Oh Catrice Blush Artist Palette! I love my luxury products but for a blush, CorALL I Need!

Apologies for the enforced break. We had some technical problems in the past few days that had the website looking a little screwy, so I couldn’t work on it. Little things you know. But I was kind of glad because it allowed me a few days to breathe and just get back into the swing of things!

Not long ago, I showed you a pretty blush from affordable brand, Catrice. It was pretty to wear and pretty to look at. But it had its shortcomings. Well, let me now show you yet another blush from Catrice, that is not only pretty to wear and pretty to look at, it has no real shortcomings that I know of! Now, for a picky blush user like me, that’s quite a feat!

This rather battered looking palette is the Catrice Blush Artist palette in 020 Corall I Need that is basically a blush trio. There are 3 shades I believe, a bronzey trio and a rosy pink trio besides this coral trio. I don’t know very much about availability, but all I will say is this – if you see this at your local Catrice counter, buy it. Do not pass go! You will regret not getting it I promise! 😀

You might be even more swayed when I tell you that my other favourite blush palette has been the Hourglass Ambient Lighting Blush palette, which is limited edition and therefore a waste of time for me to tell you about it. You also know that I love my luxury brands, but so often these days, I simply reach into my blush drawer and pick this palette up, because it’s just perfect for what I need on a day to day basis! 😀

In fact, this affordable beauty has become my de rigueur travel palette, because not only is it handy with 3 shades of blush, it actually looks very pretty when worn, and it is so slim and portable! The clear plastic packaging, while a little brittle, is fairly sturdy so it holds up to gentle wear. What doesn’t hold up however, is the print of the name and brand on the cover, as you can see in the first picture.

The shade I picked was 020 Corall I Need, which is a palette of shades that are more pink than coral, to my eye. The shade on left in particular, is a lovely shade of warm pink with shimmer, the middle shade, a more satin textured pink blush with a coral undertone, and the shade on right, a more shimmery highlighter shade of light peach.

What I found most impressive was how pigmented the shades were. It was very easy to pick up colour with any sort of brush – loose, dense, synthetic or natural hair. I’ve tried it with different brushes, and they all pick up product well. Too well, sometimes, because if you aren’t careful, you can end up with more colour than you intend.

Here are the swatches, and you can see how intense the colours can be. But if you use a brush, naturally the colours will be more diffused, and much more flattering!

I like to take a fluffy brush, lightly run it across all 3 shades in the palette, and then apply to my cheeks by dabbing the colour on. Incidentally, dabbing on blush is a new technique I’ve been using lately and I prefer how it looks! I’ll share it with you another day 🙂

When worn, it looks something like this.

Crap. I haven’t done these gigantic FOTD thingies in a while. Scared me a little 😛

The blush however, I find is very flattering, and the quality of the pigment and shimmer is just right, so it doesn’t look cheap nor garish when worn. You can choose to pile on the highlight shade, and it still will look flattering, because it doesn’t go on with chunks of glitter.

You can see how the Corall I Need palette basically pulls pink on my skin. I’ve been tempted to buy the rose shade palette, but am afraid it might go on too strongly for me. I think it would look amazing on deeper skintones though! 🙂

And how affordable is affordable? I can hear you thinking back there. Well, here in Malaysia it retails at RM23.90 a palette and often goes on sale. So I got mine for under RM20. UNDER RM20! That’s just about US$5 at today’s exchange rate. Now, tell me that’s not a bargain?! So, go – run out and get it before it disappears! 😀

IN A NUTSHELL

This Catrice Blush Artist Palette is such a cheap and cheerful find, there’s absolutely NO REASON not to get it. The quality is great, there isn’t that awful cheap scent you find in some cheap makeup brands, the blush is pigmented, the shimmer isn’t too over the top, and it blends well. Importantly, it’s flattering and it doesn’t give off a US$5 makeup vibe. Get thee one. Or maybe even 2! 😀

PROS: Affordable, Pigmented, Fine shimmer highlight, No cheap perfume scent, Portable, Easy to blend, Flattering colours

CONS: None unless you count that the name on the plastic palette will rub off eventually

WHO WILL LIKE THIS: Anyone who loves blush, Anyone who wants a cheap and cheerful makeup find

PRICE: RRP RM23.90 | €4.49 but often goes on sale

WHERE TO BUY: Catrice displays at Guardian pharmacy (Malaysia and Singapore) while stocks last, Anywhere that Catrice is sold

I believe this item was released in Europe in early 2016 but it’s only just found its way to our shores in the second half of the year. I don’t know if they’re permanent or if they’re limited edition (there is NO NEWS from Catrice here and I honestly will not be surprised if they pull out some day, simply due to lack of marketing of what is such an underrated brand!) but I don’t see a lot of stock at the poorly stocked Catrice display stands at the pharmacy, although it does come and go, so good luck! 😛

Have you tried this blush palette?

I’ve been raving about it on Instagram for a while now, so this is basically just to put down in longer, more comprehensive sentences how I feel about this blush palette. Basically, just go and get it. I love mine to bits, and it is the first item I pop into my makeup pouch because I just know it’ll go with every look 😀 Do you think I should get the other two shades?! LOL! 😀

Paris B