Blushes are a beautiful thing and I tend to be attracted to them regardless of their price point. But when a drugstore blush gets dubbed as an Hourglass Ambient Lighting Blush dupe, my mind tends to go crazy! I'm in love with Hourglass blushes, they must be one of my absolute faves and I'm still determined to get more shades so you can only imagine how excited I was for the new Max Factor blush launch. I will make a dedicated Max Factor/Hourglass blush comparison where I'll elaborate on why I think they have differences but also similarities. For now, let us focus on this beauty called Max Factor Creme Puff Blush in Seductive Pink 15 (£8.99). Available in a total of six shades (Lovely Pink, Alluring Rose, Gorgeous Berries, Seductive Pink, Lavish Mauve, Nude Mauve), I own perhaps one of the (if not the) most gentle ones. Although six shades aren't a massive offering, they should cater to most skin tones. I wouldn't narrow my options to the mantra ‘this and this shade suits this skin tone’ because I fell in love with Gorgeous Berries and Alluring Rose, even though they should be most suitable for dark skin tones. Right off the bat, I will say that I like the packaging – it's not luxe by any means since it's made out of plastic and the lid is transparent but that's the practical aspect as you'll able to see each shade from the pan. I like that these pots are lightweight, not too slim but well fitted for any beauty bag and very compact. The clasp works fine and is reliable. Max Factor Creme Puff blushes are the baked kind and they certainly look beautiful with their baked marbled effect in the pan. Seductive Pink 15 is a swirl of a really lovely dusty pink and a lighter pink shade. It looks like a neutral, borderline cool pink but on my skin it translates into a beautiful everyday hint of warmth. ‘The multi-tonal pigments’ remark made me expect shimmer – and shimmer there is but very subtle.
Rumenila su naprosto lijepi, uistinu divni komadi kozmetike i obicno me dosta intrigiraju, bez obzira na cjenovni rang. No kada jos k tome dodamo saputanja da bi doticna rumenila mogla biti drogerijski odgovor na Hourglass Ambient Lighting rumenila, moj um je isao 100 km/h! Opsjednuta sam Hourglass rumenilima (jos uvijek nisam odustala od namjere da nabavim jos nijansi) i jedna su od meni najdrazih (ako ne i najdraza), tako da vjerovatno mozete zamisliti koliko me vijest o novim Max Factor rumenilima obradovala, zainteresovala i potakla moje istrazivacke porive. Napisati cu jedan zaseban post u kojem ce biti rasclanjena Max Factor/Hourglass tematika poredjenja ovih rumenila i taj prostor cu iskoristiti za iznosenje razloga zbog kojih rumenila oba brenda imaju slicnosti, ali i razlike. Za sada, fokusirajmo se na ljepotana pod nazivom Max Factor Creme Puff rumenilo u nijansi Seductive Pink 15 (preporucena cijena je 23,45KM). Dostupno je sest nijansi (Lovely Pink, Alluring Rose, Gorgeous Berries, Seductive Pink, Lavish Mauve, Nude Mauve), dok ja posjedujem jednu od svakako najnjeznijih. Iako sest nijansi ne sacinjava masivno sirok izbor, mislim da postoji velika sansa da se vecina tonova koze pronadje barem u jednoj od njih. Takodjer cu reci da se ne bih nuzno ogranicavala mantrom ‘ta-i-ta nijansa odgovara tom-i-tom tenu’ – licno sam se zaljubila u nijanse Gorgeous Berries i Alluring Rose, iako bi ponajvise trebale biti odgovarajuce tamnom tenu. Sto se tice pakovanja, vidjeti cete da nije rijec o luskuznom izdanju. Radi se o plasticnoj ambalazi i transparentnom poklopcu koji je, doduse, praktican posto kroz njega vidimo svaku nijansu. Dopada mi se sto je lagano, nije najuze ali stati ce u gotovo svaku torbu i jako je kompaktno. ‘Kopca’ za preklapanje je pouzdana i cvrsta. Max Factor Creme Puff rumenila spadaju u peceni tip i zaista izgledaju prekrasno zahvaljujuci mramornom uzorku. Seductive Pink 15 nijansa je vrtlog tako jedne krasne ‘prljavo’ ruzicaste uz dodatak nesto svjetlije roze. Djeluje neutralno, gotovo pa naginje ka hladnom podtonu no mom tenu udahne svjezinu i toplinu. Spominjanje’ dvotonskog pigmenta’ me navelo da pomislim kako cu pronaci i shimmer – shimmer sam i pronasla ali je jako suptilan.
It gives a very natural sheeny, satin effect (nothing too crazy), it melts into the skin as the consistency is very fine and I'm so impressed with how long it lasts on my face, I can get to the end of the day and there a lovely pink glow is still there on my cheeks. This blush is of a medium pigmentation and is extremely versatile – it can be sheered out or built-up. Not to spoil the upcoming comparison post but I'll just mention that these blushes may not be the exact dupes of the Hourglass blushes – but they're the closest drugstore match I've seen so far! I've also tested the Max Factor Colour Intensifying Balm in Voluptuous Pink 25 ( £8.99). This is something you'll either love or simply find no use for. Personally, I love it as I'm a fan of natural looking make-up and these new tinted lip balms offer just that. While we're comparing items, I'd say that they offer a similar look to lips as Clarins lip balms do. It's very moisturizing (but not oily or heavy) and it adds a hint of tint (not matte, not too shiny – just sheeny) but – the difference with these is that the color can be built-up. I'm wearing a very light wash of this lip balm but it can be layered up to an almost regular lipstick intensity (see swatch). Women who prefer full-on color might not be as impressed but those who seek an everyday, easy and versatile lip color – this is your guy. It most certainly nourishes my lips, makes the plump and soft so the added color is just a bonus! With ingredients like mango butter, shea butter and cocoa butter great nourishment is expected but the buildability of color is what makes this lip balm a tad better that most. The only gripe I have is the packaging which feels plasticky. Have you tried these new Max Factor goodies? Any faves?
Na mojoj kozi ovo rumenilo ostavlja jedan jako lijep satenski finish uz suptilan odsjaj (uopste ne zalazi u neki ekstrem). Formulacija je jako profinjena, gotovo se stapa sa kozom i djeluje jako prirodno. Takodjer sam impresionirana trajnoscu koja iznosi doslovno cijeli dan na mojim obrazima – uvijek me po povratku kuci docekaju njezno zarumenjene jagodice. Rumenilo je srednje pigmentirano no iznimno je mnogostrano – moze biti naneseno u prozracnom sloju ali ga takodjer mozemo nadograditi i intenzivirati. Ne bih da pokvarim cjelokupan sarm najavljenog posta usporedjivanja sa Hourglass rumenilom no reci cu da Max Factor rumenila nisu ‘dupe’ tj. potpuno identicna verzija pristupacnije cijene hvaljenih Hourglass rumenila. Isto tako, nesto su najblize sto cete im isprobati iz drogerijskog ranga. Testiranje je prosao i Max Factor Colour Intensifying balzam za usne u nijansi Voluptuous Pink 25 (preporucena cijena je 15,75KM). Ovo je proizvod koji ce ili postati stalni stanar vaseg nesesera – ili mu uopste necete moci pronaci primjenu. Meni se jako dopao posto inace preferiram prirodan make-up a ovaj balzam u boji se savrseno uklapa u jedan takav look. Ako vec vrsimo usporedjivanje, ovaj balzam dosta slici Clarins balzamima u boji koji na jako slican nacin oboje usne dok ih cine socnim posto su jako hranljivi. Jako lijepo hidrira usne (a da nije tezak niti mastan) i obavija ih ruzicastom bojom (nije mat, nije sjajna – samo blago socna). Ono sto cini da ovaj balzam za usne djeluje drugacije od njemu slicnih proizvoda je mogucnost nadogradnje boje slojevima. Na fotografijama nosim jako tanak sloj dok se uz par dodatnih slojeva intenzitet moze usporediti i sa ruzem (pogledajte swatch). Zene koje vole intenzivan pigment vjerovatno nece biti impresionirane no ako ste u potrazi za jednostavnim proizvodom koji se koristi sa lakocom i pruza prirodan look – ovaj MF novitet vrijedi isprobavanja! Jedina zamjerka koju imam jeste na pakovanje koje se doima dosta plasticnim. Da li ste mozda isprobale ove novitete? Imate li nekog favorita?
*Some of these products may have been sent to me for review. For more information, see my disclaimer.
