Beauty Care: Wayne Goss Vivid Azalea Blush Palette Review & Swatches

Vivid Azalea

Wayne Goss Vivid Azalea The Weightless Veil Blush Palette ($45.00 for 0.67 oz.) includes a vivid, fuchsia blush paired with a soft beige highlighter. The slightly yellower tone of the highlighter disappeared when applied over the blush as the blush itself was so intense and cooler in tone (so it dominated). Again, the palette was described multiple times as having a “veil” or “soft wash” of color that was designed to “build up,” and I just didn’t find that accurate. These are pigmented products, which isn’t a good or bad thing–it’s more of a preference, which is why I look to see what claims are made about the formula.

The blush suffered from the typical pitfalls of very pigmented, very vivid, and very matte blushes do: it is difficult to blend on its own, and it has limited usability. It was best applied over very matte skin (whether bare or a matte foundation), but it was prone to settling into my pores/around textures, turning patchy, etc. by attempting to blend it over bare skin or over unset foundation (even lightly set foundation, if it wasn’t matte to begin with).

I think those who find it harder to find subtle highlighters will like the finish of the highlighter here, but it was a little powdery and thick in a way that surprised me, as it looked a little cakey applied–not consistently but out of four applications, it occurred twice. This duo was really at its “best” when layered together, but individually, they required more effort to look decent.

Vivid Azalea

PPermanent. $45.00.

7.5

Product

Pigmentation

7.5

Texture

Longevity

3.5

Application

74%

Total

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Shocking

Shocking is a bright, medium-dark fuchsia pink with moderate, cool blue undertones and a matte finish. The texture was slightly dry, thin, and a struggle to work with over bare skin or over foundation–unless it was fully matte or set. I try formulas a variety of ways so I can learn what does and doesn’t work, if anything, but applied over bare skin, the powder did not want to diffuse or spread, which meant I had to apply more to get color all-over my cheeks.

The more I tried to blend or spread it, the more the pigment looked like it sank into my pores and gave my skin a pitted appearance when it does not have a pitted appearance to begin with! I tried using different brushes–including the brand’s brushes!–but did not feel there was a major improvement until it was applied over powdered skin (whether bare or over a foundation). I would also use the leftover foundation on my brush to soften and diffuse the edges, while tamping down any brightness to bring it down to whatever one’s preference was.

This is a common issue that I’ve had with more matte blushes: they often stick wherever they are first applied and are challenging to diffuse, and occasionally, they seem to sit in pores and look like polka dots all over my cheeks. It was also extremely pigmented where a little went a long way–rather than buildable or sheerer as described–but lasted for nine hours.

FURTHER READING: Formula Overview for details on general performance and characteristics (like scent).

Top Dupes

View Swatches View All Dupes

NARS Coeur Battant (P, $30.00) is cooler (90% similar).
Viseart Rose #3 (PiP, ) is cooler (90% similar).
MAC Full Fuchsia (P, $24.00) is more shimmery, darker (90% similar).
Make Up For Ever B218 (P, $23.00) is more shimmery, darker (90% similar).
MAC Let's Be Friends (LE, $24.00) is more shimmery, lighter (85% similar).
NARS Starscape (LE, $30.00) is lighter (85% similar).
MAC Bright Pink (P, $16.00) is lighter (85% similar).
Clinique Berry Pop (03) (P, $21.00) is more shimmery, darker, warmer (85% similar).
Colour Pop Pegacorn (DC, $8.00) is more shimmery (85% similar).
Colour Pop Flamenco (P, $8.00) is lighter, glossier (85% similar).

View Swatches

Formula Overview

The formula is described as a "smooth-glide powder" that gives a "veil on top of skin that blurs the look of pores, fine lines, and texture" that uses "microfine pigments" that can be built up for long-wearing color. The description seems to apply for both the blush and highlighter, which are presently found together in a duo.

The pigmentation varied from shade to shade; two of the four blush shades were fairly pigmented, while the other two ranged from semi-sheer to medium and buildable. The consistency was slightly drier and thinner, particularly for the shades with less visible shimmer. I am not entirely sure why the formula was billed as a "matte blush" when two shades have visible shimmer particles in the pans.

That thinner, drier formula made it harder to apply on bare skin or over foundation that wasn't fully set/matte as the color applied unevenly, was difficult to diffuse and spread out, and lifted away foundation when I redoubled efforts to blend out using a buffer brush.

I could gently pat the color into place by using very soft, pressing motions over the full area (going back and getting more product each time) but I just couldn't dab some on the apple of my cheek and diffuse and blend it out.

I would highly recommend applying over a matte finish, whether that's translucent powder dusted over bare skin or over foundation, to ensure a more blendable product. This is often an issue with drier, thinner, more matte powders used on cheeks, and this formula didn't improve upon that, unfortunately.

If you do wind up with a wonky application, the best method is to really cheat it by using a bit of foundation (often whatever's leftover on your tool) to diffuse and blend it back rather than working with the blush itself. Alternatively, as it comes in a duo with a highlighter, apply the highlighter first and add blush (as the powder highlighter mattifies a bit), but this does limit the versatility of the product (always shimmery).

The ones with slight to light shimmer were easier to work with as I was able to apply, blend, and diffuse readily over bare skin as well as over foundation without having to set it or have a matte base. The wear time ranged from eight to nine hours. The blush formula seemed to layer over and under the highlighters of the same formula fairly well.

The duos are significantly larger than most others on the market–it’s a massive amount of product as most full-sized blushes are around 0.15 to 0.20 oz.–but the formula lists a nine-month shelf life, which was shorter than expected given it's so large (and would take awhile to finish). For reference, a lot of powder blushes seem to be somewhere between 12 and 18 months for shelf life; 12 seems more common, and I only came across one that was also nine-months (Fenty Killawatts); NARS and Shiseido had a couple of formulas at 24 months.

Browse all of our Wayne Goss The Weightless Veil Blush swatches.

Ingredients

Talc, Synthetic Fluorphlogopite, Magnesium Myristate, Boron Nitride, Phenoxyethanol, Octyldodecyl Stearate, Octyldodecyl Stearoyl Stearate, Caprylyl Glycol May Contain: Iron Oxides (CI 77491, CI 77492, CI 77499), Red 7 Lake (CI 15850), Red 28 Lake (CI 45410), Ultramarines (CI 77007).

Shocking

PiPPermanent in Palette.

C-

6.5

Product

Pigmentation

Texture

9.5

Longevity

2.5

Application

70%

Total

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Pearl

Pearl is a lighter beige base with fine flecks of lavender and gold pearl throughout. It had a subtle glow but packed more pigment in the base color, and applied on its own, it a bit of a greenish cast at times–but when paired with the blush in the duo, it seemed less beige and brought out some of the lavender tones.

The texture was soft, smooth, and blendable without being powdery nor too firmly-pressed in the pan. It applied evenly to bare skin and blended out well without issue, though when I tried it over foundation, it seemed slightly cakey due to being quite pigmented (especially with the base color, rather than from shimmer alone). I’d definitely suggest using a very light hand with it and/or applying it over or under the blush rather than on its own to avoid it looking a bit thick on the skin. It stayed on well for eight hours before fading visibly.

FURTHER READING: Formula Overview for details on general performance and characteristics (like scent).

Top Dupes

View Swatches View All Dupes

Colour Pop You Idiots! You Fools! You Imbeciles! (LE, $10.00) is more shimmery (90% similar).
Colour Pop Dreamscape (LE, $8.00) is more shimmery, warmer (90% similar).
Milani Luster Light (P, $12.99) is less shimmery, lighter (90% similar).
NARS Sunstreak (LE, $30.00) is more shimmery (90% similar).
Coloured Raine Fashion Show (P, $25.00) is more shimmery, cooler (90% similar).
MAC Tutu (LE, $37.00) is more shimmery, darker (90% similar).
Tarte Believe (LE, $28.00) is more shimmery, cooler (90% similar).
Anastasia Pink Heart (LE, ) is more shimmery, cooler (85% similar).
Chanel White Opal (40) (P, $58.00) is more shimmery, cooler (85% similar).
Natasha Denona Bronze (PiP, ) is less shimmery, darker, cooler (85% similar).

View Swatches

Formula Overview

The formula is described as a "smooth-glide powder" that gives a "veil on top of skin that blurs the look of pores, fine lines, and texture" that uses "microfine pigments" that can be built up for long-wearing color. The description seems to apply for both the highlighter and blush, which are presently found together in a duo.

The highlighters were actually quite pigmented--one would need to use a light hand to pick up just a bit of product. The texture was soft, smooth, and blendable without being too powdery nor too firmly-pressed into the pan. I noticed that one shade--Pearl--looked a bit cakey on skin rather than luminous unless it was really buffed onto my skin. They lasted around eight hours on me before showing signs of fading.

Browse all of our Wayne Goss The Weightless Veil Highlighter swatches.

Ingredients

Dimethicone, Mica, Diisostearyl Malate, Isododecane, Talc, Polyethylene, Silica, Cetyl Dimethicone, Phenoxyethanol. May Contain: Iron Oxides (CI 77491, CI 77492, CI 77499), Bismuth Oxychloride (CI 77163), Titanium Dioxide (CI 77891).