There is so much hype around Hourglass at the moment so being a blush lover, (and a makeup addict lets be honest) I had to give one a try. I live hours away from a Mecca counter so purchased this online going off of swatches and online reviews.
My initial impression of the packaging was a little disappointed. The casing is a gorgeous rose gold but is a plastic type material which makes it seem a little cheap in comparison to the luxe metal packaging of other high end brands such as Clarins, or even the sturdy matte plastic packaging of Nars. My first swatch was also not that encouraging, the blush seemed a little powdery and kicked up a huge amount of product when I dabbed my stippling brush into the compact. Changing my brush I swiped it once across my cheek- no difference. Twice, oops too much! Feeling a little robbed I continued on with the rest of my makeup. When I had finished I looked at my blush again- this is when I got it! The blush just melts into your skin seamlessly almost like a cream blush would. The colour is absolutely perfect on my pale skin. I thought there would be a bit of luminosity or shimmer (there is a little super finely milled glitter in the swatch) but instead I just looked really healthy and rosy like I had just been for a walk. Feeling a little more mollified I carried on with my day. At the end of the day I checked out how the blush had fared (as this is usually the first product to fade on me) it was still there almost as good as when I had first applied it. Seriously the longevity of this stuff is quite magical. This is a seriously pricy product but I can see why it is so sought after. If you need your makeup to last all day and you are a blush lover like me then you need one of these in your life! I am still working with this one however in how much to apply to my face without it being too intense.
Luminous Flush is a beautiful rosy pink shade with marbled champagne swirls and TINY flecks of shimmer. I love everything about this blush except the shade.
Now I definitely did my research but I guess it's more to do with personal preference. This was described by many non-BR reviews to have coral and I'm a sucker for any coral-like blushes. Unfortunately this blush is just pink pink pink and it could be that I'm so warmed toned that it's so pink but it doesn't give me that lift my other blushes give me. Even when applied on lightly it's still a little too much which is so strange because I'm all about those clown cheeks haha but it turns out even I have a limit.
The blush comes in typical Hourglass packaging - mirrored taupe colour, beautiful and elegant (and so it should since it cost a week or two of lunch money!).
The texture is finely milled and feels soft and buttery when swatching. I notice when you sheer out the product the pigmentation is still strong so less is more beauties. The lasting power is amazing, I had this on for 12 hours and it only began to fade around the 10th hour.
I bought mine online from Mecca Cosmetica, free shipping on purchases over $NZD75 and took 2 working days. Their system isn't too bad but I didn't receive a tracking number even though it says you'll get one.
I don't think I'll purchase any of the other shades as those didn't show up too well on my skintone but they are seriously great blushes just not the shades for me and yes I would still recommend to others.
Tips: Despite not liking the shade I still use it by applying a light layer and adding a more coral-like blush (i.e Milani Luminoso).