I got this little travel sized blush in my August Lookfantastic beauty box. I wasn’t really a blush person in the past, but now it’s one of my top 3 makeup products that I can’t live without. Also, I’m very interested in discovering more of the Ciate brand, especially since they are a cruelty-free brand and they have a mid-range priced brand, which is great for makeup products because they last longer than skin care ones.

Packaging:

The full size product contains 4 grams. I have the travel size which contains 2.5 grams. Also, the packaging is different. The full size has a much nice packaging, with some golden stars on it and a golden band and a mirror. This one is more simplistic, but it’s still cute because it’s pink, so it’s instant love for me.

Texture:

This is a hybrid between a blush and a highlighter and it feels soft like a baked powder. However, it’s not as hard in the pan like baked powders usually are and it’s easy to pick it up on a brush. It has a marble effect in the pan, but it does fade away once you swirl your brush into it. It doesn’t have any kind of overspray, so that’s very good.

Ingredients:

Mica, HDI/Trimethylol Hexyllactone Crosspolymer, Cetearyl Ethylhexanoate, Dicalcium Phosphate, PTFE, Dimethicone, Squalane, Glycerin, Octyldodecyl Stearoyl Stearate, Zinc Stearate, Lauroyl Lysine, Caprylyl Glycol, Ethylhexylglycerin, Polysorbate 20, 1,2-Hexanediol, Silica, Carrageenan (Chondrus Crispus), Xanthan Gum, Pentaerythrityl Tetra-Di-t-Butyl Hydroxyhydrocinnamate [May Contain / Peut Contenir / +/-: Titanium Dioxide (CI 77891), Red 30 Lake (CI 73360), Iron Oxides (CI 77491, CI 77492, CI 77499), Carmine (CI 75470)]

Some blush shades are also vegan, but the one I have, Matchmaker, is not one of them because it contains carmine.

Swatch:

This is a gorgeous pink rose shade that has some golden undertones in it and I think it looks gorgeous. It’s one of my favorite blushes to use. I don’t know how it shows up on darker skin tones, but for me, it’s very nice.

Price and accessibility:

Some Ciate products were available at Sephora but now I think they don’t sell them anymore. However, Ciate is available in a few online stores here in Romania, so it’s not difficult to obtain them. The full size blush is sold on the brand’s website for 25.88 euros. It’s not affordable, but I would pay this much for a good blush, especially since it’s something I know it will last me a long time. I mean, I used this blush since August about 2 – 3 times a week and there’s barely a dent in it.

My overall opinion:

The effect this blush give is just beautiful. It really is a mix between a blush and a highlighter and you can build it up, so it’s as light or as bold as you want it. The color is also really beautiful, especially since I love pink blushes in general. This one is my favorite blush, very close to the Natasha Denona I have in my collection.

It doesn’t emphasize the skin’s texture and it doesn’t fade away into nothing throughout the day. It’s really nice for work or for a subtle makeup, to have that “glow within” appearance.

I really like this blush and I’m very interested to try more makeup products from this brand. I would definitely recommend it to someone who likes blushes that are subtle, but there is still color payoff in there.