Review: Make Up For Ever HD Blush

Make Up For Ever's HD blush is a cream textured, highly pigmented blush designed to give an ultra smooth, natural finish.  This product was on my list of must-purchases for my recent trip to New York, and I came home with shade 5, a delicate neutral pink called Nip Slip - all the shades have semi-saucy names!

The first thing that struck me when I started swatching the shades in Sephora was the level of pigmentation.  They are incredibly highly pigmented - to the extent that I found myself rejecting shade after shade for being too intense and difficult to pull off on my pale, cool skin.  I'd definitely recommend having a good swatch of these if you can before purchasing - or at least, look up as many online swatches as you can find.

Packaged in a pump dispenser, you get a relatively small amount of product for your money.  Given the level of pigmentation, though, you're unlikely to find that the bottle runs out too quickly; the photo below shows the minimum amount dispensed onto my forearm, and I've found that this tiny little blob is easily enough to impart a pretty flush onto my cheeks.

Smoothed out a little, it's easy to see how intense the pigmentation is - the colour is a fairly thin layer at this stage, and yet is still virtually opaque.

I've found that the creamy, blendable texture is easy to work into the skin, provided that I blend it quickly.  Once blended, it sets onto the skin, losing some of the shine, but retaining enough to provide a natural looking highlight effect.  I like using my fingertips, as I find that using brushes for cream blush products like this often wastes product - and whilst it's easy to get a relatively precise application, I do have to be careful not to blend outwards too much.  The pigmentation and spreadability of the product means that it does blend outwards with more colour than you think it might.... suffice to say I've ended up with pink too close to my eyes and nose as a result of this!  

Now I've become more used to the texture and pigmentation levels, I've found that this product is a quick and easy way to get a soft, pretty flush which doesn't look at all flat, having that slight sheen to it.  I do still have to be careful to ensure I don't go overboard: this is definitely a blush to build up slowly.  The colour wears well, still appearing fresh and visible on the skin after several hours, and I've found that the sheeny finish doesn't turn excessively shiny and oily after a day's wear.

As much as I like using my HD blush, and as pleased as I am with the effect it gives, I won't be rushing out and purchasing more shades - mostly because the others are either too brown, or too downright scary.  For darker skintones which can take a stronger pop of colour, the shade range is probably more wearable.  Whilst the price might appear a bit high on our shores, the amount of wear you're likely to get out of the little bottle means that on a per usage basis, it's not too expensive long term.

Make Up For Ever products are still hard to get hold of in the UK, worst luck, so if you want to try this product, your best bet is Guru Makeup Emporium, where each shade will cost you £21.50.  In the US, it's available from Sephora, where it will cost you $25.  

Have you tried any of the HD blushes?  What do you think?  Let us know in the comments!