Imagine strolling into a Santa Fe art gallery one sunny afternoon and finding a makeup mosaic for $8.
Yup, Palladio’s Herbal Mosaic Powder in Desert Rose is a little like that.
The pan has a mosaic pattern with five complementing powders you can wear individually, or swirled together, as a bronzer, blush, eyeshadow or highlighter.
Since the individual strips of color aren’t all that wide (the entire pan fits in my palm), I usually mix all of the shades together, and apply them to my cheeks with a fluffy blush brush.
On my NC 42 skin, a single layer delivers a rosy, peachy flush with golden pearl. Pretty! — especially for weekends or for casual makeup looks… Which reminds me, worn as a blush on bare skin or atop tinted moisturizer, I think Desert Rose looks a heck of a lot more expensive than $8. Shoot, it looks downright high end.
But worn with anything more than minimal makeup, and the forecast gets cloudy. For instance, if I’m wearing a medium or full-coverage foundation with it, or apply it on top of skin that’s already been powdered, I can see the grains sitting on top of my skin.
Buffing it down with a kabuki brush helps, but that takes a couple extra minutes.
Not a deal-breaker, but still. Something to keep in mind if you don’t have many minutes to spare.
Ingredients
Talc, Mica, Polymethyl Methacrylate, Magnesium Silicate, Magnesium Steatate, Octyldodecyl Stearoyl Stearate, Dimethicone, Isotridecyl Isononanoate, Tocopheryl Acetate, Ascorbyl Palmitate, Phenoxyethanol, Methylparaben, Propylparaben, Oryzanol, Chamomilla Recutita (Matricaria) Flower Extract, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Extract. May Contain: Mica, Iron Oxides (CI 77491/CI 77492/CI 77499), Ultramarines (CI 77007), Titanium Dioxide (CI77891), Manganese Violet (CI 77742), Red 6 Lake (CI 15850), Red 7 Lake (CI 15850), Red 27 Lake (CI 45410), Chromium Oxide Greens (CI 77288).
Last Saturday I wore Desert Rose out to solo brunch (El Hub was working) and to run a few errands, and I noticed that after about 5-6 hours, the color had started to fade, which means having to touchup about halfway through the day.
No Desert Rose is perfect — not even this one — but for $8, I do think you get a lot of beauty and bang for your buck.
PRICE: $7.99
AVAILABILITY: Available now online, and at Sally Beauty Supply and Ulta stores
MAKEUP AND BEAUTY BLOG RATING: B+
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
What lipstick are you wearing?
Hi Karen! The colors remind me a bit like Nars Orgasm (swirled together), no? Pretty, but too bad it didn’t last too long. I would rather break out the bucks for Nars blushes. I lurv me some Nars blushes! Have a great night!
Picture #1 – wow! Love how it looks on you and for that price, its a nice fun pick-me-up blush!
Looks pretty! You are glowing in these pictures, girlie (you always do, as a matter of fact)!
I am thrilled right now with a cpl. of my drugstore purchases-L’Oreal gloss stains (in Rose on and on, and Eternally Nude), along with “Comfort Zone” eyeshadow palette from Wet n’Wild! Those definer shades are so, so pretty!
Ooh, I might have to check out those gloss stains. They sound similar to the YSL ones. 🙂
Karen, this blush looks so good on you. And for only $8, that’s a great deal.
Well, it looks really pretty but the extra buffing and not-so-great wear time are disappointing. Btw, your skin looks fantastic!
Thanks! How was your weekend? 🙂 Did you do anything on your day off?
It was good (and hockey-filled). 🙂 Actually, I got a lot done around the house. Boring but necessary. HAHA! I’m also on book 3 of the Mortal Instruments series so I’ve been reading whenever possible. Have you read them? My memory is failing me. 🙂 How about you guys? Did you have a good weekend?
What lip color are you wearing in these pictures? I love it!
Hi Kelsey,
It’s NARS Never Say Never Velvet Matte Lip Pencil. 🙂
It looks pretty amazing for the price and definitely gives you a lovely peachy flush!
It’s very pretty but I usually don’t wear minimal face makeup so I think it’d end up grainy on me 🙁 Womp womp. But it does seem like a nice little blush for only $8! Maybe I’ll try it just for kicks, we’ll see.
I think this looks pretty on you but I’m always afraid to try drugstore blushes! I also like a little orgasm like sparkle!
hi Karen! What are you wearing on your eyes? (also, thanks for revealing what lip color you were wearing too!)
This is a gorgeous look!
Love the look of this blush and the price! I’ll have to pick one up on payday – I plan to layer it over a cream blush to help the wear time. Thanks for the review!! 🙂