Black Radiance Sheer Finish Blush and Mineral Shimmers Shadow & Liner

For years I've heard that Black Radiance Sheer Finish Blush in Ruby Treasure is a great dupe for NARS Exhibit A blush. I have to admit, the first time I ever saw a pure red (I'm talking fire engine red) blush was many years ago at my local NARS counter, and I've been intrigued (and a little scared) ever since.

For those not familiar, Black Radiance is an extremely affordable cosmetic line made for African-American women by Markwins (makers of Wet n Wild and Tropez). While the range of foundations and powders offer selections for darker skintones, women of lighter skintones can definitely enjoy Black Radiance's blushes, eyeshadows, mascaras, highlighters, lipsticks, glosses, liners and nail polishes as well. These products come in jewel-toned colors that are simply stunning and, from my experience, have excellent pigmentation.

So after reading about Black Radiance's blushes for so long, I finally took the plunge a few weeks ago and purchased Black Radiance Sheer Blush in Sheer Honey ($4.99), which isn't really a honey color but more of an orangey-terracotta shade. Yes, I wimped out and didn't buy Ruby Treasure, but that's only because I'm currently on a peach and orange kick (but I will definitely pick up Ruby Treasure in the future and review it here at a later date). Of course while I was standing at the Black Radiance display the new Mineral Shimmers caught my eye, so I picked up one of those as well ($4.99).

Let me say first that I love the quilted pattern of Black Radiance blushes! Sheer Honey is gorgeous for summertime and can definitely be used as a bronzer as well as a blush. When I used it as a blush, the first thing I noted was that you definitely have to use a light hand during application. The pigmentation is insane and only a teeny tiny bit of product is needed (which also means that this blush will last me forever! Bonus!). On my skin, this is a gorgeous orangey-peachish-terracotta shade that looks wonderful when I'm wearing earthtones on my eyes and lips. I am so excited about how this will look with my bronze eyeshadows. Also, the staying powder of this blush is INCREDIBLE. It lasted all day over Revlon ColorStay foundation and powder, and the color stayed true and never turned.

The Mineral Shimmers Shadow & Liners are new (not yet on the website) and come in an assortment of jewel-toned shades including brown, silver, green and blue. The packaging (loose shimmer in a jar with a hard sponge applicator tip) is similar if not identical to other products by different companies, but it's been my experience that this type of product typically doesn't have great staying power or pigmentation, so I definitely wanted to give Black Radiance's version a try based on my positive experience with their other products.

I picked up "Shimmering Taupe" which looked to be a warm taupe in the packaging, but that turned out to be deceptive because it's actually more of a warm dark tan shimmer on my skin. No biggie though, because I can never get enough brown eye shadows. What I like about this product and what sets it apart from similar products is that it blends very easily and it STAYS. Seriously, this color didn't budge all day and I used it without an eyeshadow base.

Final analysis: If you're looking for drugstore products with deep pigmentation and excellent staying power, look no further than Black Radiance. The color payoff of these blushes is worth four times their price. But just remember to use a light hand if you have fair skin.