My Top 5 Cruelty-Free Blushes for a Light Complexion
Phewf, this has not been an easy post to write! There are SO many beautiful blushes on the market. I originally started this post as my top 10, so it’s been even tougher to choose only five…
To give you the context for this lovely selection (as I’m sure you’ll have guessed by now), I have picked blushes only from cruelty-free brands which I find myself regularly reaching for, including drugstore and high-end brands. Keep reading to find out which ones made my top 5!
#5: Jeffree Star Skin Frost in ‘Regina George’ –15g
I mean as if the name wasn’t enough to draw you in! This is a relatively new blusher to my collection, but one that very quickly became a fave.
The Packaging – I love how super sturdy this is and it feels all over high-quality. The clasp shuts firmly with no risk of it popping open in your make-up bag or organisers (how much do you hate it when that happens?!)… There is a nice big mirror on the inside of the lid – the size of the actual compact (no outer plastic rim). Call me strange but I sometimes use it to check the back of my hair when I have straightened or curled it – it's that big!
The Shade – so this is not a shade I would normally go for – I mean, as you’ll see from the other nine favourites – I am more of a peachy kinda girl when it comes to blushes. But for this I made an exception. I find it comes off the EXACT shade it is in the pan. A gorgeous, vibrant, Barbie pink with a stunning shimmer. Personally, I don’t like to use it too heavily as it is SO pink. But then again, when I apply it to my cheeks, it doesn’t come off too pigmented at all. It’s more of a light wash of colour with a lit-from-within look. For me, this shade is best used in two ways: 1, on its own, for a subtle pink flush to my cheeks; and 2, as a beautiful pop of colour when I am self-tanned (or better still, actually tanned...)
With a tan, it literally lights up my whole face with an angelic pink glow.
The Formula – I would say this is somewhere between a buttery powder and a pressed stain (if you can imagine that??); it takes quite a few dips back in with a brush or sponge to get a lot of colour payoff (not a bad thing given the shade) but I never have to worry about being a pink powdery mess!
The Staying Power – like I mentioned before, it’s sort of like a stain – and to be honest I don’t mind that! One thing I love about this blush is that, once it’s on, it aint budging!!
Overall Value for Money – thinking about the size (almost 3 times more product than some of these others!) and how long it will last, plus the high quality of the product, I'd say this is worth adding to your collection 😉 although at £25.50, this is not one of the more affordable blushes, Beauty Bay have it on sale for £12.75 right now – if you’re quick you might be able to bag yourself a bargain!!
#4: Wet ‘n’ Wild Colour Icon Baked Blush in ‘Don’t Flutter Yourself’ – 5.4g (bottom swatch)
The Packaging – well let’s be honest, it’s the classic Wet n Wild blush/highlight single packaging. Personally, I find the petite, slim size of the square compact ideal, as it fits perfectly pretty much anywhere! The clasp is trustworthy and closes tight. One of my favourite things is that Wet n Wild display the cruelty-free bunny symbol on the front of their packaging, so you can’t miss it! It’s great that so many brands are not only becoming cruelty-free, but they are actively promoting it too 🙂 I would have loved a little mirror in the lid but for the price point, I am totally happy to live without it.
The Shade – ahh man, this is the most beauuuutiful shade! It’s not too pink, or too peach. I’d say it’s the perfect combination of a rosey pink and a golden/peachy shimmer. It reminds me a lot of the Nars Orgasm blush (which I can no longer use/purchase as Nars are not a cruelty free brand, sob sob). So in my opinion, if you’re looking for an Orgasm dupe that’s kind to animals – this is your girl!
The Formula – SUPER smooth and buttery. I always find shimmery products like blushes and eyeshadows are more buttery than powdery, it’s something to do with the oils in the product. It’s so smooth and blends beautifully on the skin, whether it is applied with a brush or sponge. The golden shimmer gives such a glistening glow to the high points of my cheeks and alleviates the need to add a highlighter on top.
The Staying Power – amazing! I’ve used this blush countless times since purchasing it, and have never had to top-up during the day. I put my make-up on around 7am before I leave for work, and take it off anywhere between 6pm and 8pm, depending on what time I get home after work. And it’s still going strong!
Overall Value for Money – no doubt about it, the quality of this brand is always on top in my opinion, and this blush is no exception. It’s £3.50!! Wet n Wild is one of my absolute fave drugstore brands and for the price and the quality, I am sold!
#3: Milani Baked Blush in ‘Luminoso’ – 3.5g
The Packaging – I'm actually not a fan of the packaging of this blush. It’s very dated in my opinion: the clasp opens up to two layers; the top layer displaying the dome shaped blush, with a little space underneath to store a tiny brush. Honestly I've never used the brush, I use my own as they’re just better quality and easier to use. There is a little baby mirror on the lower layer, but again, it’s not something I value in this product.
The Shade – the real value for me in this product is the STUNNING shade and formula. This blush is a beautiful peach shade with a very subtle golden glow. If you have light skin like me, this gives the perfect flush for an everyday look. Even at my pastiest, this shade is gorgeous – not too heavy, but not too faint.
The Formula – the formula is ever so slightly more powdery than the previous two, but still beautifully smooth. It is so lightweight and the texture is natural and skin-like. I have found with blushes in the past that they can look patchy and settle in strange places, even when I have set my whole face with translucent powder. But I have found that Luminoso never looks anything other than flawless!
The Staying Power – it slays all day! I occasionally find that the colour is less intense by the end of the day but (apparently) I do tend to touch my face a lot! The longevity of this blush is enough that it is perfect for day-to-day work wear and minimalist looks, but lasts even longer when I use a setting spray too!
Overall Value for Money – worth every penny IMO! On Beauty Bay this is £10, so a bit pricier than some other drugstore/high street brands but I’ve been continuously using this for about a year and it’s probably half way through the product 😀
#2: Obsession Blush Palette in ‘Isn’t It Peachy’ – 6g
The Packaging – now anyone who knows me will tell you that I am a SUCKER for a palette. I know this is a bit of a ‘cheat’ as it is not just one blush, but I just love it so much! This palette has four blushes in circular pans next to each other in an oblong shaped palette. It’s nice and slender so doesn’t take up too much room and fits nicely into my blush drawer. Oh also, each pan has a little ‘de-potting whole’ at the bottom of the pan, so you can easily take them out and move any of them into other palettes (like a Z Palette for example – great for those who travel a lot).
The Shade – well in this case, shades. You can probably guess from the name but these four are varying shades of peach/coral. The first shade ‘Glimmer’, is a marbled effect satin-shimmer blush, the only shimmer in the palette. The actual shade is very similar to the Wet n Wild blush mentioned earlier, just with less of a golden reflective. It’s a gorgeous rosey colour, perfect for giving that rosey-cheeked look. The next shade, ‘Daydream,’ is the lightest shade in the palette. It’s a very subtle salmon pink/peach. Third is ‘Hint,’ which is slightly darker, a muted burnt orange shade. And finally, ‘Bloom.’ ‘Bloom’ which is the darkest shade in the palette, and closer to a gorgeous coral. I genuinely can’t pick my favourite, I love them all so much on their own, or any combination of the four mixed together!
The Formula – these are the most powdery of this selection. There is a little bit of kickback in the pan when I dip my brush in – but nothing too bad. I wouldn’t use a sponge with these as they are slightly too powdery and may end up patchy. I personally don’t mind the kickback as, once it’s on my face, it stays put without falling out down my cheeks or smudging around. The formula is lightweight so these blushes can be used sparingly for a subtle pop of colour, or can be built up for a heavier look.
The Staying Power – these blushes (all four of them) have insane longevity. I have had some really long days at work lately, where I have been wearing a mixture of these shades; one day they lasted around 14 hours without budging!
Overall Value for Money – I mean at £6 for the entire palette, can you go wrong?! Maybe, if the product broke you out or looked awful. But when they are this pretty, and average at £1.50 per blush (!!), definitely not!!
#1: Too Faced Sugar Peach Wet & Dry Face & Eye Palette – 20g
So, ladies and gents, for my absolute current fave, number 1 blush! I know this is again a little bit of a cheat, given that it is a palette (that also includes a highlighter), but it really is my favourite, most used product for blush that I have possibly ever used!! It’s in the name, it can be used wet or dry so, depending on what look I am going for, I know I can rely on this for either a gentle radiance or a full-glam look. I love everything about it and really hope Too Faced bring out another edition this year!
The Packaging – literally my favourite product for packaging. It is SO Instagrammable it’s not even funny, it just screams girly, pink prettiness!! The clasp is magnetic so it’s super secure and classy. The actual clasp is two tiny little golden peaches, I mean it’s just so cute!! I absolutely love the colour scheme – peachy pinks with a beautiful old font. The font itself is so pretty and calligraphic. There is of course a great big mirror inside as you open the lid – perfect to use when travelling as a close-up when the hotel mirrors are miles away from where you are sat/stood.
The Shade – so four shades here, too. Although I'm going to focus on the three blush shades, as the fourth is a champagne highlighter. ‘Sugared Peach’ (the top right shade) is a gorgeous burnt orange shade, with teeny tiny speckles of gold glitter. If you’re not a lover of glittery blushes, never fear! Nor am I, but the glitter is so minuscule that I find it doesn’t show up when it’s on. ‘Peach Honey’ (bottom left) is actually more of a bronzey-blush. It looks pretty dark in the pan and when swatched, but when applied on the apples of my cheeks it literally just enhances my bronze look with a sort of brick-coloured shimmer. This shade is suuuuper shimmery so personally, I will not make the mistake (again) of wearing a highlighter over it! Finally, ‘Peach Pop’ (the bottom right shade). This is similar to the Wet n Wild ‘Don’t Flutter Yourself’/Nars Orgasm/Obsession ‘Glimmer’ shades, in that it is an insanely pretty rosey-pink shade, with again, a super radiant golden reflective. Now if you’re not a shimmery blush fan, this might not be for you. But if you love both matte blushes and gorgeous lit-from-within radiance, you’ll love this as much as I do.
The Formula – ‘Sugared Peach’ is a classic matte blush. There is no shine or glow, it just sits beautifully on the cheeks providing amazing pigment and a healthy flush. ‘Peach Honey’ and ‘Peach Pop’ are literally butter. Actual butter. They gliiide out of the pan like molten gold, whether wet or dry. I have found that all three blushed perform just as well, whether applied wet or dry. The only difference I found, is that the pigment is mildly stronger when applied wet than dry, but that’s pretty much expected. None of the shades enhance texture on my face. These are slightly heavier on the skin than the previous four, but never ever clogs my skin.
The Staying Power – Given the quality of the product and the amazing formula, it won’t be a surprise that this product stays in place, with the same pigment strength, all day long! This is my go-to blush palette when I am going out for an evening, as I know it is fully trustworthy to last. Similarly, I frequently use this for my everyday make-up as I can rely on it to keep me looking well while I'm at work!
Overall Value for Money – this is a high-end make-up brand, so it is on the pricier side. Debenhams sell this palette for £34. You could of course find lower priced, great quality products. To me, as a total make-up addict and make-up collector, I don’t mind spending a little bit more, especially on something I end up loving this much....
So that’s it! My top 5, cruelty-free blushes, for light-medium skin tones.
I hope you enjoyed reading and found it useful!
Let me know what you think and what you’d like to see from me in the future 💖💖💖
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