Quarter Life Challenge - Blush 7

I know, I know, I'm behind on my blusher posts again - but the past week was simply crazy! Rest assured that I am being really good about sticking to a schedule of actually using the blushes, I'm just behind on writing about them. Without further ado, I present:

Almay Smart Shade Blusher in Berry 030

This blush caught my eye at the drugstore because it's part of Almay's new line of "adjust to your skintone" cosmetics. I was skeptical, but since this was a whole lot cheaper than Smashbox O-Glow, I decided to give it a shot.

First off, the Almay Smart Shade Blusher and Smashbox O-Glow couldn't be any more different from each other. While both profess to adjust to your skintone to give you a natural looking flush, O-Glow is one-color-fits-all while the Almay Smart Shade makeup comes in three different shades -- pink, berry, & natural -- for you to choose from.

Now, I'm not sure why Almay Smart Shade blusher needs to have 3 available shades if it's going to adjust anyway, but I can overlook that. What I can't overlook is that it just doesn't work.

The product out of the tube is a pale purple paste with flecks of what appears to be a berry tint. I applied it with my fingers to the apples of my cheeks. At first glance, things look good as I see a soft berry flush appear on my skin . But within minutes, and a tad bit more rubbing, it disappears almost entirely. Applying more didn't appear to have an effect, so the color isn't really buildable in any way. Whatever color did stick around fades away within an hour or two.

I can see this perhaps working for someone with paler skin, but since I've give this a half-dozen tries, I don't think it's going to stick around taking up room in my stash. It's a pity too, because I thought it was a really neat concept. Maybe one day, I'll get around to trying O-Glow instead.

$8.99 @ Drugstore.com