little white truths

I own three of these blushes and I love them all, but this one in Lines & Last Night is my favourite because it's such a happy, sunny colour that even looking at it gives me a lift.

And of course it's coral. You know me and coral: can't get enough of it. While others head straight for the pink section, I can't see past anything that's peach, orange, coral or tangerine.

Now I've owned this blush since February last year so I've had it for over a year now, and although I only recently introduced it to Project Dent, I knew I would be ready to review it immediately because I've used it a lot since I bought it.

Why? Because it's amazing. Indeed, the only formula that just beats it is Hourglass blushes, but this is a very close second and I do also love the highlighter portion of these Marc Jacobs ones so they gain extra points on that front.

And even though I'm currently panning a blush trio via Pan that Palette, this particular blush still gets a lot of use because I always reach for it on weekends when I'm having a break from my panning projects. That's one of the many reasons why I've given the formula an HG tag.

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
• 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 a shot of the pan in weak sunlight:

And in strong sunlight:

Direct 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 this one: it's that good.

Lines & Last Night contains a warm golden highlighter shade that looks peachy in the pan but looks more yellow-gold on my skin, perhaps because I have strong yellow undertones. It also contains a warm orange-coral blush with red undertones. When you mix the shades, you get a shimmering peach that's rather pale on me so I do need to build it if I want to wear it as a blush.

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 colours 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 to 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 HG in their own 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 this particular shade remains my favourite. Yes they're 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.