November 6, 2009

Hard Candy Blush Crush Baked Blush Living Doll Review

Hard Candy Blush Crush Baked Blush is probably one of the first items that caught my attention when I first seen promo images from the revamp. Looking at it I had warm, fuzzy thoughts about MAC Mineralized Skinfinish. Someone cure a screeching record because NO way is this like an MSF. Naaaa, nope, no way, no how.

Hard Candy Blush Crush Baked Blush 11

Jump for the review.

First off allow me to moan a bit. Hard Candy Blush Crush Baked Blush is sooooo misleading. It’s gorgeous, stunning really. It’s a baked marbelized blush that’s quite soft on the eyes. To see is to love. I instantly fell into lust with the shade Living Doll which is this beautiful bright pink with swirls of gold. Truly I was drooling plus the added benefit of a cheap price tag ($7) and you seriously had to scrap my jaw up off the floor.

Hard Candy Blush Crush Baked Blush 12

Problem though.

Here’s the thing…..

It has zero pigmentation unless you really work for it. Brush a finger over it and you’ll have a sheer layer of color. Try getting out your big old blush brush and swirling it around in there and again you’ll see absolutely no color payoff on the brush. For some reason the blush is packed extra hard making it impossible to get even the smallest amount of color from it even with extra hard pressure.

Hard Candy Blush Crush Baked Blush 13

Hard Candy Blush Crush Baked Blush 14

The good news?

Your kabuki brush will be your best friend if you use it to apply this blush. After failing hard with several different brushes I just went ahead and dove in with a small kabuki brush and finally, success, color! After that I was a lover once again. With a little pressure and a quick swirl you’ll pick up plenty of color to blend onto cheeks. The formula isn’t the best in the world but it does give cheeks a soft, cool pink that’s quite pretty.

Overall, the quality doesn’t quite meet up with the beautiful presentation of the blush however it does apply ok with some extra care. I loved Living Doll but probably won’t indulge in further shades due to the difficult time I had with application. Nice but it needs work to be perfect but hey it’s $7 bucks so I’m not going to complain too much.� It’s rather ideal for me considering I’m so heavy handed with blush so this makes it easy to keep it sheer.

Hard Candy 1

Likey well enough but in no way a love.

Anyone try?

Loves it?

Leaves it?

Tell the Muse!

Disclosure: The following item was purchased by me for review purposes (and because I like flinging my money at makeup products of any kind) on Musings of a Muse. For further information please see my FTC Guidelines or my Disclosure/Disclaimer posts.

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

  • kristina

    I tried this blush after your last post and had the same problem. I think I tried 5 applications before I saw any noticeable color on my cheeks. On the bright side, it’s pretty hard to go overboard if you’re someone who tends to be heavy handed.

    • the Muse

      same prob Kristina! Try a kabuki, it works the best :_D I’m really heavy handed with blush so this works a treat thanks to that :D!

  • Marilyn

    I like it 🙂 Then again, I’m scared of overdoing the blush! I use the Studio Tools skunk brush.

  • Tohnia

    hi muse, have you tried Wet ‘n” Wild’s satin blush in berry shimmer? Its super pigmented and so cheap! I can’t recommend it enough. It gives me that “just come in from the cold” look I love!

    • the Muse

      nope haven’t gotten that tohnia 😀 will keep my eyes peeled for it :-D!!!!!!!

  • jackieg02

    I hit up the Hard Candy display last night.

    I bought Honeymoon blush, and for my pale self, it is quite nice. Its just a very subtle hint of a light peachy color with gold sheen and I like it.

    I also thought about the color you reviewed here but passed on it. Too bright for my likings.

    • the Muse

      aweome jackie! I think I need to get HM as everyone says it’s gorg 😀 It is rather bright 😀

    • the Muse

      hi lisa

      did you read the review hun? I put in there what brush I used that worked and what brushes weren’t working 🙂

      Hope this helps!

      • Lisa

        Oh, sorry, what I meant was which specific, particular brushes? As in, which kabuki do you use, what brand? And which blush brush? And did you try a skunk brush, like the MAC one, or a skunk brush dupe? Sorry if I worded that badly…I did read it! I promise I did!

        • the Muse

          haha Lisa. I wasn’t sure what your question was I had def said that a regular blush brush wouldn’t work and a kabuki would. Ok, now I understand 🙂 Skunk brush def won’t work 🙂 And I tried it with a large mac powder brush, a mac blush brush, and a bobbi brown blush brush oh and also my new sonia kashuk blush brush from the Twist and Shout Collection. I ended up using my mini kabuki from mac and that worked perfect.

          Hope this helps hun!

  • robyn

    this would probably be like my cheap blush i keep in my bag for touch ups cause i wouldnt want an expensive one to crack (has happened 🙁 ) and it would be perfect as i keep a samll kabuki in my bag

    hard candy available in the uk does muse know?

    • the Muse

      it would be perfect for that robyn 😀 It’s nice for travel too when you aren’t wanting to bring costly cosmetics through customs and such!

      not as of yet that I know of hun 🙁 but ebay perhaps?

  • Marina

    Won’t be picking that up then, thanks for the heads up! I DID pick up the volumizing mascara in Mudslide and was pleased with the volumizing aspect, but not the color payoff…maybe it was just the shade I chose…I also got the shadows in Temptation and was amazed. So pigmented and blendable! I’ll definitely be buying some more ASAP along with the liner in Soy (it was the only one that was sold out!). Lastly, I bought the Mr. Wrong polish. To die for!

    • the Muse

      my pleasure marina 😀 I liked it just a little work getting it going! I like the mascara too, quite nice stuff, got the black! I wish was as into polish as everyone else b/c I swear I’d be so hyped about these 🙂

  • Lisa Kate

    I still want to try it!! I normally use a kabuki for pressed blushes anyways, but I’m not sure this color would be good for me…I’m a redhead freckle face! Sucks cause I loooove cool toned colors so much, but they don’t look good on me 🙁 Boo!

    • the Muse

      aww darn Lisa. Well for the price it’s worthy of a haul as even if it stinks you won’t cry over the price too much 😀 Maybe try one of the other shades though as there are a few 😀

  • Mollie

    Can you get this at Wal-Mart? Or did you get it online? Because I’m actually really intrigued. =)

  • Charmaine

    Hey you!

    it looks really really pretty n natural on you, like you just had a brisk walk on a cold day:-)
    it kinda reminds me of Physicians Formula Baked Blushes [I know, you’re not so much into ds mu, lol, but I yam, lol!]. oh, and NYC has/had shimmer powders that look similar, but theirs is much more swirly.
    BTW, where’d you say you found it? Sephora?

    • the Muse

      hey charmaine!

      What’s up? 🙂 That’s the exact look it gives. I love PH actually 😀 it’s one of my fav DS brands :-D!!!!!!! I haven’t seen those NYC shimmery ones, interesting.

      No walmart. Sephora doesn’t carry Hard Candy anymore, been relaunched at walmart 🙂

  • alex

    i found the complete opposite to be true! i have the same shade, living doll, and i have a hard time NOT over doing it with this blush! im in love! i was so shocked to see you had such a tough time with it! ( i use a small blusher brush to apply it!)

    • the Muse

      fantastic alex 🙂 Glad it works so well for you. I needed to use a kabuki brush to get any color from it but I really did like the shade when I did get it on my cheeks 😀

  • Vickie

    LOVE this blush it’s my HG! The Studio Tools Skunk Brush worked amazingly for me! Also, my kabuki. I never thought of it being too “hard” or “packed tightly.” This just works for me and I think I’d buy it again.

    • the Muse

      hi vickie awesome you’re loving it so much! It’s quite nice but I’m def leaning towards very hard and a bit difficult to get color pay off unless I use my kabuki!

      Glad you’re loving it though! 😀

  • Kayla

    I’m actually quite in love with this blush! I only bought this shade last night, but I’ve been using the same in Pinup for a while now… it’s a lighter, peachy-bronze color, a great color for first-time use (: which is why I bought it… I have always been curious about blush but scared to use it. Anyway, I’m really anxious to see how this shade turns out for me! It looks lovely on you. I’m surprised that you had a hard time getting it to work with so many brushes… mine worked fine with a regular blush brush.

    • the Muse

      hi kayla awesome! 😀

      naaa sadly I def needed a kabuki to pick up good color with it 😀 but after that it was very nice on my cheeks! A good deal for sure just drama getting the color to work!

  • Jules

    Have you tried applying it wet? Spray you’re blush brush with fix + or some sort of a face spray, swipe it on the blush and then apply. ^_^

  • DINOGOESRAWRstill had to use

    they musthave changed the formula….mine is very pigmented, i swept my finger ofer it and it is pretty opaque, with really nice color payoff. i used itwith a blush brush and I still had to use a pretty light hand! i wonder why….

    • the Muse

      dino mm dunno maybe?! Sadly had a hard time getting color pay off!

      • DINOGOESRAWRstill had to use

        that really sucks man…… im srry it didnt work out for you, cuz i love the color!!

  • SarahSullz

    So, I realize I’m a tad late on the bandwagon but Canadian Wal-Mart stores just recieved the products.
    I totally disagree with your opinion on no color pay-off without a kabuki!
    I used a plain old blush brush and got perfectly good pay-off.
    Maybe they changed the formula?
    Whooooo knows.

    • the Muse

      dunno sarah maybe. Sadly wasn’t so great for me with a regular brush 🙁 but kabuki works fab 😀 great that it worked for you though, that’s all that matters!!!!! 🙂 Enjoy!

  • Promise

    Has anyone noticed that this blush contains mineral oil? Is that a big problem for anyone? I’ve read that mineral oil is really bad for your skin, so I was just wondering. I am probably going to return this, because I don’t want the mineral oil and this has parabens in it. I know I have a ton of makeup with parabens, but I’m not loving this enough to ignore that it has parabens. Also, it has Talc, which I’ve heard makes a lot of people’s skin dry? I’m curious about that, too, because I know NARS S. Orgasm has Talc in it, too. Just curious about everyone’s thoughts on those ingredients…..

  • Lisa

    Honestly, I haven’t had a problem with pigmentation for this blush, however I use Too-Faced’s kabuki brush and I think it turns out quite bright.

    Which makes me wonder, because I have been using that Too Faced brush for NARS makeup as well, and since Exhibit A is comming in the mail, I should probably invest in a normal blush brush right?