If I Could Only Have One: Laura Mercier Second Skin Cheek Colour in Lotus Pink

My oh my, it sounds like a blasphemy to any self-respecting blush fiend, doesn't it? If I could only have one... Truth is, I can and I do have an amount of blushes that would surely paint the rouged cheeks of an entire house full of courtesans for years on end; but if I could be that minimalist modern woman whose make-up collection fits into a small make-up bag (I like to pretend I am her when I go away for the weekend... and ignore the bulging skincare case), I would have just one blush, and it would be Laura Mercier Second Skin Cheek Colour in Lotus Pink ($24 for 3.6g/ 0.13 oz).

'A light-as-air, velvety powder blush that sweeps on silky sheer color easily and evenly. With skin-silkening natural botanicals, skin not only looks but also feels beautiful all day long.' (from Laura Mercier website... but really, velvety, silky and skin-silkening? Smirk.) The packaging of the blush is the typical Laura Mercier custom palette-compatible dark bronzy compact, from which the pan can be easily popped out. I actually enjoy how small and non-fuss it is; it tucks perfectly into any make-up bag.

Color-wise, I have to say that I picked out the shade Lotus Pink after a lot of swatching sessions at Sephora and Nordstrom and some careful consideration; I was hankering for a perfect 'coral' (yes, whatever that means) without too many orange tones that would compliment my cool-toned skin. After acquiring a couple universally-acclaimed coral blushes in the past (Benefit Coralista or even Laura Mercier Lush Nectarine), I've found them a bit too warm on my skin, sometimes pulling more tangerine than coral. In the same vein, I had to cross out Tarte's Amazonian Clay blush in Tipsy from my list but then the perfect hue caught my eye at the Laura Mercier stand - Lotus Pink. Whether you call it cool coral or warm pink, it's the loveliest all-rounder shade for me that compliments both cool and warm make-up looks while giving more oomph than a nude blush shade.

In terms of formulation, the blush has a smooth, fine texture and enough pigmentation that I prefer to apply it with a sparser stippling brush. The finish is satin with tiny particles of shimmer that translate into a subtle glow on the skin - no visible sparkles or metallic sheen, and the color lasts all day on me. I really do enjoy the Second Skin blush formula and can definitely see myself picking out more shades in the future.

Below, you can see Laura Mercier Lotus Pink on the far left swatched along a couple more coral shades from my collection, as seen in the group shot: Benefit Coralista and Laura Mercier Lush Nectarine in the middle, with La Femme Mandarin Red on the far right.

And here it is on the cheek; I wish I could remember which product I had on my lips that day because it sure photographs well - here's a lesson to try and upload my photos before I totally forget what's even in them.

On that note, I'm sorry for the relative scarcity of posts in the past couple weeks; I haven't been in the best of moods recently and whenever I'm down, the blog inevitably suffers as a result. I've also been experiencing the very much unwelcome return of cystic acne, so taking photos is a bit of a struggle as I'm sure you'll understand. But, I'm on a new medication to help my skin and self-confidence and hopefully mug shots should return quite soon, and in the meantime I have loads of other stuff to share with you. I'm hoping your June is off to a great start and I'm sending lots of hugs your way, my pretties!