Em Cosmetics Color Drops Serum Blush
Em Cosmetics Color Drops Serum Blush in Cherry Splash (L) and Little Lilac(R)
Overview: Admittedly, before I had the chance to try these blushes, I wasn’t too excited about them - mostly because I felt that the original color range that these blushes came out in was nothing to write home about. I also don’t tend to care much about skincare benefits in makeup (probably should). I use lots of serums in my skin care so am totally thumbs-up with regular non-skincare makeup. However, I caved anyway -(because instagram was on fire), and ordered one color - Pink Nectar - several months ago. It was an interesting formula - lightweight, but still a little tacky; pigmented, but not really once it hit the cheeks; and the color? Myeh. Rosemilk - a very popular shade on social media was completely sold out so I didn’t get a chance to try that and by the time I thought I would try another color - Soft Amethyst - that too, was sold out. Of course, when something sells out this quickly, a little financially audacious voice inside you starts to insist that you try and get your hands on this elusive entity. So there I was, a few months later, holding the Rosemilk blush in my hands when it finally came back in stock. Again, myeh. I berated my said financially audacious self and vowed I would not spend more money on these blushes - but guess what? I think the third time was truly the charm. When Em Cosmetics announced they had a whole new lineup of colors dropping soon, and then, when I saw these colors, I knew I was going to empty out my wallet once again because two of those colors were just fabulous. Like, really - fabulous. Little Lilac and Cherry Splash (that I review here) were bright, and cheery, and just looked liked such mavericks in these blushes’ usual color story. And I’m a bit of a sucker for mavericks. When I got them, while the formula was still the same - and I am a little undecided about it; the colors more than made up for it and Little Lilac is now my new favourite lilac-pink shade (read on for more details).
Formula and Application: I’ll be honest, I am not sure how much I like this formula. It feels like a lightweight, tacky gel - and not tacky in the sense that it’s sticky, but more that it is a little “oily” for the lack of a better word. It is very thin and light in texture though so the “oiliness” almost just feels like a lightweight mositurizing film. I have tried applying it both with my fingers and a brush ( I find that brushes that you would usually use for liquid blushes tend to work well with these blushes). Even when I use a brush, I still apply it to my cheeks using my fingers and then blend it out with a brush because I find that I lose less product that way. The slight emollience coupled with their lightweigth texture in these blushes is what I think is responsible for the product loss if you go in straight with a brush. If I rub too hard, they will lift my foundation - BUT, these are really, really easy to blend and quite sheer, so you really don’t need to be rubbing that hard - which was somethign I learnt when I first tried Cherry Splash. I started dabbing them on, and that worked much better and there was no detactable foundation lifting from underneath. They definitely lend themselves more to a less-is-more makeup look than a full-on one. I am experiencing super dry skin these days so I like their emollient feel on my face but I am not sure how much I would liked that if I had oily skin. The finish is a pretty, dewy flush - very natural looking.
Lasting Power: Not super long. In their defense however, it IS the middle of summer and it is very hot! Moreover, I have cheeks that just gobble blush - they eat up pigment. So my cheeks would not be fair judges of the lasting power of these blushes. On me, they stuck around for a few hours (3-4) before slowly fading. They never entirely left my face though, which is great for such a dewy cheek product.
Packaging: Visually and tactile-y(is that a word?) - perfect. Little round frosted glass bottles with gold droppers, that have a nice weight to them. You press the gold cap on the top which creates suction and pulls up the blush from the bottle, and press it again to dispense it. Pretty straigthforward. EXCEPT, I find that the workings of this seemingly simple mechanism are a little inconsistent across the bottles. Some work, others are a little harder to squeeze out blush through. But you eventually get there, so it really depends how high your threshold for ease of usage is.
Color/Pigment: THIS is was I really want to talk about - I love the two colors I bought (and am definitely tempted by the two I didn’t!). These look very pigmented in the bottles - but the dropper expels a drop on your palm (or brush) and that drop blends out very sheer. A tapping motion will probably get more pigment from them - I tried that and it worked - but if you like super sheer blushes, these are it. The pigmentation fades softly over time. Little Lilac is my favourite - it is a beautiful, delicate pale pink-lilac-y feather of a color that is an especially wonderful balance of cool-but-not-too-cool undertones. As a part time painter, I know how hard it is to mix colors together to get just the right tone and Little Lilac just gets there. If you have pale to medium skin, this goes on like a cool, barely there, pink flush. I have to admit, I am not sure how visible it would be on darker skin tones (I’m waiting for a friend with a darker skin tone to try it and will report back!). Cherry Splash is a neutral red - not to cool, not too warm - at least on my skintone. The pigment looks daunting in the bottle - but it sheers out even more than Little Lilac. The end-result is a rosy flush - like you just sat in the sun for a few hours. On my cheeks, this particular color warmed up a little after the first ten minutes of application.
I am going to add swatches in various light situations so can get a better sense of how this blush looks under different lighting.
Light: Natural, facing window, morning
Light: Natural, facing window, sunny day, afternoon
Light: Indoors, under a lamp
Light: Natural, facing window, cloudy day
This is just to show how blendable these blushes are. Look how amazingly they sheer out!
Look of the Day:
From top-left, clockwise: Charlotte Tilbury The Icon Palette, Tom Ford Lip Color Mat in Velvet Violet, Stila Glitter & Glow Highlighter in Monarch; Em Cosmetics Color Serum Blush in Little Lilac; Danessa Myricks Beauty Dew Wet (Highlighting Facial Balm) in Rosewater.
These blushes retail for $25 (USD) each, and can be ordered directly from Em Cosmetics’ website.
https://www.emcosmetics.com/collections/color-drops-serum-blush
Disclaimer: All products were purchased myself and these views are my own and not sponsored by any brand. The link above is not an affiliate link, and I do not get any monetary compensation if you decide to buy this product.
