Blush Comparison: Tarte Achiote, Estée Lauder Wild Sunset, Nars Amour, Korres Peach, MAC Merrily

As I mentioned in my Resolutions post, I'd like to expand on the review format I've become comfortable with over this past year. Inspired by Blooming Beauty's fantastic dupe/comparison swatches, I'm going to try to do more of those to go along with the reviews. Part of it is to be helpful to you guys (hopefully!) and the other part ties in with my other resolution, to keep myself more accountable to my budget. I feel like I probably have many (MANY) similar shades in my collection, and doing comparison swatches will possibly shame me into buying less redundant items.

Or possibly I will just pull a Pisces and get distracted by all the pretty colours and it will accomplish absolutely nothing whatsoever. Eh. Worth a try, right? 

Let's start with yesterday's Tarte Achiote Blush. I pulled out the shades from my collection that looked like they might be the closest, including two relatively new ones that will have forthcoming reviews. It was actually a little harder than anticipated to find good matches, since most of the coral blushes I own are lighter in tone.

Clockwise from top left: Tarte Achiote, Estée Lauder Wild Sunset, Korres Peach, MAC Merrily, Nars Amour
 

Left to right:MAC Merrily, Nars Amour, Tarte Achiote, Estée Lauder Wild Sunset, Korres Peach.

Indirect natural light.

Left to right:MAC Merrily, Nars Amour, Tarte Achiote, Estée Lauder Wild Sunset, Korres Peach.
Direct sunlight.

The closest match is probably the Nars Amour, which is just a touch deeper and leans ever so slightly to a muted rose. The finish is about equally matte, though the texture is less finely-milled.

The second closest is the Estée Lauder Wild Sunset, which is basically the same base colour, but with a slight golden shimmer, more visible in the sunlit swatch. It also has a softer, creamier texture.

MAC's Merrily (discontinued) is darker and more red-based, with golden shimmer. It is equally, if not more, pigmented, with that soft but dry texture characteristic of mineralized blushes.

Korres Peach looks similar enough in the pan, but it is applies with a lighter, pinker hue and a much stronger shimmer. The texture is very creamy, soft and densely packed.

So it looks like there are a couple of similar options if for some reason you have a hard time acquiring Achiote blush, though none of them have a really comparable texture or wear.

I hope this sort of post is helpful - let me know if you'd like more!

(All items were purchased by me.)