Estée Lauder – Tease Illuminating Powder Gelee Blush

You know what it is, the new and already well known Gelee from Estée Lauder Spring 2013 collection, surprisingly it has already been released here.

Saw it, swatched it and loved it. So I bought it.

I love :

• The color : more unique than the previous Estée Lauder gelées, a glorious pink with a soft frosty/metallic iridescent (?)  purple(ish) hint. I really can’t describe the color well so I thought I would swatch it together with other complex and maybe slightly similar shades I found in my collection, just to see if they could compare at all.
• The pigmentation : enough but not overly pigmented, you can easily control how much you apply. I like it sheer and precisely placed so that it looks sexy and flattering on the top of my cheekbones, this way it’s still wearable and suitable for a day at the office.

What I don’t like :

If I apply it sheerly for an office day, it’s not going to last long enough, I haven’t checked very often but after 4 hours there is absolutely nothing left, not even a speck, no matter how I apply it, with a brush or the sponge applicator.  Of course I could also reapply makeup during my lunch break but my number one rule is : ‘no touch ups at work’. Maybe with a heavier application it would last longer, in that case it would only be a suitable application for a more casual day, but that’s just my personal preference.

The lasting power of a blush is not something you can easily measure when you swatch it, I’ll see if I can manage a different way to set it or to apply it so that I can still wear the whole day but then, it might imply more time spent in the morning and that would break my number two rule : ‘no time consuming routines in the morning’ and also my third one : ‘no experiments with sparkly products for a day at the office’ !

Compared to the other two EL gelées I own, Shimmering Sands and Modern Mercury :

Sorry the pics look a bit washed out I think, a bit like me today… Need some sleep 😉

The texture of the 3 gelees feels different, the Modern Mercury is more volatile (when you apply it, sparkle particles may fly all over the place) and the Shimmering Sands is much more pigmented and heavy.
Tease for me is the best of the three, I love the finish which is very easy to work with and I love the shade but I am concerned about the lasting power.

I don’t really know why it made me think about the Becca Gypsy and the Tom Ford Wicked, maybe because they are also complex shades with some kind of iridescence or shimmer/gold effects  :

The TF Wicked is a pigmented raspberry blush with pink/gold micro shimmer, you will see it in the flash picture. I use it sometimes to add some life on top of other flat matte blushes or on its own, wearable for any occasion.

The Becca is a cool toned  pink with golden shimmer, the finish of this Becca feels more powdery than the TF and the gold tone is really visible on the cheeks, therefore it also looks more “fake” than the EL Tease. Gorgeous but expect your cheeks to  have a very noticeable iridescent golden shine.

These are more heavy swatches :

Swatched more sheerly :

I like to apply these textures with a small and densely packed brush, preferably white, like the Shu 18, Chikuhodo G-10, Tom Ford 02, Koyudo BP014 or also any stippling brush would also do the trick but would deliver a lighter application with less precision and control.  

Bottom line : I will wear it for more casual occasions where I don’t need to have a long lasting application,  I wish it had same long lasting power as the Chantecaille Aquablush range, these do not fade and last all day long !