Patrick Ta: She’s So LA & Do We Know Her? Blusher Review.

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Slowly slides into ‘edit posts’.

Well …. heeeeeeeey!

It’s been a hot minute, hasn’t it? I have to say that I am incredibly sorry for how long it’s taken me to get this post up. I haven’t been feeling myself lately and given the current global climate, it felt rather ridiculous to post about superfluous things such as a beauty review.

It’s been a while since a beauty launch excited me. Recent releases have been samey-samey, not particularly innovative and with colour palettes designed for makeup artists rather than your general audience on a budget. But when I heard that Patrick Ta had released his own makeup line, I was immediately drawn to his Major Beauty Headlines range.

(All right, all right. I admit that I found this through a story posted by Vanessa Hudgens on Instagram but this is why they pay celebrities and influencers the big bucks …)

If you haven’t heard of him, Patrick Ta is a makeup artist known for bestowing celebrities with the dewiest of makeup looks. His clientele ranges from Rosie Huntington-Whitely to Gigi Hadid, Shay Mitchell, Karlie Kloss, and the list goes on. Needless to say, after researching his brand, his ethos and his work; I didn’t hesitate to pick up She’s so LA and Do We Know Her? blushers.

To me, makeup has always been about enhancing my features and keeping it natural as opposed to layers upon layers of base, colour and setting coats. This is just a personal preference as I quite honestly hate the feeling of thick makeup on my face. I don’t argue with the fact that the finish of a heavier base looks more airbrushed and photo-friendly — but it definitely is not daylight’s best friend. So, I love products that help me achieve a natural glow without the additional effort of a full face in the mornings.

If there are five things that I was told I can keep in my makeup kit for the rest of my life, they would be the following: concealer, eyebrow pencil (hello, sparse brows), mascara, blusher and lipstick. These are my must-have beauty items and blusher falls pretty high on that ‘limited’ list.

The reason why I love blusher is that it adds colour to my face, it perks me up and makes me look more awake. It’s the easiest way to cheat a healthy-glow.

So let’s get down to the nitty-gritty

The packaging?

Honestly, — it doesn’t blow me away. Yes, it feels luxurious and of good-quality and that can help to justify the price tag attached to it but the rose-gold feels very 2013, a là Charlotte Tilbury. It would be nice to see makeup brands move away from the cliché rose gold and offer something different.

Having said this, I have to admire the attention to detail introduced via the plastic covering that protects the cream blusher. Often times, when brands make a multi-product such as this, they forget the simple usability fact that powder can flare and subsequently ruin the longevity of the cream. So thumbs up there.

The price?

In comparison with other blushers on the market of “name”; the price of this product falls comfortable in the mid-high bracket. If I compare this to a Nars blushers (my go-to fave), where you receive 4.8g for £25 — you can argue that for 6g of cream and 4g of powder £30 is a fair tag.

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But it all falls down to quality…

The product?

I picked up two shades (Do We Know Her? & She’s so LA) on Cult Beauty on Sunday lunchtime after I discovered that I would not need to have my friendship it to me from the USA. Cult Beauty processed my order pretty damn fast and I had it in my hands on Monday evening (YAY!).

The first thing I did when I clocked off work, was to break open my package and play around with the product (after the all important, product shots were taken). Here’s what I learnt:

1. I finally learnt what a ‘buttery’ powder feels like. I’m sure I’m not alone when I mention the fact that a lot of beauty gurus throw around the phrase ‘buttery texture’ and I never quite agreed with their statement. But this product? Yes. Buttery. Like, hot butter through a knife buttery. I barely had to dip my brush in the pan for it to pick up the product.
   
   The downside to this? You have to remember to be light-handed, otherwise, not only do you waste product but you may end up with too much on your brush hence: clown cheeks.
   
   The upside? If used sparingly, you can build up the intensity to your liking, you can achieve an airbrushed effect with minimal effort & you will be making the most of your money.
   
2. I like to heavily research the product I want before I purchase it, the two reasons being:
   a) I have a medium-dark, olive-toned skin so online shopping makeup is made difficult by lack of diversity in product shots. Now, I have to be fair and accept that the model images on Patrick Ta’s website, like most others these days, do offer stills of light, medium and dark skin tone. But when you fall in between the medium and dark (which is a rather large spectrum) and then add on the undertone of individual skin types — the task becomes infinitely harder.
   b) I want to use the product in the way that it was intended to be used.
   
   And in this research, I discovered that the best result is achieved when the powder is applied below the cream. Now, I can hear the puzzled head-scratching, because surely applying cream on top of powder can move the product around and can seem counterintuitive when multiple youtube videos advise the opposite. Well, dear friends, see the results below:

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Individually?

The cream and powder products offer a rather subtle flush of colour but not necessarily a shade that I would call unique. I was initially concerned when I swatched the powder for Do We Know Her? In the pan, the colour boasts a deep apricot but upon application, it swatched several shades too light and very nearly at the point of ashy. (This was the point in which I experienced a deep regret of purchase.) But I went on to swatch the cream and felt my heart lift from my stomach as it applied a beautiful apricot sheen.

Thankfully, I didn’t have the same initial sense of despair when I swatched the powder from She’s so LA on my skin — though it definitely applies more pink than it appears in the pan. Similarly, the cream shade from She’s so LA is just lush — I can’t get enough of it.

The magic? Well, the proof is in the pudding.

The combined application of the powder then the cream completely changes the game of this product. As seen in the pictures above, when layered the varying undertones of colours blend together to create this insatiable flush of peach and tan. Not only are the depth and colour amplified, but the longevity as well.

Today, I trialled out She’s so LA. I applied this blusher at 8 am and as I finish typing up this review it is now 6 pm and I am about to head out to dinner (yaas! to restaurants being reopened). What you see below is the blush I applied this morning.

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Disclaimer: I have definitely topped up my lipstick, concealer and powder but that flush on my cheek? Yeah, that’s untouched.

So why does this product work, and why do I love it?

I love simple makeup. I love makeup that makes me look like me, but better. Ergo, I love makeup that takes minimal effort but makes me feel good.

This product? It ticks all those boxes.

By applying the cream on top of the powder, an illusion of the hard-to-get ‘glow from within’ skin is achieved. Those hours I’ve spent on Instagram admiring the work of makeup artists wondering how I can achieve it at home has been answered in one compact case that reveals the tricks of the trade: Powder, then cream.

Then, of course, is the second piece of advice that comes with this collection: a monotone colour scheme. The reason why the work of makeup artists looks stunning is that they match their model’s blusher to their lipstick and the lipstick is chosen in harmony with the eye product. Thus arrives, the multi-use of this product. In the picture above, I am wearing She’s so LA not only on my cheeks but also on my eyelids and lips.

I haven’t outlined the specific products I used on my eyes and face as you can easily substitute these items with whatever you use for your specific skin tone & skin type. I think when we see items listed on a blog/youtube video it is very easy to want to own that specific product and be conditioned to this that the look is only achievable with those products. I’ve listed the lip products used as it is a specific colour. If you would like to know about a product in particular, please ask in the comments below and I will respond!

Despite my obvious love for this product, I appreciate that not everyone wants to fork out £30 for a new blush when they already own a couple. So how can you master this technique with what you already own?

1. Use a cream highlighter/blusher with the same undertones as the powder blusher you pick.
2. Apply blusher to the high points of your cheek, focussing the product towards your temple rather than on the apples of your cheek.
3. Pat the cream product with your finger or a stippling brush.
4. Build up the colour. It is always easier to build up than it is to take away/blend out.
5. Match the tones of your blush with the rest of your makeup for a more cohesive look.

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Patrick Ta Beauty is currently available for purchase exclusively at Cult Beauty. I currently have my eyes on his tinted brow wax but it’s currently out of stock. If I do get my hands on the product, I’ll be sure to review that on here too!

What are your thoughts on Patrick Ta Beauty?

References & Notes
1. The product images used above have been edited for aesthetic purposes (the swatched images have only been sharpened and grained).
2. The makeup application techniques I used were learnt from these 1 | 2 tutorials.
3. This post is not sponsored by Patrick Ta Makeup, Cult Beauty or any other external parties. The opinions are my own and have not been influenced by any factor other than my personal preference.