January 14, 2013

L’Oreal Visible Lift Color Lift Blush Review & Swatches

L’Oreal Visible Lift Color Lift Blush is a contouring and illuminating blush created in six shades for Spring 2013.

These have a lightweight, mousse-like texture much like Maybelline’s Dream Bouncy Blush. The lighter texture is supposed to give skin a more youthful, healthy “lifted” look with a texture that doesn’t settle into fine lines. There’s irony in the “doesn’t settle into fine lines” because the formula made me look like I have monstrously huge pores when in fact my pores are so tiny you’d need a magifying mirror to actually see them so I can just imagine what they’d do on a finely lined face.

Take a look!

I have a huge love/hate relationship with these. On one hand I’m in lust with the color selection. The blushes all impart a glowing healthy sheen on my cheek bones. They have considerably more pigment than Maybelline’s version and the formula is really easy to work with.

However, they have hiccups and quirks that make me dislike them in a major way.

At $12.99 each for 0.14 oz of blush these don’t come entirely cheap. There are a million blushes you can indulge in at the drugstore for a better price that offer you more product. I find I hit pan on a shade with three uses since I had to build so much to get the best color pay off (some shades are sheer, others pigmented, depends really!).

The blushes have a mousse-like, spongy texture just like Maybelline’s version. This is the type of sponge-y product that feels like molding clay….unlike Maybelline’s version they have a knack for sliding around the compact and separating into tiny chunks when a finger or brushed is swatched in them.

Peach Gold Lift, Pink Lift, Coral Lift

Berry Lift, Rose Gold Lift

The texture is a cream to silky powder blush. I find some shades wore better than others. For the most part you do have to avoid certain shades which have a heaping healthy dose of shimmer. These shades are possibly the prettiest ones but the problem is they literally make you light up like a discoball and will make� your pores glaringly obvious. The key here is to blend, blend, blend to avoid shimmer overload.

The texture is actually very easy to work with. It’s simply a matter of smiling, dabbing on cheek bones, and blending outwards. Application is a breeze and the blush applies perfectly and flawlessly each time. Now the shimmer is an issue, this has to be dealt with carefully. A light hand and a fibre brush will prove helpful tools as not to over do your look.

I find the shades all produce a healthy glowing effect that’s VERY pretty. Shades vary but for the most part are quite pigmented when compared to Maybelline’s sheerer Dream Bouncy Blush. If these were powder I’d be inclined to rave them hard…! But due to the cream formula I find they have a shorter wear time plus other quirks like the sparkle I spoke of above prevents me from raving them too hard.

Rose Gold Lift

Pink Lift

Peach Gold Lift

Coral Lift

Berry Lift

Overall, L’Oreal Visible Lift Color Lift Blush ARE worth looking into but I’d suggest grabbing them on sale. The colors are unique and pretty enough to warrant a purchase, the formula is very easy to work with, and the pigment is fairly good. On the downside the wear time is quite short (perhaps three hours before fading but it really depends on your skin type), the sparkle is heavy, the price a little expensive for drugstore blush, and the finish utterly unforgiving on dry, flaky, larger pores, or finely lined skin.

They have quirks yes….but if you can get past all that they give skin a beautiful glow that I can’t honestly say I’ve experienced in my HUGE blush collection.

Try ’em.

You decide and tell me your thoughts.

Available now at drugstores.

I purchased this item.

About the Muse

Isabella MuseIsabella is just an average everyday geeky girl who doesn’t blend her eyeshadow correctly, wears too much blush, and hopes she never finds her holy grail products because she likes the thrill of the chase so much. Her mission is to bring you super honest reviews on makeup, skincare, fragrance and all things beauty. She’s in no way an expert on the topic and she sure as hell isn’t a super model. But she’s passionate about makeup and is seeking like-minded individuals that like pina coladas, getting caught in the rain, and ones that enjoy spending hundreds of dollars at Sephora without feeling buyer’s remorse. If you’re that person feel free to reach out and leave a comment or follow me on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Bloglovin‘.

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Comments

  • Debster

    Those colours look incredible!!!! I’ve never owned a cream/liquid/stain blush, only have worked with powder. I love the shimmer, but I’m obsessed with shimmer and highlighters. I want them all. *_*

  • Spooki

    Peach gold is so pretty, I’m a sucker for that shade of blush. I might get one since they’re not too pricey.

  • Vi

    Thanks so much for the review, Muse! 🙂 Just one question: you mentioned that some of the shades came across more pigmented then others. So which ones are the more pigmented ones? I only ask because in the swatch photo it looked like Coral Lift was pretty pigmented, but the face photo looks awfully sheer. Thank you!!

    • the Muse

      my pleasure vi, they are actually all sheer to medium coverage so long as you build very well…any of the shads I have hear will apply dramatically if you build up ;-D coral lift def was the sheerest though where as the others were all quite nicely pigmented. Hope this helps!

      • Vi

        Thanks Muse, that helps a lot! I’ve still got my eye on the Berry Lift one, but I know to stay away from the coral now. You rock!! 😀

  • Kay Lee

    Hi Muse! These look amazing on you, but it’s too bad it’s so shimmery. I really like what you’re wearing on your lips. What lippies are you wearing in Pink lift, Peach Gold Lift, and Berry Lift?

    • the Muse

      aw thanks kay really appreciate it! <3! In Berry Lift I'm wearing Too Faced La Creme in Divine Wine in Pink Lift I'm wearing Chanel La Favorite and in Peach Gold...eep I forgot? Not sure what that is lol! I think Chanel Precieuse...!

  • Victoria

    Hi Muse, I totally Agree with U! I purchased the nude (u didn’t swatch this one) shade the other day when they caught my eye in the store! The color is lovely & I just had to try it. I seem to have missed the part of packaging that said they were cream-to-powder rather than powder otherwise I prolly would’ve skipped my purchase! I passed my FAVE PD angled blush brush across the color to lift & see no color transferred to my brush! Hmmm, then I noticed a huge dent in the blusher! I realized then that I hadn’t purchased a powder blusher at all! So, I tapped my finger across the color, sacheted around the apples of my cheeck & voila, an amazingly glistening nude sheen came across the right side of my face!!! Beautiful color, perfect amount of shimmer & realized I hadn’t wasted my $$! I then finished up the other cheek, set with a light dab of what was left on my finishing brush & the dabbed lightly in the mid of my bottom lip (over a lovely shade of YSL BLU-rose! Loved it, no issues with my pores & or fine lines looking like a neon sign that shouted out “eat at Joe’s”, even after a full night in the Nola 100% humidity (last weekend we were dripping in moisture & sweat from the 75 degree average down here)! So u could imagine to my surprise, by the end of the night, I was still adorned with beautifully glistening cheek bones!!!
    I guess I would say, I am pleased with my purchase ;~)

    • the Muse

      I AM very happy to hear this victoria! I really loved the shades, application, and the gorgeous glow…I didn’t notice they clung badly to flaky areas though and made my smaller pores look high le sigh! I’m going to try to set with a powder like you did, perhaps this would blur that imperfections I experienced! ;-D great idea too as it might prolong the wear!

  • kimkats

    THREE uses and you hit pan???? I’d be pissed if I’d paid $3 for a blush and that happened, let along $13!!! No thank you, L’Oreal. that’s ridiculous!!

  • BethMarie

    Wow, those are pretty colors. But I could not spend that much on them. $12 is the price on an Inglot blush. I also have the problem of accentuated pores when using cream blush. I prefer powder. The peach one is very pretty though. Thanks, I love your blog. ~bethmarie

  • AisforAmy

    I went out on a limb Muse and bought the pink! I’ve been in a blush rut lately.. nothing seems to show up like I want it to or last.. but this was a dream! I had a beautiful glow that lasted all day… will definitely be going back for more! I think the key was that I used the multi-purpose brush from Real Techniques.. dense, but not too dense, and I was able to build the color nicely.

    And just a quick question, what MAC shade are you? Just as a point of reference the next time I’m on a Muse approved make up run 🙂

    • the Muse

      fantastic amy happy to hear it. I’m not really sure…I’ve never really been into mac shades nor even went to mac and asked my shade plus I typically use either a shade 1 or 2 in BB Cream depending on the color selection, I go for light beige foundations and consider myself medium fair…I THINK i’m an NC30 in mac?

  • Kate

    I can’t decide if I want to pick some of these up! The colors are awesome but the reviews all seem so so… great review tho!

  • Agata

    I have Peach Gold lift and I just love it! As you said: easy to work with and shimmering make me look fresh. Thanks for the review.

  • Joann M Lucker

    I’ve been trying to find rose gold lift at every store no matter who I look at they are out of that one. Where can I find rose gold lift?

    • Isabella Muse

      they’ve been discontinued and are no longer available in stores.