I'm blushing, I'm really blushing!

Do you remember the first time you blushed? That sudden feeling of blood pouring into your face, your hear beating faster? This usually happened after someone of the opposite sex gave you a compliment? Then, after your first kiss, were you able to blush just thinking about that kiss?

I don’t blush. I wish I did, but I don’t. On a very rare occasion my ears get red, but absolutely no color floods to my face. My cheeks don’t get rosy, either. I have just a plain face, devoid of any pink or red hues. Lucky for me someone invented blush.

I recently ran out of the brand I had been using and needed a replacement. Fortunately for me, Clinique has me on an automatic intravenous drip via email, notifying me whenever there is a free gift with purchase at a store within 50 miles of my house. Living barely north west of Boston, I hear about promotions at Nordstrom in Providence, RI; Macy’s in Nashua, NH and Lord & Taylor, Saks, Neiman Marcus and Bloomingdales in the Metro Boston Area.

I decided to go back to a powder blush. My skin is fairly normal this winter, thanks to an unusually warm season. I also wanted to try out a trick I learned in Allure magazine. A make up artist in New York City swears by this tip: squeeze the tip of your middle finger for 30 seconds. The color of your tip should be the perfect blush match.

I tried this tip and ended up buying Plum Gorgeous a color I had used almost 20 years ago when I first started buying Clinique just out of college. I am totally satisfied with this color and product. I like the way to color loads onto my blush brush. With just one gentle sweep from right to left on the surface of the blush, I am able to apply it to one cheek bone. I usually glide be brush upwards along my cheekbone. This is enough product to subtly color my cheek, giving me that nice healthy glow without being garish.

I am used to looking at my make up application when I am in my car, at the stoplight at the end of my street, each morning. This is because no matter how close to the window I sit, some manufacturer’s products end up being stronger after I’ve applied them, like they saturate with the oils on my face or something! I have noticed in the two weeks since I have been using the Clinique soft-pressed powder blusher that I don’t have to adjust (wipe) any product off my cheeks. This is reassuring, since there are days when I forget to check, then notice things have gone awry much later on in the day and am embarrassed!

The Clinique displays at the department stores in my area are converting to a more open set up. This enables the customer to walk up to a section of make up (say pinks) and see all of the products in this family grouped together, test them easily and pull their own product from the stock. Clinique also continues to have the old fashioned counter and stool area with a closed make up caddy with each product contained therein, for more in-depth one-on-one discussion. I really like walking over the the products, testing the product, taking what I want and handing it to a cashier. I like to avoid the hard sell from the consultants.

I started using Clinique over 20 years ago, fresh out of college. I had little money for make up and chose my items carefully. I was thrilled to get that special gift with purchase and quickly learned to visit all the counters in downtown Boston to see who had the best gift before I bought anything. Usually there is a gift with purchase twice a year, late winter and late summer.

Clinique supplies an adequate blush brush within the blusher compact. When I was younger, the brush was fine, now I use one of my Bobbi Brown brushes (that I bought over 6 years ago). The compact itself is green in color and measures 2 1/2 inches wide by 2 inches tall. The case is sturdy enough to withstand a dropping from a bed to the floor without blush breakage (I dropped mine yesterday). Inside the compact is a nice sized mirror.

The ingredients are: talc, caprylic/capric/stearic triglyceride, calcium stearate, calcium silicate, dimethicone, silica, aluminum myristate, trisodium edta, benzyl alcohol, methylparaben, proplyparaben, iron oxides, ultramariens, manganese violet, carmine, ferric ferrocyanide, d&c orange no. 5, calcium lakes of d&c red nos. 7&34, lakes of d&c orange no. 4, d&c red nos 22, 28&33, ci 45410, fd & c blue no. 1, df&c yellos nos. 5&6.

Made by: Clinique Laboratories, Dist., New York, NY 10022

www.clinique.com

bar code: 2071405518 9



PS: The cost of the blush, $16.50 isn't enough to get that coveted gift with purchase. I recommend one of the glosses or gloss sticks, but this will bring the total over $25.00, sorry!