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Bronzer + Blush

Bronzer + Blush Eye Makeup NARS

NARS NARSissist L’Amour, Toujours L’Amour Eyeshadow Palette and NARSissist Cheek Studio Palette

January 20, 2016

NARS is killing it this spring. There seems to be something to love in every launch so far this year from the Hot Sand Collection, Velvet Matte Skin Tints and freshly launched Spring Color Collection (a few items to be reviewed on the blog soon but in the meantime check out swatches on my friend Café Makeup’s page). I’m particularly smitten with the Hot Sand/Laguna Cheek Duo and the Velvet Skin Tints are  There are two new palettes this spring, one for eyes and one for cheeks, both limited edition. For eyes we have the NARSissist L’Amour, Toujours L’Amour Eyeshadow Palette ($59 for 12 eyeshadows) and for the cheeks there is the NARSissist Cheek Studio Palette ($65, Sephora Exclusive). Both of these come in some seriously sturdy packaging – they are cased in hefty mirrored compacts and I think the presentation is exquisite.

The NARSissist L’Amour, Toujours L’Amour Eyeshadow Palette has twelve eyeshadows that seem to feature a new formula. Many of you have expressed dissatisfaction in the quality and texture of shadows in previous palettes (in particular the NARSissist Eyeshadow Palette from 2014ish). I haven’t tried all of the palettes NARS has launched, but never had an issue with texture. Size of pans has been significantly smaller in previous releases which I found a bit challenging to dip larger brushes into, but it seems as though NARS took all the complaints of past palettes and made changes for the better with this one.

The texture of these is feels slightly creamy, but they are all powders – pigment is smooth and easy to layer. Some of the dark matte shades will go on a bit patchy if you use a medium to large brush – so I recommend trying a small detail dense brush to layer and blend the dark mattes. Overall performance is really good. With the exception of the one coppery shimmer shade, I would say the effect of this one is cool-toned. I do think you need a slightly creamy eyeshadow base to help bring out the pigment richness of the colors, but they perform really well alone too. My favorites are the Edward Bess Illuminating Eye Base, Laura Mercier Caviar Eye Sticks in Rose Gold and NARS Velvet Shadow Sticks. Application is excellent – there will be a little bit of fall out from the powders when you apply on the eyes, but once you have them on the lids – they stay put without fading or smudging. I found they lasted all day long nicely.

Descriptions and swatches:

Row 1 features four larger pans each 0.11 oz/3.2 g, shades are named I, II, III, IV:

  • Matte creamy neutral with slight pink tones
  • Shimmering champagne with beige/ivory tones
  • Shimmering mauve taupe
  • Matte charcoal

Rows 2 and 3 have smaller pans, but are still large enough that you can easily fit an eyeshadow brush into without having to worry about mixing colors. These are 0.05 oz/1.5g each:
  • Frosted white gold
  • Shimmering warm copper orange
  • Matte mauve
  • Shimmering steel with slight olive undertone
  • Shimmering steel blue grey
  • Matte navy indigo
  • Shimmering cool grey-brown
  • Shimmering grey-black with blue tones and silver flecks

Here’s a quick eye look with the neutrals using the four shades in the top row 1 and a little bit of the last color in row 2. I love that online at the NARS website, they did eye swatches of all 12 shades on three skintones. Check it out here.

If you’re wondering how this compares to the Urban Decay Gwen Stefani Eyeshadow Palette (reviewed + swatched here), I would say both are excellent options. Picking one over the other is challenging because I think they are different in color options and texture. If you’re looking for something cooler-toned and want a palette that can take your look from neutral to smokey, go with the NARS. If you want something with warmer more neutral options, go for the UD x Gwen Stefani Palette. The textures of course are very different in each palette. The NARS has a creamy smooth buttery texture. The Urban Decay palette has a wider mix of mattes, shimmers, and sparkles – also the pink and bright blue offer a more vibrant/less neutral option.

Onto the cheeks with the NARSissist Cheek Studio Palette ($65, Sephora exclusive). Many asked how this compares to the Steven Klein One Shocking Moment Palette from Holiday. I wasn’t able to buy (it sold out quickly) so I can’t compare the two in great detail. The top three shades are the same in each palette. Based on a google search, it appears the newest one for spring offers two shades that are lighter options on the bottom left half and then darker options for the bottom right half. I do believe that the one from holiday had two existing blush colors in Luster and Dolce Vita. The new one for spring offers four new shades on the bottom. This seems to be an all-in-one kind of palette for the cheeks. It has contouring powders, a bronzer, and four blushes (two of which I think could pass for highlighters, at least on me).

The colors in this palette include:

  • Paloma Contour Duo which is available separately. It offers richly pigmented matte powders in a soft pinkish cream color and a deeper contour shade that pulls mauve on my skintone.
  • Laguna Bronzer is a classic shade (also available separately) that warms up the complexion and adds depth without looking orangey or too dark. It’s easily buildable for a natural glow or deeper bronze. In my college days there were many times where this was all I would apply on the cheeks.

The bottom row has colors that are listed as blushes:

  • I is a pale pink that glows. It’s a matte base but if you look closely at the pan you will see tiny bits of finely milled gold shimmer. I was worried this would not show up on my skin, but it offers the prettiest baby pink glow. I hope this makes an appearance in full-size eventually.
  • II is is light pink in the pan, but applies darker on my skin like a soft natural rose pink glow, I adore this shade. It has tiny flecks of silver sparkle but it’s not glittery on the skin.
  • III is a deeper warm reddish color but as you can see from the swatch below, it’s not orangey (however it will pull darker, warmer and almost orangey on fairer skin tones like The Non-Blonde)
  • Goulue is a new shade, currently a VIB Rouge Exclusive at Sephora, it’s a stunning medium-deep rose with golden shimmer

I think this palette will be a versatile one that will go with a wide range of looks for lips and eyes, but the overall color scheme seems to be on the medium to dark side which may be too much for fair skins if you find blushes tend to darken/oxidize on you. For me – I love a strong blush to add a bit of color and life to my face when I wear neutral lips. The texture of the blushes is smooth and easy to blend. I think it contains classics one can wear every day. The colors with the exception of the Paloma duo are all shimmery, but they don’t emphasize my pores or look frosted.

There are a few new launches for face palettes to choose from this spring including the Urban Decay x Gwen Stefani Blush Palette (new shades) and MAC Contour and Sculpt Palette (value set with cult classics). You may want to browse stores or research swatches online before committing to a palette. I feel like this season we are on highlighter, foundation and blush overload. I just got both of the other two, I’ll try to review and compare them as soon as I can.

I deem both of these palettes winners in terms of color selection, quality and packaging. They are travel-friendly and I love that they come with in a sturdy compact with a decent sized mirror which makes it easy to apply them on-the-go. They are both limited-edition. I think given the size and packaging the prices are very reasonable for a luxury beauty palette.

You can find the NARSissist L’Amour, Toujours L’Amour Eyeshadow Palette for $59 online at NARS, Barneys New York and Saks Fifth Avenue (for some reason right now it’s listed at a higher price at Saks). The NARSissist Cheek Studio Palette retails for $65 and is exclusive to Sephora online and in stores.

Have you checked out these NARS palettes yet? What did you think?

Both palettes were sent courtesy of the NARS team for review consideration.

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Bronzer + Blush Highlighters Tom Ford Beauty

Tom Ford Beauty Cream Cheek Color Pink Sand for Summer 2015

April 27, 2015

Tom Ford Beauty has released a Cream Cheek Color for summer called Pink Sand ($65 for 0.17 0z/5 g, made in Canada). It’s a luminous soft pink gold blush that gives my medium/olive skin a soft glow that comes cased in a small white and gold mirrored compact. There is enough color that you can see the pink color but on my complexion I find it performs more like a highlighter shade rather than a traditional blush. The effect is similar to the glow NARS Orgasm gives minus the frost and minus the peachy tone. Pink Sand is multi-dimensional so depending on how the light hits it sometimes you will see more of the pink base, other times you will see more of the gold shimmer. I love how it gives a natural glow to the skin.

It has a soft creamy feel with a dewy glow finish. On the cheeks it stays dewy but as the day progresses remains dewy but not greasy. I’ve been experimenting with this for two weeks now and like this either alone for low-key makeup days, as a base for powder blush or bronzer to give cheeks dimension and help color adhere to the face, or topped on top of cheek bones over blush/bronzer for a highlight. It’s really versatile. I’ve also tried this on the lips. It looks pretty topped with a clear gloss or dabbed in the center to add a bit of shimmer. As far as I can tell there is no detectable scent or taste.

A few more close ups and swatches:

Swatched with a heavy hand, once blended it sheers out:

A few comparison swatches to other cream and liquid highlighter/blushes. Most of these were either limited-edition or were discontinued (previous features and reviews will linked below):

Tom Ford Cream Cheek Color in Pink Sand

Pink Sand offers a radiant no-fuss easy to use glow to my medium skin (I use Tom Ford Traceless Perfecting Foundation in Bisque 4, swatches to other foundations in rotation here). On lighter skin tones the pink will show up more and probably make this look more like a pink blush. If you’re medium to dark this will probably perform more like a highlighter on your skin tone. Lasting power on my normal combination skin was very good, from morning to afternoon without fading. If you have super oily skin you may find the dewy factor increase into the afternoon. Being a huge fan of Tom Ford Beauty I really love this one. It’s quite a splurge at $65 so if you’re unable to test in person I hope you find the swatches and comparisons in this post helpful.

The Tom Ford Soleil Collection for summer is starting to trickle in stores and online. You can find Pink Sand now online at Nordstrom and Saks. Available for pre-order at Neiman Marcus, Bergdorf Goodman and Tom Ford (while supplies last as it is a limited-edition item).

The Tom Ford Pink Sand was provided courtesy of the PR team for review consideration.

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Bronzer + Blush Hourglass Cosmetics

Hourglass Ambient Lighting Bronzers

April 11, 2015

Last week I was lucky to get a preview of the new Hourglass Ambient Lighting Bronzers ($50 each for 0.39 oz / 11 g) at the Abbot Kinney store in Venice Beach. There are two additions to the Ambient Lighting collection. There are two options of bronzer infused with highlighter combined into one mirrored compact:
  • Luminous Bronze Light is described as a medium tan shade fused with Luminous Light, a champagne pearl powder, for a softer candlelit warmth, ideal for fair/light complexions
  • Radiant Bronze Light is the darker option described as a warm bronze shade fused with Radiant Light, a golden beige powder, to mimic a summer glow, ideal for medium/deep complexions
Both are available now exclusively at Sephora.com for VIB/VIB Rouge Members. For the official launch details and dates:
  • April 7 – 14 the bronzers will be available to Sephora’s VIB Rouge customers
  • April 15 the bronzers will launch wide on Sephora.com and HourglassCosmetics.com
  • May is when the bronzers will hit stores
A quick peek at the Hourglass store + event before I get into the review:

Ambient Lighting Bronzers and Blush (blush review here)

Incandescent Electra which is currently exclusive to the Ambient Lighting Blush Palette will be available separately Sephora.com on 4/15 and HourglassCosmetics.com on 4/23, and will also hit stores in May, also shown below the Hourglass Brushes

Another reason to visit the Hourglass store: you can create your own custom Ambient Lighting Palette with any of the highlighter options

The two new bronzers are absolutely stunning. As a huge fan of the Ambient Lighting Powders and Blushes, I could barely contain my excitement when I was able to see the new bronzers in person. Both are on the warm side and are extremely pigmented. Although they have the highlighter aspect mixed in, I found them to have a more satiny glow with a very soft luminous shimmer. As with the blushes, the color portions and swirls are rich and super saturated so a little goes a long way. The colors are easy to blend and layer.

The Ambient Lighting Powder Brush is super soft and plush which will dispense just the right amount of product for a soft glow. If you want more color, use the tip to contour the cheeks or a denser blush brush. The texture is soft and airy which makes them glide on the skin in a soft smooth manner. Each one is hand blended so the swirls will be different in every compact.

Close ups of each Ambient Lighting Bronzer, Luminous Light has a mix of champagne and soft tan, it looks neutral in the pan but applies warmly on the skin.

Radiant Bronze Light is the deeper option and is a few shades darker than the Luminous version:

Swatches with different light and angles, first in natural light without any flash:

In direct sun with a flash:

Detailed close up:

Comparisons to the highlighter counterparts:

Two sets of swatch comparisons to other bronzers:

Hourglass Radiant Light (reviewed + swatched here)

Chanel Les Beiges Multi Color (from Summer 2014, reviewed here)

One last shot: left is Luminous Bronze Light, right is Radiant Bronze Light

I’ve been alternating between the two since the event and am partial to the lighter option Luminous Light. On my medium olive toned skin they add just the right amount of warmth and glow. They are both warm without being orangey. There is just the right amount of shimmer and glow to give the face depth and dimension without emphasizing pores like some highlighters do. I like these layered on top of blush or alone for warmth. Even though Luminous Light is designed for light to fair skins, I think it will still show up on medium skin tones like Chanel B40s (I’m a Chanel B30/NARS Punjab). These last all day long without fading or darkening, although I suspect if you are extremely fair these may be too warm for your taste. If that is the case and you are in search of a new bronzer, I recommend the Edward Bess Daydream, although the Hourglass ones are very different in finish and concept.

I give both a huge thumbs up. They both are similar on me so I don’t think you need both, although I am happy I do have one of each color. They are different enough from the highlighters to justify both. Even though they come with a hefty price tag at $50 each, I think they are well worth every penny.

You can buy the Hourglass Ambient Lighting Bronzers at online at Sephora now if you’re a VIB/VIB Rouge. Starting April 15th which is just around the corner for everyone else. In stores starting May. Have you checked out the latest from Hourglass? If not what are your favorite Hourglass items?

The Luminous Bronze Light and Ambient Lighting Powder Brush were gifted at the press preview. 

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Bronzer + Blush Charlotte Tilbury

Charlotte Tilbury Beach Sticks

March 5, 2015

Charlotte Tilbury’s Beach Sticks finally launched in the US ($45 each for 6.5 g / 0.23 oz, made in Italy). I ordered mine sight unseen online and have been experimenting with these. The Charlotte Tilbury Beach Sticks are twist up cream blushes and highlighters. They come in summery colors with different degrees of shimmer. The texture of these sticks is quite creamy making them easy to blend and layer. Straight from the tube they swipe and swatch with medium pigment. Once you blend with a finger the color sheers out quite a bit. You don’t have to pack layers on to get the color to show up, but in my experience I did need 2-3 swipe + blend layers to get them to show up on my medium olive skin. The brighter colors like Las Salinas and Ibiza are more visible on the skin while Formentera and Moon Beach are lighter and less visible. These sticks have a soft dewy finish that give the skin a youthful glow. They don’t get greasy or oily as quickly as NARS Multiples do on me, but by late afternoon, alone they do fade. There is a slight vanilla scent with the beach sticks but it is very faint.

The colors I picked out: 

  • Formentera is a nude pink with a slight sheen, this adds a lovely nude blush look to the face, pigment is sheer to medium
  • Ibiza is a tan bronze with golden shimmer, this is nice as a bronzer, pigment is medium
  • Moon Beach is a sheer shimmery golden peach, this makes a nice highlighter and adds a sheen to the skin, pigment is sheer to medium
  • Las Salinas is a bright sheer hot pink with golden shimmer, pigment on this is sheer to medium

Detail photos and swatches:

Swatched straight from the tube:

1 swipe sheered out – don’t let these swatches deter you, they adhere to the face much better than they do on the arms, if you have 2-3 swipes on the face, they show up a lot better:

A few comparison swatches for color reference:

NARS Multiple in Puerto Vallarta
NARS Matte Multiple in Vientiane
NARS Multiple in G-Spot
NARS Multiple in Malibu

After putting these Beach Sticks to the test I find myself having mixed feelings. The colors are stunning and the texture adds a really lovely glow to the skin without making it look or feel greasy. Moon Beach works extremely well layered over powder blush on the high point of the cheek bone to give a dewy glow. Ibiza has enough warmth and color to be a good natural contour for me (traditional contouring creams are too sharp and grey-looking). Las Salinas would be better if the color were more visible, I think sheer bright pinks can be done beautifully to add a healthy glow. On my medium skin it sheers out after blending so I need to add 2 more swipes for the color I want. Don’t get me wrong it is workable, on me it just takes a bit more work and I personally prefer a stronger blush when it comes to color. Formentera is nude on me and although it does show up it is very very natural.

They also work amazingly well as a base for powder blush to help bring out pigment without darkening the powder or altering the color. In addition they layer well over powder and foundation without looking cake or heavy. If you’ve watched some videos online seeing how these are applied, the best way to use these is to swipe them directly on your face and then blend.

If you like a natural blush or want a dewy glow that isn’t greasy these are amazing. If you want more color, you may find these a bit too sheer. They do show up if you swipe a few times and the upside is that these are good for touchups and since they are natural they are impossible to overdo. I’m happy I did purchase these although they are fairly expensive at $45 each. The only shade I think I would have skipped if I had seen these in person is Formentera. Have you tried these yet? What did you think?

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Bronzer + Blush Hourglass Cosmetics

Hourglass Ambient Lighting Blush Palette

October 3, 2014

The latest addition to the Hourglass Ambient Lighting line is the Ambient Lighting Blush Palette ($58 for 3 shades, each 0.116 oz/3.3g). It’s a limited-edition palette with three of the Ambient Lighting Blushes in Luminous Flush (champagne rose), Incandescent Electra (cool peach, exclusive to the palette) and Mood Exposure (soft plum). I’ve been a huge fan of the Ambient Lighting Powders (palette review and Luminous Light review here) and Blushes (review on individual colors here). The addition of a travel-friendly blush palette is just pure genius (for me at least).

If you’re new to the Ambient Lighing Blushes, they are multi-dimensional powders with swirls of pigmented color and highlighter. They are infused with what Hourglass calls “photoluminescent technology” which creates depth and dimension. Hourglass claims these give your face an “otherworldly glow” and I can’t find any words to better describe their Ambient Lighting products. All of the powders are handmade so no two look alike.

I’ve been testing the Hourglass Ambient Lighting Blush Palette for the past couple of weeks and am really pleased with it. Two of the shades can be purchases individually which I already own, so while this is mostly a duplicate of what I have, I do find the packaging design and size of the palettes to be very user-friendly and perfect for travel. I almost always bring the highlighter palette with me on all trips. The compact is sleek and long so it fits easily into my travel bags.

The powders in the blush palette are identical in size to those in the highlighter palette. They are smaller compared to the blushes that you purchase individually. I’ve photographed them side by side for comparison purposes.

I’ve found the colors in the palette to look slightly lighter than the ones I own individually but they apply the same on the skin. In my experience, the Ambient Lighting Blushes are all very pigmented on my skin and show up just like blush with a couple exceptions. Dim Infusion and Etheral Glow are both very light and give a very slight hint of color on my medium/tan skin. If you are medium to dark, you may find these don’t show up on you. In terms of application, all the other colors, including the shades in the Blush Palette show up very well on my skin. What I love about these is that they are soft but buildable. The blush color is very pigmented but the mix of the soft highlighter inside each shade gives the product a very beautiful glow. I do think these work best on skin that has a bit of moisture. If you have super dry skin or a very powdered face, you might find they don’t show up as well. For me over foundation with powder on top these apply just fine. If you don’t see any color you may want to add a bit of a sheer highlighter like Armani Fluid Sheers on the cheeks under these.

Comparisons of the individual blush shades in Luminous Light and Mood Exposure (they look different in the pans but swatch identical):

Swatches, on the face they are glowy and not frosty:

Close ups of each shade in the palette:

The Ambient Lighting Palette is bottom line love. After playing with this for a few weeks I’ve found it really versatile. The colors look good individually or with two of them layered (any combination works). All the colors look good with neutral pinks, nude, plum or peach lips. The blushes have enough color to bring life to the face, but are subtle enough to wear with a bold lip.

If you’ve been waiting and thinking about the blushes I think the palette is definitely something worth splurging on. Product size differences aside, the palette retails for $58 while three individual blushes at $35 each will cost you $100+. If you already own Luminous Flush and Mood Exposure, then I don’t think this is something that falls into the “need” category, however I do think it’s a must-have for me. The Ambient Lighting Blushes are compact in size already so they don’t take up a lot of room in your makeup bag. I do really like the convenience and packaging of the Hourglass palettes and Incandescent Electra is one of the prettiest light peaches I’ve ever seen.

The Hourglass Ambient Lighting Palette is currently listed as limited-edition for this fall/holiday. You can find it now at Sephora and Hourglasscosmetics.com. It will also be available later this month at Barneys New York, Bergdorf Goodman, Net-A-Porter, Space NK.

The blush palette was provided courtesy of Hourglass for review consideration.

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Bronzer + Blush Tom Ford Beauty

Tom Ford Contouring Cheek Color Duos in Softcore and Stroked

September 2, 2014

Tom Ford Contouring Cheek Color Duos ($77 for .70 oz/29 g) are new for fall and come in two shades: Softcore is the cool-toned option with a pale white pink highlighter and medium to deep terracotta pink while Stroked is the warm-toned duo with a soft peachy champagne highlighter and a medium bronzed coral. Both duos have blush/contour shades that are on the shimmery side with highlighters that have high shimmer.

Both duos sold out very quickly in stores and also online when they first launched. It seemed to be a blink and you might miss them kind of thing. Keep checking online because many retailers have restocked. I bought mine from Saks a little over a week ago. You can also find them online at Tom Ford, Nordstrom, Neiman Marcus and Selfridges.

After testing these for over a week, I prefer these as a blush and highlighter duo rather than as a contouring set. The shimmer and color make both duos them more blush-like. Color-wise I adore Stroked (the warm one) and have lukewarm feelings about Softcore (the cool one). I wish the names didn’t both start with a letter “s” though because I often get them mixed up.

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Stroked is easy to wear (for me). The shimmer factor is on the medium/high side but it blends easily onto the skin and the color warms up the complexion. I found the blush color to be very unique with a mix of copper and bronze intertwined with the peachy coral base. The blush is very pigmented so I prefer to use a soft skunk brush to apply the color so I can build it up. The highlighter is also intense which I find best applied with a fluffy brush.

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Softcore is very difficult for me to wear. It is cool-toned and cooler tones tend to clash with my warmer olive skin. The blush is very dark and the rich pigment make it very easy to overdo (even with a light hand) resulting in a sunburned or punched look (yes it makes me look like someone punched me in the cheeks). The highlighter is almost white on my skin and enhances pores if I swipe it one too many times and ends up looking too sharp and frosted. The quality and pigment are still very good, but the colors only work if I use an ultra light hand.

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Swatches and comparisons: left Softcore, right Stroked

Comparisons to:

The blush side of the Stroked Duo is a mix between Love Lust, Ravish and Savage. If you swirled all three colors together, you would get something very similar to Stroked.

Bottom line I love Stroked. It’s really flattering and brightens the face. I was worried it would be entirely orange based on some swatches I had seen online. I prefer applying with a lighter hand but even with a regular one, I don’t find it turns orangey at all on my skin.

Softcore is hit or miss, for me it’s been mostly a miss. I was able to get it to work on me a couple times, but most of the times I tried it, I found it looked too dark/harsh and too cool-toned. I ended up having to redo my makeup entirely, but I’m still determined to try and make it work. It looks better if I use only the blush side on the face and save the highlighter for the eyes. Still for cheeks, I need something that is easy to use, naturally flattering, easy to build – not something I need to be super careful with.

The Contouring Cheek Color Duos retail for $77 each. Both are limited-edition. They are online now at Saks, Tom Ford, Nordstrom, Neiman Marcus and Selfridges.

Did you check out the Cheek Duos or purchase any of them? What did you think? Did they work for your skin tone?
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Bronzer + Blush Urban Decay

Urban Decay Naked Flushed Palettes – Native and Streak

July 6, 2014

Earlier in the spring, Urban Decay released some new shades of their Naked Flushed Palettes ($30 each for 14g/0.49 oz). These are well-packaged face trio compacts with a bronzer, highlighter and blush. I’m a huge fan of their Naked Eyeshadow Palettes (#3 is my fav) and thought these had a lot of promise. I purchased Native (pink) and Streak (peach) in store at Sephora after reading an overwhelming number of rave reviews (4.5 stars out of 5 average rating with 600+ reviews).  
  • Native is a pink option with a medium-dark bronzer with a soft shimmer, a opal pinkish champagne highlighter and a matte pink blush
  • Streak is a warmer option with a lighter shimmery bronzer, a pale peachy shimmer highlighter and a stunning coral matte blush 
Swatching them in store on my hands revealed a soft well pigmented texture that seemed easy to blend. Testing at home with a variety of brushes has me less than pleased. I purchased these late May/early June and have been desperately trying to make these work for me.

The texture is finely milled and soft which is easy to pick up with brushes but the bronzer and blush are both very powdery resulting in a lot of debris/powder kick-up. They don’t show up well on lightly powdered skin. Right over foundation the color picks up more but the colors look muddy and look like they just sit on top of the skin. The highlighters are creamier in texture (although they are powders) and blends easily but the frost factor highlights imperfections and after softly applying on the cheeks, I suddenly have large visible pores. I’ve tried both with a large variety of brushes, cream highlighters, foundations, dewy cheek products as a base even. With the right amount of creamy base underneath I can get the bronzer and blush to apply ok sometimes (I like Tom Ford Fire Lust and Armani Fluid Sheer #3 or #10 the best), but I cannot wear the highlighter on the cheeks at all. That being said, the highlighters are pretty on the eyes. Half of the times I’ve applied these I ended up taking them off immediately after putting them on the face.

Photos and swatches:

Swatches side by side:

Closeups of each palette, up first is Native:

Streak

One last view, Streak (left) and Native (right):

I’m overall disappointed. I’ve tried numerous times to make these work, and with extra tweaking I can only make them work 1/2 the time. They look so beautiful in the compacts and when swatched on the hands or arms. On the face the pigment and texture don’t quite translate the same. Given the overwhelming number of rave reviews, I suspect I’m in the minority with my thoughts. I’ve mentioned in recent posts I’ve had skin issues and breakouts – my skin issues aren’t on the cheek area in case you’re wondering if it’s skin problems causing the issue in application. For additional reference, Temptalia has detailed thoughts on Native, Streak and Strip, my experiences are similar to hers.

Based on the price, packaging and convenience, if you’re at a Sephora or Urban Decay counter I think you should still give these a try. If there are clean brushes available, ask a makeup artist or sales associate to apply it on you.
If you’ve tried these, I’d love to hear your thoughts. If you have these which shade do you have and who do you apply them?
The Urban Decay Naked Flushed Palettes retail for $30 each. I found mine at Sephora. They come in four options, Naked, Native, Streak and Strip.
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