Even though my daughter is 26 and lives in another country from me, I grounded her awhile back for telling me I was turning into a real girly grrrrl. Now here I sit about to tell you all about my most recent blush purchase: Nivea Beaute Stay Real Blush. I may have to just kill the child now to avoid the fresh round of taunts which will no doubt ensue.
So. Yes. I use cosmetics. I have, in fact, become quite addicted to cosmetic shopping. If I walk into a make-up place just to quickly grab a new mascara, I do not leave until 45 minutes and $100 later, minimum. It’s a sickness. I blame review writing. It seems I have gotten into the habit of spending outrageous amounts of money on silly crap just so I can write about them… and me a retired shrink. Ohj.
At any rate, I have a lot of products I simply adore, and I’ve bought a ton I just really hated. Then there are those products which fall in the middle in a kind of yeah OK I guess it’ll do but it ain’t quite what I wanted. Blushes have been a string of disappointments for 30 years. Nivea Beaute Stay Real Blush is one of those middle-ground purchases.
Somewhere in my 49 years I came to desire blushes with two colors in them. A darker tone for the lower cheek, lighter for the upper cheek… then I take my hand and kinda blend them together on my face. If I am blending them, why do I need two separate colors? I have no idea. I just do, aiiight? These dual-color blushes are getting harder and harder to find.
Nivea is a decent European name. I am very loyal to their Nivea Creme when it comes to my hands. I keep one on the kitchen sink for right after I do my dishes. Because of that, when I saw a cosmetic display of their’s in the Apoteket, I ran over to take a look-see and then squealed with delight to find a dual-color blush. The equivalent of 11 US Buckaroonies later, it was mine.
There was only one choice of color combo, and it hasn’t got a name that I can see. But the colors are what I would call medium-toned, leaning into light-ish ruddy browns as opposed to pinks. I like the colors. I have fair skin and blond hair and this one is not too dark for me. I have noticed that it is easily adjustable by how much of which color you decide to put on, so this one compact could conceivably work for all skin tones.
The container is round and about the size of a silver dollar. OK I haven’t actually got a silver handy to check that, but if memory serves me (and it usually does not) then that statement is correct. I do have a gold dollar handy, those are much smaller. No. You must use the old Silver ones to get the drift here. heh.
The colors are split down the middle in a kind of arc. There is no brush in this little compact case. That, folks, is my bone of contention. I love the small size of it, and how easy it is for my arthritic self to get it open… but I totally hate, Hate, HATE having to carry around a separate dealie full of various brushes. Damn Nivea Beaute. Damn them all to hell.
So yes, I like the blush colors, it lasts through the day just fine and is easy to apply, and the compact is adorable and takes up little space when I’m on the road… but no self-contained brush.
I am going with 4 low stars for Nivea Beaute Stay Real Blush. I am personally still on the look-out for the perfect blush, but if the whole no-applicator brush thing is not an issue for you then I do recommend you give this one a try. The product itself is pretty good, just inconvenient for me.
