PIMP MY CHEEKS! (Lily Lolo Blush Pots)

Member Name: Skyedame

Product:	Lily Lolo Blush Pots
Date:	18/10/07 (201 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Gives a lovely 'just come in from the outdoors' look

Disadvantages: None

LILY LOLO BLUSH POTS

Why wear blusher? Good question, particularly if you are a young woman still enjoying the first flush of youth. But chasing the natural bloom of youth is the reason why blushers were devised in the first place. Go ask the
Egyptians.

Blushers, when applied correctly, will give a healthy glow. I know, because I've tried most of them. I prefer powder blushers to crème blushers because I can apply them
more easily. However, as I get older I have noticed my complexion becoming more demanding of colour. The answer was not to apply yet another layer of the pink stuff: the Aunt Sally look made famous by Una Stubbs in Worzel Gummidge was not what I was after. The solution had to be in the colour I chose in the first place and also the product's texture.

The prettiest, most natural 'look' is that which a woman gets when she's been for a brisk walk in the cold, fresh air and, coming indoors, her complexion looks sheer with a pretty pink tinge on the cheeks. All of the blushers I'd used to date were matt in texture and had started to look 'flat' on my skin. Was there a product which would pep up my complexion without giving me a Farmer Brown appearance?

Let me introduce you to a fabulous find: Mineral Blush Pots by Lily Lolo.

Lily Lolo is an internet-based company which I discovered when I was researching for mineral cosmetics in general, and the foundations in particular, but they seemed awfully expensive for something I may not like. However, I discovered that Lily Lolo sells sample sizes of foundation for 0.99p (5g jar) and for 0.49p you get the sample size of blusher (1/4 teaspoon in a Ziploc bag which, considering the tiny amount you need for the job, is enough for quite a few applications).

The product is described as 'Soft crushed minerals with a sheer formula that's easy to blend. Perfect for the apples of your cheeks but delicious on your eyes and nails too!'
I tried that and mixed the blusher with my lip balm - just shave off a little with a sharp knife and soften the balm in the palm of your hand then add a tiny shake of blusher to mix into a pretty lipstick. Use a lip brush to apply. I must assume that the claim that you could add the blusher to your eyes must apply to the other colours like Cocoa Berry or Juicy Peach; I shouldn't think pink applied to the eyelids would do anything other than suggest I had the flu although, if I was trying to throw a sickie….

The blush colour I chose was Rosebud, which is from the 'Cool' shade chart. The other ranges were Neutral and Warm. Aside from the good quality photograph of the product, descriptive words played a part in my final selection and 'A shimmering perfect pink blush for a natural flush cheeked look' had the sample sized product at .49p in my checkout bag in a keystroke.

How to apply: I use a small brush which came with the previous purchase of another brand of blusher. I would just say here that after my purchase of the sample of blusher I went straight ahead and ordered the full size which comes in a 20ml sifter jar so it's easier to control the amount of product I get on the brush. But if you buy the sample Ziploc bag first, sprinkle a small amount of powder onto a saucer (or, in the blusher jar lid if you order the full size product). Pick up powder with brush, swirl the brush into the lid to ensure an even covering over the surface of the brush. Don't load too much onto the brush at once, a little goes a long way

Tap-tap-tap the base of the brush on a flat surface to settle the powder into the bristles, this will prevent you from applying too much product. Apply thinly and gently over the apples of your cheeks. If you need to add more, do so - just don't be heavy handed in the first instance.

You may have heard of the Kabuki brushes which are recommended for the application of mineral foundation. Lily Lolo themselves say that any good brush can be used and certainly, when you are at the stage of just sampling the products, there is absolutely no need to splash out on unnecessary brushes. However, they recommend the use of a Kabuki brush, particularly for the mineral foundation, because they make for the smoothest application. The densely packed bristles give medium to full coverage.

I do have a Kabuki brush I bought from ebay simply because it was 'free' with samples of another brand of mineral foundation and I do use it to apply my Lily Lolo mineral foundation and this gives a better finish than when I was using a medium-sized face powder brush.

Results: I was delighted with the first application of my Rosebud blusher. It gives natural-looking pink cheeks and the faint shimmer makes for a lovely, dewy finish.

The blush pots can be found in the following shades:

NEUTRAL:
Cocoa Berry: Reddish brown with a very soft shimmer
Rosy Apple: Pink-Brown shimmery blush
Real Rouge: A shimmery red rouge for that flushed cheek look

COOL:
Doll Face: A pretty, sparkly candy pink for fairer skin tones
Cupcake: A creamy matte neutral pink
Rosebud: A shimmering perfect pink blush for a natural flush cheeked look
Very Berry: A shimmery plum toned blush (this is not suitable for use on lips)

WARM:
Sweet Cheeks: A sparkly peach for the slightest hint of cheek colour
Cheeky Cheeky: A pretty matte pale peach for the most subtle cheek colour
Juicy Peach: A delicious creamy matte peach
Tiger Lily: A deep creamy matt/peach

Depending on the colour chosen, the blushers contain mostly mica and iron oxides. Some also contain titanium oxides. The colour Very Berry also contains Ferric Ferracyanide which makes it unsuitable for application on the lips - for obvious reasons.

OTHER STUFF:

The website is delightful to navigate, the photographs of the products are clear and enticing and there's lots of advice and tips on how to get the best from the different products.

Payment: You can pay via credit card or PayPal.

Where's my stuff? Receipt of orders is fast. I've ordered twice and on both occasions I received my products within 2 days.

Price: A sample of blusher costs 49p and the full size (20ml sifter jar) costs £8 to buy which includes VAT and shipping. This means that you are charged 85p whether you buy samples or the full size product.

The shipping costs for the UK are marked as £1.00 for up to Orders weighing up to 50g but I have only ever paid 85p.

Where to find Lily Lolo: Go to www.lilylolo.co.uk

Finally: Answers to your questions can be found on the website, but here are three which I thought you might like answered now:

Are your products allergy-free?

Whilst our products are as simple as possible in formulation and made from the gentlest ingredients we can find no one product (or ingredient) is guaranteed to be allergy-free for everyone.

Do your products contain parabens?

No, none of the Lily Lolo range of cosmetics contains parabens, fragrances or fillers.

What is your animal testing policy?

We do not test any of our products or ingredients on animals or ask anyone to do so on our behalf. Our products are made from ingredients which have been used for cosmetic purposes for many years and are already considered to be safe. All our formulations have been assessed and conform to European Cosmetic Regulations.

Thanks for reading!


© Louise Saunders 2007

Summary: A natural-looking blush with a slight shimmer, perfect for mature complexions