I love blush and have waxed poetic about it in many posts on this blog (see this, and this, and this). Surprisingly however, I have not covered a lot of powder blushes and I find that shocking for someone who owns enough of them to last ten lifetimes (much to my partner’s consternation). In fact, back in the day when I first started wearing makeup, powder blush was all that I knew. I couldn’t even conceive of another format for blush. But technological innovation and the fast modernizing world of makeup gradually brought forth a slew of options – gels, creams, liquids – and while I still kept amassing powders, I found myself reaching for these other formats a little more often.

The funny thing is, it was the pandemic that led me back to my beloved powder blushes. Underneath masks, most cream formulas just wouldn’t hold up without excessive use of setting sprays. It was finicky and time consuming and annoying so I started using powder blush again. And boy – when I opened my admittedly embarrassing drawer full of powder blushes that had been rather neglected for some time, it was like being in a candy store. I had completely forgotten about some of my most beloved pinks and fuchsias, my Marc Jacobs and Chanels, my carefully-curated blush palettes, and coming back to them was like coming back to something new and exciting.

Powder blush has been great during the pandemic – it goes on seamlessly over other powders on your face (inevitable under masks), lasts like a cement wall against most face coverings, and doesn’t melt off when things start getting humid. In this post, I’ll be sharing some brand new launches for Spring 2021 – hope you enjoy it!

Hermes: Rose Hermes in Rose Nuit, Rose Plume, and Rose Pommette

This was arguably one of the most exciting makeup launches of Spring 2021. When Hermes announced it would be adding blushes to its existing line of makeup that consists exclusively of lipsticks, a collective shiver of anticipation ran through the world of makeup enthusiasts. It’s hard to expect anything but excellence from Hermes and this launch doesn’t disappoint. Two round discs – gold and white – close seamlessly around an off-center ball of blush – textured, embossed, stamped. They look heavy – in fact, they are deceptively light and easy to carry. A tiny pale gold disc, carved with the Hermes logo, rests in a slight dent on the lid – ergonomically satisfying and impossibly chic. The formula itself is very interesting and it took me some time to get used to blending it on my face without any streaking. When I say it’s feather-light, I mean it’s as light as the lightest feather of the lightest bird on the planet. Smooth and impossibly silky to the touch – with an almost talc-like feel, this powder goes on very sheer so it’s easy to build the color slowly and gradually with full control over its intensity. Also, I love the light rose scent in these. What can I say – I’m an incorrigible fan.

Sisley Le Phyto-Blush in Pink Peony and Rosy Fuschia

I always wanted to try the famous twist-up blush sticks from Sisley but somehow never got around to it. But for some reason, when they launched this powder counterpart, I took one look at the shade range and knew that I would have to try at least one – the dazzling fuschia. This is a thicker, slightly coarser formula than the Hermes blushes, but oh my god, it blends like a dream over both cream and powder foundations and diffuses into an almost cloudlike flush on my cheeks with the barest effort on my part. These are intensely pigmented blushes so the fact that they blend with the least amount of hard work is even more impressive. They come in chic little zebra-print squares that feel substantial, but not too heavy in my hands. These were my first ever Sisley blushes and now, I just want to buy more and more.

By Terry Brightening CC Palette in Beach Bomb

While I was tempted by the first CC palette that By Terry released last year, what with everyone raving about it, I wasn’t too sold on the colors. But this year, the palette includes a pale, lilac-y pink shade and even if I had hated all the other shades (which I don’t), lilac-y pinks are my Achilles’ Heel. So I caved and now I understand why these palettes are such a big deal. The formula is impossibly soft and buttery and while I notice no shimmer, something in them imparts an ethereal glow to my face. This is another blush that works like a diffused-cloud filter for my cheeks – it’s like someone used the noise reduction feature in photo editing programs -  on my face! It’s like I’m wearing powder blush and yet, it doesn’t look like powder blush – it looks like a veil of soft, diffused light that does not emphasize my pores, does not read like a highlight, and makes my cheeks look like little pink poufs of healthy color. Love.

Shades include the wonderful, cool-toned, lilac-y pink I was referring to (that remains cool-toned and does not oxidize and warm up on my skin – yay!), a pale coral-y peach, a paler beige-y peach, and a soft, milk chocolate brown. Use everywhere.

Chanel Joues Contraste in 602 Rose Ruban

I used to be a Chanel blush addict – mostly because makeup queen Lisa Eldridge recommended them years ago. Then Chanel started releasing shades that I just didn’t like – they would read too brown, or too peachy, or too muddy, or too bronze-y on my cheeks. So that was that and I havn’t bought a new Chanel blush in a few years – until now. In a new launch with a new blush formula, Chanel introduced a few new shades, one of which caught my fancy – Rose Ruban. This is a cool toned, muted, dark pink with just the tiniest touch of plum to it – though the plum doesn’t really carry through on my face. This is not a bright pink – it’s quieter, darker, and dare I say, a unique offering amongst the pink shades that I own. The formula feels light and the blush goes on smoothly on my face though I havn’t compared it to the older formula. Finally, Chanel, finally.