Physicians Formula has a giant range of blushes, and they’ve just launched a bunch more here in Australia. Here are some of the new ones that I’ve been trying out:

Physicians Formula Powder Palette Multi-Colored Custom Blush

There are two baked blushes in the Powder Palette Bombshell collection – Blondes and Brunettes ($21.95). Blondes is a cool toned pink with silvery luminous particles, while Brunette Bombshell is a warm peachy pink with gold particles. The particles are a little on the chunky side, but they give a pretty glow. They can be used wet for a deeper colour, but I hardly ever do.

The names – ignore them. The marketing spiel claims that it’s the “first ever blush to complement your hair colour” – unless they’ve invented a new pink, this isn’t strictly true. It’s the first blush I’ve seen that’s marketed to complement your hair colour, and there’s a good reason why no one else does this: it’s pretty much universally acknowledged that makeup should complement your skin tone, and that there are plenty of warm blondes and cool brunettes. They actually both look fantastic on me, with Blondes giving me a pretty cold-weather flush and Brunettes giving a summery glow, so I think they’re doing themselves a disservice by discouraging people from trying the other shade based on hair colour. The formula is really easy to use – it’s pigmented just right for buildable colour that doesn’t need much blending work (though it blends well if you need it to).

My favourite thing about Physicians Formula blushes is the packaging. I’m all about portable packaging for midday touchups (#oilylife), and these Powder Palette blushes come with a mirror AND a brush under the blush compartment! I do kind of wish that the blush and the mirror were in the same compartment for ease of application, but this arrangement keeps the mirror cleaner and makes the blush prettier to look at in the clear window, so I guess I’m OK with it. The brush is not the best, but it’s pretty good considering it’s flat as a pancake. I prefer using it downwards across the cheekbone in short strokes rather than in long strokes along the cheekbone.

Physicians Formula Argan Wear Ultra-Nourishing Argan Oil Blush

Physicians Formula have also released their Argan Wear range (which my phone keeps autocorrecting to a more disturbing “Organ Wear”), which has two blushes. This range features argan oil, which gives the blush a slightly creamy texture. Again, there’s a cool version (Rose) and a warm version (Natural). There’s a strong floral perfumey scent about this, which I don’t love. There’s also gold overspray on these products which applies as chunky glitter, and I found it difficult to remove it completely before swatching, so you’ll have to ignore the glitter in these swatches! Underneath, these blushes have a much more wearable glowly subtle shimmer. I don’t really notice any extra moisturising from the argan oil in these blushes, but they’re very pretty regardless, and easy to work with and blend. The packaging has the same handy mirror/brush combo as the Powder Palettes.

Physicians Formula Super BB All-in-1 Beauty Balm Cheek & Lip

The Super BB Cheek & Lip Beauty Balm is a cream blush and lip combo product in cute shiny EOS balm-style packaging. It’s a sheer cool-toned pink that’s buildable and easy to blend out with your fingers on the cheeks. It’s not super moisturising so it does feel like you need lip balm on top of it when used for lip colour, but as blush this is fantastic! It gives a very natural glow which lasts all day, unlike a lot of other cream blushes which tend to fade quickly. This has UV filters with an SPF of 20.

Swatches

On top it’s the Super BB blush, and from left to right in the bottom row it’s Powder Palette Blondes and Brunettes, then Argan Wear Rose and Natural (ignore the chunky gold glitter, it’s overspray that I couldn’t remove and it showed up much brighter in this photo than in person).

Ingredients

Powder Palette Multi-Colored Custom Blush: Mica, Nylon-6, Polybutene, Ethylhexyl Palmitate, Lauroyl Lysine, Magnesium Stearate, Dimethicone, Diisostearyl Malate, Ethylhexyl Isononanoate, Synthetic Wax, Octyldodecyl Stearoyl Stearate, Talc, Ethylhexylglycerin, Phenoxyethanol. May Contain: Carmine, Iron Oxides, Manganese Violet, Red 6, Red 7 Lake, Red 28 Lake, Red 30, Red 40 Lake, Titanium Dioxide, Ultramarines, Yellow 5 Lake.

Argan Wear Ultra-Nourishing Argan Oil Blush: Talc, Mica, Isostearyl Neopentanoate, Argania Spinosa (Argan) Kernel Oil, Polybutene, Ascorbyl Palmitate, C12-15 Alkyl Benzoate, Calcium Sodium Borosilicate, Citric Acid, Fragrance, Glyceryl Oleate, Glyceryl Stearate, Isopropyl Isostearate, Lecithin, Tin Oxide, Tocopherol, Caprylyl Glycol, , Hexylene Glycol, Phenoxyethanol, May Contain: Iron Oxides, Titanium Dioxide, Red 6, Red 7, Ultramarines, Yellow 5 Lake.

Super BB All-in-1 Beauty Balm Cheek & Lip: Active Ingredients: Octinoxate, Zinc Oxide. Inactive Ingredients: Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Polyethylene, Silica, Dimethicone, Hydrogenated Polyisobutene, Phenylpropyldimethylsiloxysilicate, Octyldodecanol, Euphorbia Cerifera (Candelilla) Wax, Hydrogenated Coco-Glycerides, Propylene Glycol Ricinoleate, Copernicia Cerifera (Carnauba) Wax, Mica, Calcium Aluminum Borosilicate, Flavor, Perilla Ocymoides Seed Oil, Salix Alba (Willow) Bark Extract, BHT, Glycerin, Lysolecithin, Polysilicone-11, Tin Oxide, Tocopheryl Acetate, Triethoxycaprylylsilane, Water, Phenoxyethanol May Contain: Titanium Dioxide, Orange 5 Lake, Red 6 Lake, Red 7 Lake, Red 28 Lake, Red 30 Lake

Update: Physicians Formula Murumuru Butter Blush

The Murumuru Butter Blush is a newer blush that I’m really in love with – the scent of this is a deliciously summery pineapple/coconut scent, and it comes in the most cheerfully coloured green-purple-yellow packaging. However, be aware that this has really light pigmentation – it’s more of a highlighter than a proper blush, and is more for giving your skin that lit-from-within glow than actually adding a flush of colour to your cheeks. It also comes with a horrible sponge applicator that I hate, and I always end up using a regular brush with it. I don’t really mind that for home use, but it means it’s relatively useless for carrying around, so the bulkier packaging becomes a disadvantage.

The bronzer in this range also comes with the sponge applicator and pretty packaging, but it’s a bit of a darker colour – it melts really nicely into skin and doesn’t give a powdery look.

Murumuru Butter Blush: Talc, Alumina, Mica, Dimethiconol Stearate, Isostearyl Neopentanoate, Astrocaryum Murumuru Seed Butter, Fragrance (Parfum), Octyldodecyl Stearoyl Stearate, Polybutene, Isopropyl Isostearate, Lauroyl Lysine, Astrocaryum Tucuma Seed Butter, Theobroma Grandiflorum Seed Butter, Tin Oxide, Tocopherol, Lecithin, Ascorbyl Palmitate, Glyceryl Stearate, Glyceryl Oleate, Citric Acid, Caprylyl Glycol, Hexylene Glycol, Phenoxyethanol, Titanium Dioxide (CI 77891), Iron Oxides (CI 77491, CI 77492, CI 77499, Red 7 Lake (CI 15850), Ultramarines (CI 77007)

Murumuru Butter Bronzer: Talc, Synthetic Sapphire, Mica, Dimethiconol Stearate, Isostearyl Neopentanoate, Octyldodecyl Stearoyl Stearate, Astrocaryum Murumuru Seed Butter, Fragrance, Astrocaryum Tucuma Seed Butter, Theobroma Grandiflorum Seed Butter, Ascorbyl Palmitate, Citric Acid, Glyceryl Oleate, Glyceryl Stearate, Lauroyl Lysine, Lecithin, Polybutene, Tin Oxide, Tocopherol, Aluminum Hydroxide, Caprylyl Glycol, Hexylene Glycol, Phenoxyethanol May Contain: Iron Oxides, Red 7 Lake, Titanium Dioxide

Verdict

All of these Physician’s Formula blushes have fantastic formulas which are easy to work with and shades which will be flattering on many people. I’m a bit skeptical of the hair-enhancing angle, but it’s so much better than the Euphoryl Happy Booster marketing that I can’t really complain.

These products were provided for editorial consideration, which did not affect my opinion. This post also contains affiliate links – if you decide to click through and support Lab Muffin financially (at no extra cost to you), thank you! For more information, see Disclosure Policy.

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