Blush on the DL. 

    When I first saw Careline's SpongeBob collection, I was not interested one bit. SpongeBob was a cartoon I wasn't fond of (I'm more of a Phineas and Ferb girlie) so this collection didn't really spur excitement in me. However, when the collection came out, a bunch of reviews and first impression videos were all over my TikTok feed which kind of forced me to really look into it. I gotta say, based on the swatches and try-ons, the products were surprisingly impressive! But still, I refused to buy them full price (lol) so when I finally saw they were on sale, I snatched up a few products that have been on my radar. One part of the collection that caught my eye was the blushes, both liquid and powder, as they looked pigmented and even morena skin-friendly! Though I had to skip on the liquid blushes (they're starting to take over my stash!), I had to get myself some powder blushes. I was able to get two and I'll be sharing one with you today!

    Careline's Best Blush Ever powder blushes claim to be highly-pigmented and long-wearing blushes that are infused with Vitamin E. They can be applied with a makeup brush, sponge, and even your fingers.

    A Best Blush Ever powder blush retails for ₱250 for 2.25g of product. These blushes are vegan, cruelty- and paraben-free.

    How cute is the packaging though?? I like how each blush in this collection features a different character from SpongeBob- like, I seriously want to collect them all! Love that the SpongeBob theme is very prominent in these products, from the box to the actual blush case. Yes, they look a bit child-like but isn't that SpongeBob to the core? Meow Love features none other than SpongeBob's beloved pet snail, Gary with his girlfriend Mary!

    The Best Blush Ever line comes in four shades: Money Money, Imagination, Wumbo, and the shade I'll be talking about today: Meow Love! Meow Love is described as a "pink orange". On my skintone, Meow Love's orange tones are more front and center but you still see a bit of pink peeking through. I like it!

    Meow Love is the lightest, safest shade in this line. I purchased this blush during a time when I was obsessed with desaturated blushes because in my mind, this blush definitely passed as one. And it actually is, especially on morena and darker skintones! It took me a few layers of Meow Love to show up on my cheeks but I like that even though it was already around 3-ish layers, it still looked natural, like it's just a natural flush on the cheeks. So see, it totally works as a desaturated blush!

    Quick tip: if you are someone with a medium-tan or deep skintone and you think Meow Love is too sheer, then I recommend doing a few things:

First: apply a cream or liquid blush of a similar color first! Like with Meow Love, I can imagine pairing it with either Vice Co's Always Fresh Dew It All blush, Colourette's Colourtint in Ginger, or Issy's Gold Digger. These blushes have a peachy/orangey tone that'll pair nicely with Meow Love and will help Meow Love show up more. (Plus, layering a cream and powder also ensures that your blush stays on longer!)

Second: instead of using a fluffy blush brush, use a synthetic brush that's in between dense and fluffy. With this blush, I used my Anne Clutz Flat Angled Kabuki Brush to really pack in the blush. On the first photo of this post, I featured the Anne Clutz Beginner Blush Brush because that's what I'd theoretically use but when it came to the actual application, I thought this brush was a little too dense so I switched to the Kabuki Brush which let me achieve a nice pigmented flush while still having that diffused effect!  

    I initially thought that Meow Love is a matte blush but once I swatched and looked at it closely, I realized that it's really more of a satin with a micro shimmers! The blush doesn't have the chalky, flat feeling matte blushes have; instead, it's smoother, a bit more creamy almost, and blends on the skin easily. I really like this kind of blush formula because satins are much more forgiving on the skin than mattes and they also cling less on dry patches. Since I also like glowy blushes, the shimmers are very much welcomed! They're very fine and gives the blush a subtle and natural glow!

    If you're looking for an easy, everyday blush that's easy to use and isn't a pink for a change, I can't recommend Meow Love enough! There are days when I like my blush subtle, just a hint of color on days where I feel pale and dull and Meow Love always saves the day. Since it's such a versatile color, I can even use it as a wash of color on my lids! That and a good coat of mascara on curled lashes and maybe even some baby cat eye? Yeah, that's my eyes done, all thanks to this all around blush! Also doesn't hurt that I got it for only half price- talk about a steal!