I feel bad blogging about a long discontinued blush. Chanel Joues Contraste Rouge is an LE shade that came out many years ago and is obviously very hard to find.
For me, it was the one that got away. It came out when I had little interest in owning a super pigmented red blush, but it was kind of a thing that people still talked about years later that I became want one only to find out it wasn't available.
I finally came across one from a generous friend's blogsale page, and my fingers never typed so fast although they were shaky from anxiety - what if someone else takes it?
Well, that didn't happen. Rouge came to me. Lucky me. ;)
As I have heard and seen so many times, the intense color payoff is formidable. This deeply reddened pink (I feel hesitant to say this, but it's a pink. Excuse me.) is mesmerizing but could easily scare off many.
I've been saying that opaque blush swatch strips on arm often are useless (although looking at them usually exudes rush and happiness for us beauty addicts), and maybe only good for exercising our imaginations. Chanel Joues Contraste Rouge is the very example, I say.
I didn't rub my finger on the blush. I gently "put" my finger on it.
And ta-da, a lipstick swatch.
On my arm it isn't exactly blendable, either.
Once a chunk of the pigment landed on skin, that's it.
You can certainly count on the lasting power.
I think girls with deeper skin tones would find Rouge a lot easier to work with. If you have fair to light skin tone like me, you need to have a right tool and an extremely light hand.
I have a small brush designed for mineral foundation that actually works quite nicely for Rouge. This brush doesn't pick up too much powder, but I still make sure it gently kisses the blush and pre-blend the color on the back of my hand before it touches my cheeks.
The usual blush application technique, swirl-n-tap? You mustn't. Don't even.
If I do everything right, Chanel Joues Contraste Rouge lets me have the most gorgeous naturally flushed cheeks that glows.
(Sorry my face is flashing extra white here. I blame the all mineral sunscreen which is great for everything else but photographing.)
(Please tell me you were distracted by the cheeks and didn't see the hair.)
I never thought I could enjoy this saturated red blush in summer, but apparently I do. Surprisingly it doesn't make me look like I've boiled myself in sauna, either. I just need to strictly abide by this "less is more" rule. I think I could play it a tad bolder when the air cools down, to which I will look forward more than the new season itself.
With Canmake Cream Cheek CL01 (reviewed) and NARS Blush BLKR 413 (although this one is more of a reddish rose), Rouge completes my red blush wardrobe. I don't think my heart would want another red blush any time soon, but anything else I missed?
I mean, just in case.
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