In this review, we will be having a look at my third and final Colourpop pressed powder blush. So far I have reviewed Catch My Vibe from the Making Mauves collection and Vogue from the Dark Blooms collection. Despite this being the first Colourpop blush I ever purchased it is one I am reviewing last. Why is that? Because it isn’t my favorite. So I decided to finally put it in a shop my stash to determine how much I actually like it.
Review: Colourpop blush in Parakeet
This being the first Colourpop blush I bought and with Colourpop the kind of brand that discontinues products faster than you can say: Bob’s your uncle, this of course is no longer around. I bought this, back in the day, when the pressed blushes were quite new. I bought this as a single pan and then added the compact myself. By now, Colourpop offers their pressed powder blushes as a single product ranging from $9 – $12. I bought mine for $8 so that was a little bit cheaper.
What does this blush have to offer?
As with the other two blushes I have tried so far, Parakeet was a bit wrongly described on the website. I bought this thinking it would be a super vibrant hot coral. Only to get this home and be disappointed to find a muted pinky coral shade. It’s pretty, don’t get me wrong, but it just looked a lot more vibrant on the website. I thought it was going to be more like Milani’s Coral Cove than this very dull looking blush. And these kinds of blushes are my least favorite: I am just not entirely sure what it will look like on and therefore I just can’t sure what looks to put it with.
What is the shade Parakeet like?
After getting over my disappointment, I never really reached for this shade. I just felt it was difficult to use, but now that it is in my shop my stash I am finding it works well if I am looking for a warm toned blush that goes with lots of things. Because of its nondescript color, Parakeet is actually quite versatile, but other than: just a warm toned blush, I feel this doesn’t add much of anything to my complexion. Yes, it goes on quite easily and I can certainly use it, I just don’t think this blush is anything too special.
How does Parakeet swatch?
If the shade was a bit of a letdown, then let me tell you: so was the swatch. The texture of this powdered blush is nice: it picks up nicely with a brush and it blend easily. So far so good, but in terms of pigmentation, I also find this to be quite muted. Again, it looks pretty on the cheeks and because of the lightweight texture can be build up in intensity, rather than making you look like a clown. But I had just expected a bit more. Additionally, I think this swatch also shows you quite nicely that the blush doesn’t look the same on my cool skin tone than it does in the pan. Where in the pan this looks like a warm pink toned coral, once applied I just get a lot of pink. It’s a bit NARS Orgasm like but without the sheen that that has and I decluttered Orgasm for a reason: because I don’t like that shade on me!
What does this blush look like applied to the cheeks?
Of course we can only judge a product by how it goes onto the cheeks and I have to say I was surprised with how wearable this ends up being. That being said though, I didn’t want this blush to be a wearable warm toned pink. I wanted this to be a vibrant hot coral that adds a true pop of color to the face. Also on the cheeks, this blush just looks muted and barely there. It is that kind of blush that adds a bit color but without going overboard. However, I have plenty of other blushes that do that for me and by now I have realized that I prefer blush shades like this if they have some added glow. This being a matte, I just don’t think it really does what I want it to do.
My final thoughts
While the Colourpop Pressed Powder blush in Parakeet is a nice enough blush, I just feel a bit blah about it. It’s very nondescript, doesn’t stand out in the sea of blushes that makeup my blush collection and therefore I forget I own this. Is that the product’s fault? Not necessarily because quality wise this is an easy to use blush that does a lot of things I mostly look for. However, I wanted the shade to be more vibrant, more popping and just overall a bit more of a standout. In the end it isn’t and that’s why this blush just isn’t my favorite. Not by Colourpop, nor by any other brand.
Would I recommend the Colourpop Pressed Powder blush in Parakeet?
I don’t because you can no longer buy this, but if you want to buy a pressed powder blush by Colourpop and there is a shade on offer that you like: you will find yourself with a decent powder blush. This is what I expect from a drugstore blush, but then again I love some of my Essence and Catrice blushes a lot more than I do this one and those are cheaper than what this retails for. So I don’t know, I like my Colourpop blushes for sure, but the fact that their shade descriptions are just so far off, is what really drags this product down for me. Colourpop is a brand many people can only buy online and therefore I feel their website can do better when it comes to providing good, accurate swatches and shade descriptions.
3 responses to “Colourpop pressed powder blush Parakeet review”
I wanted this blush when I first saw it on your site, but of course they don’t offer it anymore. I think I’d like the color. Warm pinks (but not quite corals) work on me. And I LOVE the name! I know that should not be the reason I want to buy makeup, but I’m sometimes persuaded by the name, lol. Case and point, I bought NARS Audacious Lipstick “Claudette” because it’s the name of one of my favorite songs. I knew it was going to be a warm, brick red, but it’s actually an orange… not really my cup o tea, but I can make it work.
Psst: I am pretty sure I will be decluttering mine. I could send it to you later this month if you’d like!
[…] is not my favorite brand for blush. This is not the first, second, not even the third time I tried one of their powder blushes. While I have liked some in […]