Max Factor Creme Puff Blush 20 Lavish Mauve and 05 Lovely Pink

The moment these hit the market, they were dubbed as the Hourglass Ambient blushes dupes. The latter are highly praised by the beauty community, so hearing that a cheaper similar product exist definitely piqued my interest, though I was never sold on the whole dupe thing (if I applied the term dupe so openly as some do, then any baked blush would be a dupe for Hourglass'). I got two shades - I first bought Lavish Mauve that was on my wishlist for a while and then I was surprised by Max Factor when they sent me another shade called Lovely Pink. I must say I love the latter one a lot more. Only four shades are available in Slovenia, while there are plenty more in this range. The other two shades are Seductive Pink, which is similar to Lovely Pink, but darker and more pigmented (swatch by Nadja), while Alluring Rose is a bronze shade that is most shimmery and pigmented out of the four, and it just didn't look like it would work on me (review and swatches by Sara here)

The texture of these is kind of creamy when you swatch them with fingers, but it's still a powder. I don't find these terribly pigmented, though I have the lightest two shades, but this isn't a bad thing. The catch is that because these are sheer, you can apply a lot more and therefore you get more of that glowy effect, but it's not like a bag of glitter was dropped on you because the shimmer in it is fine.

I like the staying power of these. A lot of blushes don't last terribly long on me, but these definitely manage to cling on for at least seven hours.

LAVISH MAUVE

Lavish Mauve caught my eye, when I first saw swatches of these and I expected a natural shade, something along the lines of Catrice's Rose Royce or maybe I'm Nut's About You, but I realized at home it is very different. It's a light cool toned pink on my cheeks, which is completely unexpected from what it looks in the packaging. Swatched on the back of my hand, it's a light pink-violet-mauve shade with subtle violet shimmer that gives it that cool toned reflection on my cheeks. Lavish Mauve is the least shimmery out of the four available here and there is a bit of that sheen on the cheeks, but it's definitely nothing special when it comes to the famous "glow" . This one looks more "natural" on the skin, while Lovely Pink is a shade that "pops" more.

LOVELY PINK

Lovely Pink is a light pink that is a lot more shimmery than Lavish Mauve. It's also a warm shade, so I prefer it on my cheeks. Actually Lovely Pink and Lavish Mauve aren't that different: they are both light pinks, just one is more cool toned and less shimmery, while Lovely Pink is warmer, brighter and more shimmery. In terms of glow, it's faring better than Lavish Mauve, but it's not exactly like a highlighter plus blush. Though I think there must be something wrong with my skin because I just cannot get the famous glow on me. I saw how this exact shade looks on Lippie Hippie and I am so jealous because it does not look as awesome on me by at all. So I started pairing it with a creamy highlighter and it's better.

These cost 12.79 € in Müller and are probably similarly priced elsewhere. I find the price very high for a drugstore blush, especially since Catrice's are so good for a third of the price. As far as the famous glow is concerned, Lavish Mauve is a bit of a disappointment to me, even though the shade itself is pretty, but I can get a similar colour for less money. Lovely Pink is already better and I've been wearing it loads this and lasts month, however, I don't get the same glow on my cheeks than apparently everyone else. I can see the shimmer in it when I swatch it, but there is much less of it visible on my cheeks. Still I love pairing it with a creamy highlighter and then it works well. If you're planning on getting these, I'd rather go with Lovely Pink than Lavish Mauve.