Blush and Highlight with Benefit and Bare Minerals

Two new blush/highlighters landed on my desk recently – Benefit’s Gold Rush Blush, and Bare Minerals’ Crystalline Glow Bronzer and Highlighter Palette.

Blushing and highlighting is big news this summer. Bare Minerals‘ new palette does it all. It’s a limited edition, three-shade palette that will add a gorgeous glow. Inspired by the light reflection and refraction of crystals, it contains a trio of rose gold hues.

Each powder contains illuminating crushed rose quartz crystals, as well as squalane, a natural moisture magnet derived from olives, to keep skin hydrated and nourished.

The powders are baked for longer durability, and they contain microfine Mineral Lustre pigments. You can use them wet or dry.

The three lovely shades are:

Pink Moonstone highlighter – sweep this anywhere you want a glow; cheekbones, over or under the brow bone, down the bridge of the nose and in the inner corner of the eyes.

Glistening Topaz rosy bronzer – apply light strokes to areas of the face that the sun hits naturally, like the hairline, bridge of nose, cheekbones and jawline

Rose Quartz warming highlighter and blush – use as a blush by smiling, and then swirling it on the apples of your cheeks, and sweeping back to the temples.

So, you can use each shade alone, or layer all three for a multi-dimensional rose gold glow. That’s a bit much for me, but they are lovely shimmery powders.

The Bare Minerals Crystalline Glow Bronzer and Highlighter Palette, £30, available from May 10, at Bare Minerals boutiques, counters and bareminerals.co.uk

Benefit launched their latest powder blush last month – Gold Rush Blush. Classically ‘Benefit’, this is a rich golden nectar blush. it comes in the familiar blush box, with brush, and is a peachy blush with golden accents.

The blush has a ‘golden nugget’ design, a nod to the American Wild West that has inspired it, and the gold is an overspray, which means it won’t last throughout the product which can be disappointing.

Benefit’s blushers aren’t cheap, but they are collected by true fans, and if you are one, you will love this. It also has the signature Golden Glamber scent – notes of citrus, vanilla and sandalwood. I’m not loving my blusher with so much of a smell, but again that’s a personal taste.

Benefit Gold Rush Blush, £24.50, out now, at Benefit counters, and benefitcosmetics.co.uk