and cheeks are typically either too pigmented for use on cheeks (more suited for lips) or too creamy for the lips (and more suited for cheeks). Then there are those that are so creamy they end up making your skin look too dewey after a few hours. Not something that deters me from purchasing cream based products, however the Compact Rouges from Edward Bess are amazing in that they work well on both lips and cheeks without giving you a greasy finish.
Rather pricey at the size you get (I admit my jaw dropped at the size when I saw it in person) but I find them extremely versatile and naturally flattering. A little dab goes a long way. The formulas are creamy and easy to blend, but not too emollient so you can use them on the cheeks without worrying about that greasy/oily look as the day wears on. I like that you can control the level of pigment you want with these to get a wide range of finishes from heavy to sheer. I like mine to be applied with a medium hand on both lips and cheeks – I swipe 2 fingers (usually index and middle) across the compact, dot on cheeks in three places and just blend outward.
Compared to other brands, I find it similar in pigment to Bobbi Brown but easier to blend. It’s definitely more pigmented than Paul & Joe and NARS Cream Blushes, but then the Edward Bess is a multi-purpose product for both lips and cheeks (rather than just cheeks). It simply does not compare to MAC Blushcremes or Stila Convertible Colors (in my opinion). The EB is just different. Compared to Le Metier face creams, the Edward Bess is less sticky to the touch, but just as easy to blend. Note these are my own personal opinions, yours may differ based on your experience.
For the swatches below, I have medium skin with yellow tones. Right now the foundations I use are Chanel Shell Teint Innocence Liquid and Armani’s Lasting Silk Foundation in 5.5 + 6.5 mixed together.
The first shade released was Island Rose (a raspberry pink) with his Jet Set Collection last holiday. It was instant love. (Also guest swatched and compared on Karlasugar here.) I use it on a weekly basis. Occasionally they have promotions, the last GWP they had back in April was a free compact rouge with a $125 purchase. I have an extra one I keep in my purse. It’s been a life-saver several times when I had a last minute dinner date and nothing else in my car except my powder foundation and a compact rouge on hand.
After Sunset (described as a burned rose, almost bronzey reddish-brown) was released in April. Photos of the collection here. This is a versatile shade and great for girls who like warmer colors or browns. On me it’s a chameleon-like shade. Sometimes it goes on more neutral (like shown below). Some days it goes on darker and more brown.
Coming up in September, his newest shade Love Affair (a cool watermelon pink) is just as stunning. It is on the cool side. This shade has not officially launched in the US, but is scheduled to be released mid-September.
Here they are all next to each other:
Swatched at two extremes: heavy and super sheer
Note these may look different on you depending on your skintone and how heavy you apply these. I highly recommend checking out other websites such as Café Makeup, The Non-Blonde, Musical Houses. If you’ve tried these, please feel free to chime in your thoughts through the comments. If you’ve swatched/reviewed them, also feel free to link your website/blog for reference purposes.
