Whaa. I miss you guys so much! School is such a time suck. DW, I’m working on pre-writing a bunch of posts so that you can still enjoy the fruits of my lack of shopping restriction. (I just bought an iPhone 4s after realizing there’s no way I can hold out for the 5 and I am eagerly awaiting the announcement of the Canon Rebel T4i so I can decide if it or the T3i are making their way home with me.)

This post’ll be a quickie (by my standards) but hopefully a helpful one! I’m sure that most of you who’ve read this (or any other) beauty blog are familiar with the NYX powder blushes. In this post I cover the three shades that I own, Cinnamon (orange), Red (Red) and Peach (not so peach, much more super light pink.)

NYX Powder Blushes (From Left to Right: Red, Peach and Cinnamon)

Enjoy!

Generic Information:

Cheap cheap! Is that a bird you hear? No! It’s the price point of NYX’s powder blushes calling your name. NYX prices them at $6 USD but you can get them for as low as $4.50 USD at sites like Cherry Culture and less when there are sales involved. For that price you get .2oz or 6.4g of product, that’s about the same as you’d get for a MAC blush (which is listed at 6g/ .21 oz. )

The blushes are available in 24 shades. NYX has other blush lines, but that’s still a nice selection of shades. There are different finishes available as well (satin, matte, shimmer) but all three that I purchased are matte.

Packaging:

The packaging is about what i’d expect of a low-end drugstore brand. I admit that it’s not the sturdiest. I’ve had the clear top pop out, the snap-opening break and the hinges come loose. It does a fair enough job of protecting the product but it could do with an upgrade.

Color Accuracy:

NYX's Official Cinnamon Image

NYX's Official Peach Image

NYX's Official Red Image

I purchased these way back when I was a naive little EA. I didn’t know to look up swatches or anything. If I had, I wouldn’t have picked up Peach. The promo images for these blushes are spectacularly spot on.

Finger Swatches (From Left to Right: Cinnamon, Peach, Red)

Wrist Swatches (From Left to Right: Red, Peach, Cinnamon)

Even Red, which has a touch of blue or pink to it is accurately depicted! Woo! Full points to you NYX!

Pigmentation:

You’ll notice a curious absense in my application shots below, but that doesn’t really affect the pigmentation score. Why? Because these are very well pigmented blushes. They are true to color and thus, you have to be aware of what you’re buying. I’ve seen Peach show up effortlessly on lighter or darker skintone, it just has the unfortunate distinction of disappearing flawlessly into my discolored cheeks. Whoops! The color is also nicely buildable. If you have a light touch you can create a simple flush with Red and if you don’t be careful not to end up with out and out clown-cheek circles.

Application:

Because they are so pigmented, I apply these blushes using a duo fiber stippling blush. It’s really easy to overdo it, especially with shades like red. They are a little powdery so make sure not to accidentally get some on clothing or cloth surfaces. Their powdery consistency also requires a teensy bit of blending work. But it’s well worth it!

NYX Powder Blush in Cinnamon Applied

NYX Powder Blush in Red Applied

Unfortunately, I have no image of Peach on me because it simply doesn’t show up. It is almost a dead match for the discolored portions of my cheek. I can’t even use it as a highlighter.

Wear:

These blushes have some admirable wear time on me. They hold up reasonably well even on days where I don’t set them with powder (though I find they do have some rather blotchy application if I don’t use primer.) I wore red from about 8am in the morning to 8pm at night and it was still flawless. Love~

Summary:

Honestly honestly? I should have reviewed these ages ago. I purchased them before I’d even started beauty blogging! Haha. I’ve just been so caught up they haven’t been given their proper attention. This may also be the reason that I purchased Peach. I didn’t know enough back then (wayyyyyyyyyyy back then) to look up images or swatches! Still, i’m pretty happy with the other two colors and suggest these as a great way of testing out shades (red? orange? brown-based shades? mauves? go for it!) without spending big bucks. They’re also great starters for younger girls!

Value: 5/5

Packaging: 3/5

Color Accuracy: 10/10

Pigmentation: 9/10

Application: 8/10

Wear: 9/10

Overall: 88% (B+)

The gush ends here!

<3 EA