little white truths

As you may know, I'm currently denting this blush and I'm almost at the point now where it's time to move it out of circulation, so I thought I'd better review it while it's front of mind.

Do note that I reviewed Lines & Last Night not long ago (see here), and my review of this blush will be similar - although I do still prefer the colour of Lines & Last Night because it's different from anything else I own and it's such a happy shade.

The formula between blushes is the same, though, so if you like one and you want to try another shade, you're unlikely to be disappointed.

Marc Jacobs claims/product details:

• Features two shades that merge together so you can customise your colour for a sexy, natural-looking glow
• Infused with Japanese air powder for the ultimate cheek look, this ultra-lightweight, radiant powder is nearly undetectable to the touch and gives your skin a radiant finish
• Air Blush is created using a process called soufflage (French for 'air-whipped') for a silky-soft, cream-like texture that blends effortlessly with the complexion
• An innovative process allows every shade band to extend beyond the surface, for even colour with every brushstroke
• Two glowing shades complement each other: the lighter shade highlights and the deeper shade contours
• Customise your colour by layering and blending as much as you desire to tailor your look for the occasion or season
• 24-hour wear
• Striped pattern is inspired by a Marc Jacob dress
• Free of parabens, sulphates and phthalates
• Cruelty free
• RRP $62 AUD for 8g (note that I paid $39 AUD each for mine because they were initially under-priced on Sephora's website and in-store)

There's the pan in direct sunlight:

Weak sunlight:

Natural light:

Now for swatches. 

Below I've swatched the blush on the left, then I've mixed the two shades from the centre of the pan in the middle, and on the right we have the highlighter.

Direct sunlight:

Indirect sunlight: 

Verdict

These blushes are amazing and I've given the formula an HG tag. Indeed, there's a reason why I went out and bought two more of these after I'd tried Lines & Last Night: they're that good.

Flesh & Fantasy contains a neutral, pale champagne highlighter that you could probably call an ivory, and a nude peachy brown blush that's the kind of colour you can wear with just about anything. When you mix the shades, you get a paler version of the blush that looks a little more peach in undertone.

Let's start with the one bad thing about this product, before I sing its praises. My issue is this: there are too many lines in the pan, which means there's too much crossover. If you look at the photos, you'll see that the majority of the surface area is striped, while only small chunks on the outer edges are pure blush and pure highlighter (those sections comprise about one fifth of the total pan each: I've measured them).

While this would be fine for someone who prefers to mix the product, it's not fine for me. I love the blush and highlighter but I don't use them mixed. Reason being, I don't like shimmery blushes on me and I prefer to have a matte or satin blush and then go in with my highlighter. So what the hell am I going to do with three-fifths of the pan? And what happens when I start running through the outer sides? I'll have to scrape the product out from the individual stripes and then crush it so I can apply the shades separately. Not ideal.

If even those first two outer stripes on either side were removed (the thinnest stripes), then these products would be perfect. But they're not. 

They're still my HGs though. Here's why:

First, they're finely milled and they blend, apply and diffuse like the proverbial dream. Even if I've accidentally applied too much product, I can always blend and diffuse it so it looks good. Plus these will blend over my tacky tinted moisturiser without issue, and not all powders can do that: a huge plus.

Second, they're pigmented but not too pigmented. I like a medium amount of pigment in my blushes and highlighters because then I'm less likely to over-apply them and wind up with clown face. This also means that I don't need to be too careful when I apply them, which is great because I'm time-poor most days (aren't we all).

Third, the blush portion of the product airbrushes the face. And so it should: these cost enough. So whenever I wear this, my cheeks look airbrushed and as though I'm glowing from within. The blush also minimises texture (like open pores). Only Hourglass blushes beat these in the airbrushing department, and that's the only reason why Hourglass blushes are still my favourites (just).

Fourth, the highlighter section of the pan doesn't emphasise texture and it doesn't contain glitter. Hallelujah. That's exactly how I like my highlighters, and unfortunately highlighters like this are harder to find than they should be. That's why I consider both the blush and the highlighter sections of the pan to be my HGs in their respective categories.

I guess the final thing to note is that these last well on the face, and while it's hard to imagine that they offer 24-hour wear, they do last longer than other cheek products I own so that's worth mentioning.

Overall I love these blushes and while I do like this shade because it's versatile, I still prefer the tangerine Lines & Last Night in colour. I can see why this one's so popular, though: it's the kind of inoffensive colour you can wear every day to the office or pair with loud lips or eyes.

And yes, these blushes are expensive but in my view they're worth every penny, especially because you're getting three products in one (or two, in my case) - so I would factor that in to the overall value.

Love.