Yes I know, this line of blushes has long since been discontinued, but I bought a few of days towards the end of their retail cycle and I just never got around to reviewing them. But since The Balm’s Instain blushes are some of my favorites, I just have to rave about them and therefore I still want to do dedicated reviews. Today’s blog post will be focusing on the orange shade: Swiss Dot. I already have a review up for Lace.
Review: The Balm Instain blush Swiss Dot
So yes, sadly a line that’s been discontinued, but that doesn’t mean these weren’t great. Why they even got rid of these, I don’t know. The Balm still does blush though and those are also lovely but the shade selection is a little bit more limiting. Swiss Dot was one of six shades and the range had some very safe blush options, but there were also some more out there shades, including this one! The Balm blushes retail for around the €19 mark over here, but I paid a mere €8 for this as I got it on a massive deal.
What does this blush have to offer?
First let’s go into why this blush is so unique and why I wanted to own all six shades. Not only are the shades stunning, this is also one of the most longwearing blush formulas I have ever tried. So you ever struggled keeping your blush on throughout the day: this was the line for you. Additionally the packaging is just too cute. Each of these blushes look like a vintage magazine and the name of the blush is printed on the inside as well. Clever, cute and great quality.
What is the shade like?
Swiss Dot wasn’t my original pick from this line up. I knew I would love Argyle and Houndstooth, but Swiss Dot is quite orange and I am not in love with orange blush on myself. Since this isn’t a stark orange, but more of a peach, I felt I could still make it work provided I use a light hand. In the summer time, a good peachy blush shade is a staple in my makeup collection and this made no exception. By now however, Swiss Dot is one of the shades I decided to declutter as I have other peachy shades I just prefer over this one. What those have that this one doesn’t? A bit of glow. This is a fully matte blush shade and when it comes to blush I have just fallen in love with something with a bit more shine to it.
What does this blush swatch like?
Remember that I said that the Instain blushes are some of the best blushes I ever tried? Well this swatch shows you why. These blushes were pigmented but still easy to contro. Blendable to the point where it looked seamless on the skin and while matte they didn’t have a very flat finish either. The longevity was great too: the Instain in the product name is something this really lived up to. In a full on swatch this may seem a little bit scary and full on, but with a brush I felt this added just that bit of warmth to the cheeks that I like a peach blush to give me.
What does this look like applied?
In this before and after you can see what this blush shade does. I love the bit of added warmth and in the summer time this was stunning. If you’re someone into a bronze eye look and have a warm complexion this was a great blush. Luckily for you, the current The Balm blush line has a shade that’s quite similar to this, so if you really want to then there is a substitute available from their current line. It’s not a straight up dupe, because the brand hasn’t done anything this vibrant in a while, but you can get close.
My final thoughts
I truly feel that by discontinuing the Instain line The Balm has shot themselves in the foot. Maybe it’s because they wanted to make all of their packaging recyclable and the line more sustainable but in the end they did away with one of their standout products. It always hurts a little bit if that happens to a product. The shade Swiss Dot wasn’t my personal favorite from the line, but it is a great staple for any makeup collection and I felt it was one of the more wearable shades this line had to offer.
Would I recommend The Balm’s Instain blush?
No I wouldn’t for the simple reason that tracking this down by now may be a bit of a difficult thing to do. But if you want to try a great blush formula that no one is talking about anymore, then definitely check out there current range. And great news, if you’re in The Netherlands the brand has become more easy to get a hold of as they are now available from Kruidvat and they are available in select stores.
3 responses to “The Balm Swiss Dot Instain blush review”
Hi Maaike, I have all the INSTAIN blushes, thanks to you. The first post I ever read was when you reviewed “Lace”. I was obsessed and had to track all the colors down, which I was able to do just in the nick of time before they were gone on the Balm! Swiss Dot was the first one I got and I like it, but I think it’s a bit too orange even for me. I think I like Toile the best. Anyway, just had to stop by and say hello, haven’t been buying much makeup lately, but still love your blog.
Aw what a lovely comment! Thanks very much for showing your lovely face again. I still follow you on Instagram so I have been seeing you sell off some of your vintage items. I hope you are well and your move cross country has gone well and you are settled into your new place.
Thanks! We are actually moving again (hopefully soon) out of our condo into a house in the same town. The condo is too noisy & small… The irony is, the condo has a nice bathroom with lots of shelves and plenty of room for makeup! So we’ll see if there’s a house that has that much makeup space! 🙂