Current Blush Favorite: Not the Slightest Bit Peachy-Pink

In the game of blush collectors, I'm pretty low down on the spectrum: Anyone who follows beauty blogs knows there are hardcore players in the game: In all seriousness, some have triple digit collections and are continuing to expand their collections. Mine tops out at a paltry 5-10 at a time. Why? Because I don't feel a desire to have more than that at a time, can't use more than that at a time, and I'm missing the girl-gene that wants 15 shades of peachy-pink. My vision can only detect the nuances of pink to a varying degree, then all is lost.

This blush post might be called the Anti-Peachy-Pink blog: I've become so saturated with that term in the last year that in a breaking moment, I was standing at the MAC counter and looking for the farthest departure from a pink tone that I could find. What I selected was MAC's Amberling Rose. It's a deep rose shade with gold flecks. The combination enhances medium to deep skin tones so beautifully and naturally that I'm now defaulting to this blush. When you have to remind yourself you still have other shades, you know a blush has trumped the rest. I'd highly recommend this shade to anyone in a "blush rut."

Despite being categorized as a sheer tone blush, this packs considerable color payoff. The only thing I'd caution is that it can go on dense and needs to be blended well. I've heard others say this about MAC blushes, that they can be so pigmented that many shades need extra attention with blending.

I'm not a MAC fanatic: I have nothing against the brand, but it was never on my radar as a teen because I didn't grow up shopping in department stores. As an adult, I've tried to expose myself to the brand bit by bit, partly because it is one of the most socially responsible cosmetic brands. They are way ahead of the game with their Back to MAC program, which encourages their consumers to recycle by offering free product with returned empties. They don't do any animal testing. Beyond that, MAC has really done tremendous things with raising AIDS awareness with its Viva Glam line. They don't get enough credit as an extremely altruistic and socially responsible company.

Affordable options that give a similar effect: Covergirl Cheekers blush in Golden Pink and Milani baked blush in Red Vino.