Candace Napier/STYLECASTER
If blush tops off your list of makeup you’d never leave the house without, then we are not the same, you and I. Blush is maybe the one and only beauty product I don’t hoard obsessively?it’s been a while since I traded in flushed, rosy cheeks for a light touch of skin-brightening bronze (c/o Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powder in Dim Light, which is the best) that flatters my fair complexion without being too obvious. That’s the thing about most blushes: They’re obvious. I don’t like obvious.
I may never know what compelled me to put the new BECCA Shimmering Skin Perfector Luminous Blush ($34) on my face, but I’m glad I did. As of right now, it’s the only blush I’ll make an exception for. I judge blush shades based on their pinkness?the more pink it is, the less likely I am to ever wear it?and Dahlia, my preferred pick of the litter, is not pink. It is not pink at all; rather, it’s an intensely pigmented wine-like hue, a rich color that doesn’t skew too warm nor too cool. It’s balanced, just like a good cabernet should be. The allure of it, really, is how well this formula can mimic a stain, unlike a dry, powdery (obvious-looking!) blush. Swept on with a fluffy brush (I prefer kabuki), Dahlia is luminous, not ruddy, and the subtle shimmer doesn’t read glittery at all whatsoever. A little goes a long way?these colors are so pigmented that just a touch of the stuff will do. ...