So Cheeky!

Hello, Fireflies!

I never used to pay that much attention to blush.  I had naturally rosy cheeks, and because I didn't wear foundation for a long time, I never really felt the need to add more color.  But, age and makeup have leached the color from my cheeks, and lately I can't get enough of the different colors and kinds of things I can put on my chubby cheeks.  Highlighters, blush, bronzers, I want to try them all.  I've got swatches of a few of my most recent acquisitions to share with you today!

I was a fan of Gwen Stefani's from her No Doubt days, and ended up picking up her eyeshadow palette and a few lipsticks from her Urban Decay collaboration, but I waffled on getting the blush palette.  Then, it went on sale, and I snatched it up!

Of course, the packaging is gorgeous.  When you look at the 6 pans inside, they are deceptively unimpressive, though. 

But, look at that hidden shimmer in  Easy, Angel, and especially OC! That's peach in the pan, but pink in the light!

I really like Revolution makeup, too.  Before they came to Ulta, I would order from their website - it was worth the wait for some of their great sales.  They have a lot of 'dupe' palettes that are patterned after the UD Naked and Lorac Pro palettes, and lots of other neat makeup.  I couldn't resist the shimmery goodness of this Golden Sugar 2 Rose Gold Blush palette!

This palette has some matte, some shimmer, and some baked/metallics.  Holy frijole, get a look at that golden metallic on the bottom.  That's super pigmented.  On my fair skin, I think that's going to be an eyeshadow, not a face color.  Most of the other colors are more highlighters, with their pale colors and high shine, except for the two on the far right end, which are matte bronzer shades.

Ever since I learned that 'strobe' is actually a bad thing when it comes to photographing makeup, I experience conflict when trying to use it in the common parlance.  I read that when a photographer says a makeup is 'strobing' it means it's flashing back in a bad way in the picture.

I do like this NYX Strobe of Genius palette, though! They added some neat tones to the highlight shades - there's some gold and pink, and look at that lavender! Such a range of shimmery shades to play with.

Back to Urban Decay for some of my new favorite pretties.  Aside from being fingerprint city, I love this packaging! You can see the color through the fishnet effect in the lid, and the magnet closure is secure and strong.

I love a duochrome, and these two Aftersglow 8-hr highlighters in Aura and Fireball have some fun shifts!  Aura is an icy pink with a lavender shift, and Fireball is tangerine with a pink shift.  I can wear both as a combo blush/highlight, especially Fireball.

I am all about the shimmer these days! I want to glow from my cheekbones to my ankle bones.  What are some of your favorite blush/highlight/bronzers these days?