Rimmel Match Perfection Blush in 004 Medium/Dark
Drugstore nirvana. That’s what it feels like when I find a new drugstore blush that perfectly matches my skin tone. I get a real buzz from it, like a sweet treat sugar high. OOH! What glosses can I pair with it!? All that possibility, and oh — so much money saved!
A good drugstore blush can have a powerful therapeutic effect on my brain. I just wish my health insurance covered blushes…
Rimmel’s new $10 Match Perfection Blushes (available in four shades) cost less than the average co-pay, and while they might look like standard blush trios in their big pans, they have a sci-fi-ish formula containing blue sapphire pigments that allegedly emulate your natural skin tone.
Rimmel says they adapt to the colors and contours of the face, creating a natural flush, and you can either wear the colors in the trios separately, or swirled together to create a single shade, which is the way I’ve been wearing them this week.
001 Light
002 Light/Medium
003 Medium
004 Medium/Dark
Swatches from the left: 001 Light, 002 Light/Medium, 003 Medium and 004 Medium/Dark; they apply kinda chalky
Wearing 004 Medium/Dark
As soon as I read the words, “blue sapphire,” in the marketing, I was totally on board with these. Blushes that adapt to your skin tone? How cool is that? But, truth be told, I can’t really see a difference between the way they look in swatches and the way they look on my face.
Not that that’s a bad thing, but it doesn’t exactly scream SCI-FI!
And when I do think of fancy future technology, I don’t usually think of blushes with big grains like these and edges that take a good deal of time to buff out. Or slightly chalky textures.
Eventually, after spending enough time applying them, they do look pretty smooth and seamless, but that’s 2-4 layers later, and after some very low-tech elbow grease.
I do like the natural-looking matte flush these lend to my cheeks, but I wouldn’t call it revolutionary or particularly sci-fi (even though I desperately want to!).
PRICE: $10 each
AVAILABILITY: Available now, but I’ve yet to spot them in stores (here they are at asos.com)
MAKEUP AND BEAUTY BLOG RATING: C+ (a nice natural flush, and you do get a generous amount of product, but the formula could be smoother)
COLORSMASH! — and the Saga of Pink Hair
Seriously, I feel like I’m on a collision course toward pink hair again!
I’m considering getting the Sultra Extensions shown at the bottom of this post, or this new COLORSMASH Hair Shadow.
It’s supposed to add temporary vibrant color to your ‘do “without the commitment of permanent color.” You just rub the product into a section of hair, and then seal it in with hair spray. Then wash it out when you’re ready.
It’s coming out in nine vibrant shades — Firecracker, Electric Beat, Rags to Riches, St. Martini, Atomic Yellow, Tango Mango, So Jaded, Je Ne Sais Quoi and Oh La Lavender — available online at conditionculture.com later this month.
I hope the pink is bright and vibrant enough to show up on mah hair. 🙂
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
P.S. I hope you’ve been having a good week so far. It’s Wednesday, which means we’ve left Monday in our rear view mirror. The rest of the week should be smooth sailing from here.
Have a good one today, okay? I’ll try to do the same.
Go for the pink hair Karen!
Hi Naomi,
I am itching to get my streaks again. Hopefully this will curb the urge!
How’s your day week going? Did you get a chance to start on your new book?
Ooo, these are pretty! I have a bronzer from Rimmel that I love (and use as blush sometimes). I will be checking these out nex time I’m at the store.
I’ve been swamped at work this week so I can’t wait til Friday! Although I have enjoyed catching up with MBB during breaks. 🙂
Btw, we added a new kitty to our family! She’s a tiny black kitty with green eyes. We found her outside my sister-in-law’s house and ended up taking her home. I couldn’t stand to leave her there on her own. She’s a real sweetheart. 🙂
Hi Ruchita,
I was wondering where you were! I figured you were just really busy. 🙂
Now, cat lady time. SO EXCITED about your new kitty. I’m going to have to vicariously live through you. What is her name? And how’s Mingus dealing with the change?
We named her Nina after Mingus is doing okay. He hisses at her sometimes when she gets too close, which is funny b/c she weighs 4lbs compared to his 14.
Our other kitty Ella isn’t as happy. She wasn’t that that friendly to Mingus either and still hisses at him sometimes – so Ella might take a bit longer to come around.
I will share some pix. She’s pretty cute. 🙂
Sorry, meant to say that we named her Nina after jazz singer Nina Simone.
For some reason, I started feeling sick-ish after lunch. Kinda achy and all those nice things … Cant wait to go home. 🙂
The blush looked so promising and I am bummed that it doesnt deliver *that* well. :-/
Uh oh, Nina! I hope it’s not food poisoning.
Im not sure what it is, but ive been basically useless since getting home – I fell asleep watching tv, and have no appetite for dinner. :-/ I downed some Airborne, and here’s hoping that it magically staves of whatever this is. I cant get sick just yet … its a busy season at work!
That’s the worst when you know that you absolutely cannot get sick, and you know you have to drag your booty to work no matter what. Feel better soon … and have those kitties take good care of you. I know LOL is probably snuggling you as I type this!
Thank you. Airborne worked its usual magic and im feeling sorta normal today. I hope this continues to at least noon tomorrow. 🙂
LOL was sleeping on me when I fell asleep on the couch and he slept beside me all night. I guess he is my “familiar” LOL!
Yup, Rimmel isn’t known for being the best quality over here in the UK so this doesn’t surprise me too much. They’re kind of a low-budget brand, mainly for teenagers who don’t have masses of money to spend and are just experimenting with make up. They do have a good range of colours – and new wide brushes a la OPI – in the nail varnishes though.
Hi Sadie,
I’ve found a few gems from the line (lipsticks and liners), and I really wanted this blush to work because it’s so pretty. Oh well …
Anywho, kind of random, but I saw a pic of a three-legged cat today and thought of your black and white kitty. 🙂
That’s a good point, their liners are pretty good value – must just be the powder products they fail on. The blush and shadows I’ve tried have always been either chalky, very low in pigment or gritty. Funny that these ones aren’t over here at all – they’re definitely playing more to the US market these days!
Our tripod terror gave us a fright last week when we thought one of his remaining good legs was broken – he wouldn’t walk (even for food!) And hissed at us if we tried to stroke him. Turned out to be an abscess most likely caused by another kitty biting him so he’s fine, but we always worry more about his legs now he only has 3 left. He can’t spare any more! I hope Tabs is doing well at the moment 🙂
I just got orange highlights in my dark brown hair. It’s summer, go crazy!
Hi Lindsey,
How fun! What made you decide to go with orange?
Honestly I think it was a cross between the orange-hued cosmetic trend that I’m ODing on (Mac Call Me Bubbles was my gateway drug, as well as several Revon coral and orange glosses) and wanting a fun, fade-friendly color. I like having red hair, but going red all over in the summer makes me neurotic. It sounds weird, but I think this color will fade beautifully as well as look good now, because we started with a brighter red-orange that should fade into a nice golden orange. It’s a bit like this:
http://highlights-hair.com/result_detail.php?search=orange&id=215&p=7
Karen – what eye makeup are you wearing? So pretty!
Hi KPrice,
I’m wearing Chanel Peche Cuivre Le Crayon Khol Intense Eye Pencil, Chanel Ombres Contrastes Duo in Sable-Émouvant and Becca Balearic Love’s Violet and Bronze Line and Define Pencil in Cabrera. Here are some links to the individual reviews:
https://www.makeupandbeautyblog.com/product-reviews/chanels-peche-cuivre-le-crayon-khol-intense-eye-pencil-softly-brightens-lids-and-lash-lines/
https://www.makeupandbeautyblog.com/product-reviews/the-chanel-ombres-contrastes-duo-in-sable-emouvant-a-duo-that-moonlights-as-a-quad/
https://www.makeupandbeautyblog.com/product-reviews/becca-balearic-loves-violet-and-bronze-line-and-define-pencil-in-cabrera-beckons-brown-green-and-hazel-eyes/
I actually like the blush on you. I actually have on a shirt that looks like it’s the same color as yours. I have on a blush that kind of reminds me of what you have on (L’oreal True Match Subtle Sable). Whenever I wear this shirt, I go with a light and not too overwhelming blush since the color of the shirt is so bold.
BTW, I’ve been reading your blog for a while and I love it. I love how you feature drugstore and HE makeup. We’re also similar in skintone, so I find your blog helpful for buying makeup sight unseen on the internet.
Hi Liz,
It’s very nice to meet you! Thank you for reading the site. 🙂
Since we’re the same skintone you must give me a list of your makeup must haves! I’m always looking for something new to fall in love with.
Hope you’re having a nice Wednesday.
Hi Karen,
Thanks for the warm welcome. I’ll try and be breif with my makeup must haves:
Lips: Nars Velvet Matte pencil in Dolce Vita.
Cheeks: MAC Pinch Me blush, L’oreal True Match blush in Soft Sun
Eyes: Urban Decay Half Baked Eyeshdow, Nars Alahambra Duo, Almay One Coat Thickening, L’oreal Million Lashes in Carbon Black.
Of course I have tons of makeup that I love, but those are my most versatile colors.
I’m liking the pink and the aquamarine more. It looks more fun! I’m planning to get red streaks in my dark brown hair.
The blushes look good on you. Don’t know how much that have adapted, but the 004 is IMO flattering your skintone
Hi Nivedita,
Red is soo fun (I had them ages ago), but it’s really high maintenance. Have you had bright streaks before? It’s a whole new level of hair care.
The swatches show they are rather chalky. Gorgeous earrings by the way!
Thanks! 🙂
The blush is really pretty on you! It’s a shame you have to work at the texture to get it to blend well and work well for you. As for the colorful streaks, I think extensions are the way to go. In my job, it’s frowned upon to do anything really outrageous (even though some have done it) with your hair. I could never go all out and get pink streaks or purple streaks dyed in my hair for that reason. But, the extensions look like a good buy for going out with friends and adding something extra special. How much are they going for?
Hi Katherine G.,
Thanks! I love a good drugstore blush, but this just wasn’t working. Do you have any budget blush go-tos? I love, LOVE the ones by Neutrogena.
As for the Sultra extensions that I saw at Sephora, they go for $18 a pop. Kinda pricy, but there looked like there was a lot of product in the packs. The pinks ones keep calling me!
Hope you had a nice Wednesday! Anything exciting going on this evening?
Nothing exciting, other than watching the Hills and going to bed early for work today. It was an exciting day at work, though, today! Thanks for asking!
I find that drugstore products require more time and effort to make them “work”. I guess that’s the cost of buying less expensive products, but the Rimmel blushes look great on you!! =)
When it comes to those “adjusts to your skin tone” products… I have a conspiracy theory. Now, I’m no scientist, so I don’t know how one would create something that it somehow sees and conforms to each individual ski tone it touches . So I get a little skeptical and think, some company probably made a blush that had a tendency to quickly oxidize on everyone. Not feeling like going back to the drawin board, the marketing department said “hey! What of we say that it adjusts to your skintone upon application!! People love gimmicks!”
When it comes to that hair color stuff, sounds like chalking your hair : http://www.collegefashion.net/beauty-and-hair/celebrity-hairspiration-how-to-lauren-conrads-dip-dye-tips/