For Fall 2015, Too Faced finally (!) came out with a new blush formula called Love Flush Long-Lasting 16-Hour Blush, which is described as "a long-wear, fade- and smudge-proof formula that keeps your cheeks perfectly flushed for up to 16 hours." Too Faced has long focused on their bronzers and palettes and even lip products, but up until now, only had their
Sweethearts Blushes in their permanent cheek category (if you check their site, they also have their Full Bloom cream blush and powder blush formulas, but they're being discontinued and aren't carried at Sephora so access to them is limited). The Love Flush formula comes in "six pigment-rich, high-impact shades [that] deliver a pretty, pop of colour to any skintone with bold colour payoff. The long-wear formula is enriched with buttery soft pigments that bond with skin and take on a weightless, suspended look that lasts for up to 16 hours — so you don’t have to worry about reapplication throughout the day." Each Love Flush blush comes in a colour-matched heart-shaped mirrored compact with 6 grams of product, and retails for $32.
Baby Love, I Will Always Love You, and Love Hangover
Baby Love, I Will Always Love You, and Love Hangover
Baby Love is a medium warm muted rosy brown with gold micro-shimmer in a satin finish. It is a permanent shade. It has a soft, silky texture, and goes on smoothly and evenly. It has high pigmentation and opaque colour pay-off. It can be layered and blended out easily. It is similar though more shimmery than MAC Blushbaby, more brown and more shimmery than MAC Mocha, slightly darker and more pink than MAC Warm Soul, darker and more brown than Urban Decay Fetish, slightly warmer than Hourglass Mood Exposure, darker than Clinique Nude Pop, and lighter and less shimmery than NARS Love Joy.
I Will Always Love You is a light-medium warm brightened orange peach with gold micro-shimmer in a satin finish. It is a permanent shade. It has a soft, silky texture, and goes on smoothly and evenly. It has high pigmentation and opaque colour pay-off. It can be layered and blended out easily. It is slightly brighter than MAC Peaches, more orange than MAC Melba, lighter and less reddened than MAC Modern Mandarin, darker and more orange than Urban Decay Indecent, darker and brighter than Hourglass Dim Infusion, more orange than Clinique Peach Pop, and lighter and more muted than NARS Frenzy (right).
Love Hangover is a medium warm brightened strawberry milk pink with gold micro-shimmer in a satin finish. It is a permanent shade. It has a soft, silky texture, and goes on smoothly and evenly. It has high pigmentation and opaque colour pay-off. It can be layered and blended out easily. It is lighter and more muted than MAC Fleur Power, warmer and more coral than MAC Lovecloud, darker and brighter than MAC Dainty, more pink than Hourglass Luminous Flush, slightly brighter and less shimmery than Becca Flowerchild, and brighter and warmer than Clinique Pink Pop.
Overall, I really, really like this formula. All six shades are soft and finely-milled, go on smoothly and evenly, layer and blend out well, and have great colour pay-off. They remind me of MAC's newer Pro Longwear Blushes or Tarte's Amazonian Clay Blushes. They're great for those who like a more natural satin finish to their blushes rather than matte or shimmery/glowy, so they don't look too powdery on the skin or emphasize skin texture. I think the six shades are a good starting off point for Too Faced's new blush range; there's a good mix of cool, neutral, and warm tones, and none of them are too light or too dark. The big draw here will be, of course, the packaging, which is so freakin' adorable, it's like carrying a super-slim Polly Pocket around except without the actual creepy doll (and obviously, blush is so much more awesome than a stupid dollhouse).
The only issue here is the 16-hour wear claim. Now, I know it's "up to 16 hours," like sales are "up to 50% off," but Too Faced put "Long-Lasting 16-Hour Blush" as the
actual name of these blushes so they're pretty in-your-face about it. Despite it actually being pretty long-wearing (I'd say about eight hours without fading, which is standard in long-wearing products), it just doesn't reach the 16-hour mark. I mean, it'll still look like you have blush on, but it's definitely faded and not as vibrant as it looks when freshly applied. I mean, this is a lofty claim to begin with, and I think that if they had claimed an 8-hour wear-time, it would've received much less slack from reviews. But that having been said, it's not a deal-breaker for me by any means because I rarely ever need my blush to wear for 16 hours and also because I never feel the need to re-apply my blush (I always wear blush on top of my foundation powder and primer, so even if my blush fades after say, 12 hours, it's still apparent on my cheeks). Too Faced's Love Flush Blush is ultimately a beautiful, top-notch, easy-to-use formula, so if you're okay with your blushes to wear for 8 to 12 hours rather than a full 16, then these are really worth considering.
