Imagine that natural blush you get when you run, dance or your heart pumps faster at the sight of your love. Now, imagine recreating that flush with a natural-looking blush. Found! It’s in Marc Jacobs Beauty Air Blush Soft Glow Duos.
Compact makeup is desirable; intense makeup is what you want. Add a touch of runaway style, and you get heaven! Marc Jacobs and its team did it with its 5-piece collection, the Air Blush Soft Glow Duo…
Marc Jacobs Beauty Air Blush Soft Glow Duo: product and packaging
#AirBlush Soft Glow Duo is a double powder blush in a sleek black case with a rather intense study over design and performance. The squoval compact palette stays in the palm of your hand and contains 8 gr of coloured powder. The shiny body has the brand logo in silver lettering and an automatic opening with a silver button which suggests its original inspiration: a vintage cigarette case. The case includes a mirror and a black protector sheet under which you’ll find strips of colour. The duo forming the Air Blush has an optical design inspired by a Marc Jacobs’ stripy dress.
Texture and formula
The ‘dance-floor flush‘ released by the Air Blush is a long-lasting natural pop of colour with a diffused glow. To make this possible, the formula is based on the ‘soufflage‘ technique, which makes powders super lightweight and with a creamy texture. The ingredient called ‘Japanese air powder‘ – together with hits production method – creates a light makeup that fuses with your complexion and diffuses a true radiance. Marc Jacobs Beauty Air Blush texture is impalpable and silky to the touch; it blends smoothly onto the skin and as a natural glow with high-impact pigmentation.
Shades and finish
Marc Jacobs Beauty Air Blush Soft Glow Duo is declined in 5 combinations of colours. Each case contains two complementary shades, a light tone and darker hue, which can be used together or separately. The lighter shade highlights your features, while the darker one contours your face with colour instead of shadows! Mixed together, they create a unique, bright shade that revitalises your look. Jump to the next section to read in-depth about the technique to sculpt your face with colours…
Lips details: Knd.r Mood Balm in Serenity Sorbet + MJB Air Blush #502 Lines & Last Night
Jewellery: Scarab pendant and necklace by Sara Cammarosano
Gold heart stud earring by Accessorize
Marc Jacobs Beauty The Blush and #draping technique
To accompany the Air Blush Duos, Marc Jacobs Beauty has a proper tool, ‘The Blush’. The Blush (n°10) is an angled brush with synthetic and anti-bacterial bristles. They are very soft to the touch and feel like real; these bristles are very dense at the centre – so the brush looks fluffier – and thin at the tip. Their density takes loads of pigment in one swift, while their texture feels gentle to the skin.
#Draping?
These compact duo blushers work around the concept of ‘drape‘, or ‘colour glow‘, dear to MUA and Marc Jacobs’ friend Way Bandy. This technique aims to sculpt, lift and refresh your face with a glowy blush.
How to use and how to ‘drape’:
Marc Jacobs Beauty Air Blush Soft Glow Duo stylish design allows you to pick and dose the shade and the intensity you want to use. In fact, you can sweep The Blush vertically on either side of the pan to take as much as you want of the lighter or the darker shade. You can brush it horizontally to mix the two shades for a vibrant one-tone blush.
Note: the blushes are very pigmented, so always tap the excess powder from the brush before working it on your face.
Here are the 4 ‘draping’ techniques in short
Breaking Shades, Analysing finishes…
When swept all along the pan, #500 Lush & Libido is a cold, blue-toned fuchsia with a subtle sheen.
The darker shade is cold bubblegum (blue-based) pink with a satin finish which looks quite matte in direct sunlight. The lighter hue is an iridescent/pearly medium pink, it feels a bit cold and ‘Barbiesh’ (meaning cute).
#502 Lines and Last Night is a warm peach with an orangy twist.
The darker shade is a satiny bright coral; while the lightest is an iridescent/pearly medium orangy peach (but very peachy).
#504 Kink and Kisses seems similar to Lines and Last Night for their brightness, but this duo plays around a pink palette. Indeed, the final shade is a bright warm pink with a peach hue. The dark shade is a warm pink or flesh pink with red undertones and a peculiar satin finish. The lightest is an iridescent/pearly warm medium pink.
#506 Flesh & Fantasy creates a sheer warm neutral hue, close to skin colour or a light caramel.
The dark shade is a dark brown with a ‘bright matte’ finish. It looks matte on the pan but has an invisible light visible once swatched. The lighter shade is an iridescent/pearly platinum greyish beige which, in a scale of colour warmth, is in the middle.
Lips: Bite Cosmetics The Multistick in Cocoa
#508 Night Fever & Hot Stuff is a bright fuchsia with a deep mauve accent. The darker shade looks sharp in the pan: a dark mauve with a satiny finish which looks shimmery once swatched and seen in full light. The lighter tone is an iridescent/pearly cold medium pink.
SHADES CHART
iridescent/pearly medium orange/peach |
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iridescent/pearly warm medium pink |
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iridescent/pearly medium cold pink |
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Overall, all blushes and singular shades have an ethereal texture and a powerful pigmentation; their texture makes them super easy to mix, blend and soften. The finish on the skin is naturalistic, full of light and vibrance. On the pan, there is some difference in finishes but, once struck by direct sunlight, almost all shades show an iridescent reflection (some pinker, some more silvery). They have a unique shine that’s never shimmery or metallic. In general, the darker shades are chameleonic, from matte they turn satiny; while the lightest ones are always iridescent. The estimated duration is 24 hours, but I always fall asleep before, so I can say these blushes can last up to 10 hours fresh and soft for sure, which is impressive.
As said in some paragraphs above, some Air Blush shades look particularly suitable as highlighters, and they do: the lighter shades in both #502 Lines and Last Night and #506 Flesh & Fantasy create delicate highlights for face and eyes. Great for those who dislike the excess of strobing!
On tanned skin, #506 and #500 look very pale, and #506 is often washed off by my camera…
#508 is a strong shade and, combined with the ‘balancing glow‘ technique, creates immediate drama.
Clockwise posts. 1, 2, 3, 4
But, so far and I could double-check on my Instagram board, my long time favourite is still #502 Lines & Last Night. Those times of me reaching for the safer ‘pink blusher’ seems over. This peachy blush is full of youth and refreshes my face instantly. The lightness of this duo makes it great as a lip colour as well! I dubbed it over that Knd.r peachy pink ‘magic’ lip balm at the centre of my lips and created some shimmery depth.
Marc Jacobs Beauty Air Blush Soft Glow Duos are now on sale online at $21.20 – instead of the regular price of $42 – with the accompanying The Blush on sale too at 24 (RRP $38).
You know Marc Jacobs Beauty has a flirty kick, this case is no exception. The Air Blush duos are like Yin and Yang but in stripes with cheeky names that speak of wild fun and endless nights…
Valentina Chirico aka Valens
Sponsored, unpaid
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3 Comments
Karen
You look so freaking beautiful in all of these different looks, love! Thank you for giving such an in-depth guide as well. I personally haven’t tried any Marc Jacobs makeup, but I am loving the Tarte blush! It’s very rosy and light x
ValentinaChirico
Hi Karen, and welcome!
Thank you a tons of time, you… made me ‘blush’! You’ve been super sweet, and I’m happy my review provided you with quality information.
My turn now: I haven’t tried Tarte so far but I may follow the temptation.
Have a great day and stay safe.
xoxo
ValentinaChirico
Tarte is such a temptation! Everytime I receive a newsletter, my eyes bling!