Blush Lust: Shu Uemura and Lancome Papier Nacre

Although I am not a high-end makeup girl, I do indulge myself from time to time with great makeup. As my skin is veered more towards cool tone, pink blushes look very good on me. However, my everyday blushes are not pink but brownish tan. Yeah, you got it right sistas, I love my warm tone blushes as well! If you asked me six months ago if I would buy blushes from Shu Uemura or Lancôme, I would say no. Come on, them blushes are not cheap: a Shu blush is $21 USD and a regular Lancôme powder blush is $29.50 USD. With that kind of money, I can go to the drugstore and buy a boat load of blush. Or so I thought!

The Shu Uemura Glow On blush I bought during a special occasion when they had a free mini eyelash curler included with your purchase. Words spreaded so fast that all the cheap items were sold out. Since I saw how glowy Karen from Makeup and Beauty Blog looked with her Shu blushes, I decided to get mine as well. Come to think of it, 21 dollars is a lot of money but this blush is really fabulous and I have never touched anything as good as Shu before. The blush I purchased is P Brown 76 and until today, after hundreds of uses I still can't remember the name. Shu has an interesting way of naming their stuff with a mix of letters, words, and numbers that sounds like your license plate number.

Shu Uemura is famous for his minimalist packaging

P Brown 76 = pearl brown blush in shade number 76!

A little bit of blush goes a long way.

Beside that naming quirk, Shu Uemura blush is velvety soft, silky, and as soft as a baby's butt! The first time I applied Shu blush to my cheeks, I almost had an orgasm and died :) And I'm not kidding, this blush is awesome! It is so pigmented that I can use it as an eyeshadow as well. Please do not let the word "brown" fool you, this blush in fact has some peach and a bit of pink in it. Plus the "P" in pearl gives some shimmers to your cheeks. Cute but not in an understated way.

Lancôme Papier Nacré is an interesting blush that I did not know how to use for a while. It is a portable blush in a sheet form so you can take a couple of sheets with you when you travel. The first couple of times I tried applying the blush directly from the sheet, I made a big mess and my cheeks glowed brighter than a disco ball. However, I discovered that applying it with a blush brush is the way to go and this product is my stand-in for MAC MSF (mineralize skin finish). As I am allergic to bismuth oxychloride, finding a shimmering blush to use is not easy.

Blush Papier Nacré comes with 40 sheets of blush paper

At $15 USD, this blush currently is the cheapest makeup product from Lancôme. However, Lancôme website announced that they discontinued Papier Nacré but don't fred, your beloved Sephora still sells some of 'em for you to enjoy. The shade I have is called Pain d'épice and I think it is similar to MAC Northen Light MSF.


The perk of this product is the versatility: I use it as a blush, as a shimmering highlighter, as an all over face illuminizer (in small amount), and as an eyeshadow as well. Moreover, I can get a sheet of Papier Nacré with me when I travel instead of lugging a big blush compact.

A sheet of Papier Nacré looks like that and the best way to apply it is to use a blush brush to swirl around in the sheet.


A swatch of Pain d'épice and P Brown 76
Since the colors are similar, layering them on top of each other can be fun!


If you still don't believe me, look at this picture:
I layered Pain D'épice on top of P Brown 76 and what a glow!

That picture is one of the ones I took during the "Politically Pretty FOTD" challenge. I believe you should not skimp on the blushes and using only one blush is so old skool! These days, people apply many layers of different blushes on their cheeks. They also highlight and contour their faces to look like Halle Berry. I think I'll write about that topic in a different post since we all want to look like Halle, right? Say "yay" if you want to :D


That's all for today folks! Have a nice weekend and remember, don't skimp on the blushes!


Love,
Your Makeup Blogger

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