A fresh, glowing blusher is an absolute essential in my make-up collection. A ride-or-die liquid/cream formula devotee, I'm not even sure I'd know how to apply powder blushers these days. One of the biggest reasons I love them? They work into my dewy aesthetic perfectly. There's nothing quite like the bouncy, radiant effect a pretty liquid blush can bring, and my favourites are the ones that both add a pop of colour and highlight the high points of the face. Perhaps this is why I'm a huge fan of Mac's new creation: the Strobe Beam Liquid Blush. It's the perfect highlighting blush.
Mac Strobe Beam Liquid Blush: a beauty editor's review
The goal of the brand's new formula is to look like a blusher, but act like a highlighter. In its own words, Mac hopes this offering will "strobe, sculpt and shape." It has a lightweight, illuminating finish, which (thanks to being water-based) feels really undetectable on skin.
If super pigmented, bold blushers are your thing, this may not be the product for you; this is one for the 'your skin but better' girls who prefer to take a 'less is more' approach with their make-up, mostly due to its fairly sheer pay-off.
That said, you can build up the colour (to a point), it just takes a little extra product. This also depends on the shade you pick, too (more on these later!). The colour I like most is Starlite, which (despite its golden appearance in the brand's product snaps) is a pearlescent peachy-pink with gold undertones. It's very pretty and subtle, but offers a touch of colour on the cheeks, as well as a light reflecting effect when brought up to the tops of the cheekbones.
The large doe-foot applicator also makes putting this on a breeze; if you're usually running a little late (and are a touch lazy with your make-up like me!), this will revolutionise your morning routine. I'd even go as far as to say it'll BUY you time, making it a wise, worthy investment...
You simply dot the product on the apples of cheeks and at the tops of cheekbones, then blend with your fingers or a densely packed brush.
Which shades does Mac's new blusher come in?
As mentioned, I've been trialling one of the lighter shades with the most sheer, subtle levels of pigment. However, there are actually 10 gorgeous options for all skin tones, which offer varying levels of colour pay-off as blushers (while maintaining their highlighting properties).
These range from Lightning (a light beige with gold shimmer) and Ice Gleam (a cool-toned pink with gold pearlescent particles), to the more poppy Apricot Jelly (a bright orange with gold pearl) and Good Vibes (a deep fuchsia with multi pearl). Each shade is actually inspired by sunrise and sunset, which gives you a sense of how beautiful they are.
As well as the cheeks, Mac also recommends dabbing these onto lips, which is guaranteed to give that gorgeous tonal effect for spring.
