Bobbi Brown Blush Versus NARS Cosmetics Blush
What's inside
What's inside
Key Ingredients
Benefits
Concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Synthetic Fluorphlogopite
Magnesium Myristate
Lauroyl Lysine
Skin ConditioningIsopentyldiol
HumectantHdi/Trimethylol Hexyllactone Crosspolymer
Nylon-12
Polymethyl Methacrylate
Tridecyl Trimellitate
EmollientDiisostearyl Malate
EmollientVp/Hexadecene Copolymer
C13-15 Alkane
SolventHeptyl Undecylenate
EmollientCocos Nucifera Oil
MaskingCaprylyl Glycol
EmollientCalcium Sodium Borosilicate
Calcium Aluminum Borosilicate
Aluminum Calcium Sodium Silicate
Tin Oxide
AbrasiveSilica
AbrasiveHexylene Glycol
EmulsifyingPhenoxyethanol
PreservativeMica
Cosmetic ColorantCI 77891
Cosmetic ColorantCI 77491
Cosmetic ColorantCI 77492
Cosmetic ColorantCI 77499
Cosmetic ColorantCI 77000
Cosmetic ColorantCI 77163
Cosmetic ColorantCI 42090
Cosmetic ColorantCI 77400
Cosmetic ColorantCI 77289
Cosmetic ColorantCI 77288
Cosmetic ColorantCI 77510
Cosmetic ColorantCI 61570
Cosmetic ColorantCI 77742
Cosmetic ColorantCI 15850
Cosmetic ColorantCI 45410
Cosmetic ColorantCI 77007
Cosmetic ColorantCI 19140
Cosmetic ColorantSynthetic Fluorphlogopite, Magnesium Myristate, Lauroyl Lysine, Isopentyldiol, Hdi/Trimethylol Hexyllactone Crosspolymer, Nylon-12, Polymethyl Methacrylate, Tridecyl Trimellitate, Diisostearyl Malate, Vp/Hexadecene Copolymer, C13-15 Alkane, Heptyl Undecylenate, Cocos Nucifera Oil, Caprylyl Glycol, Calcium Sodium Borosilicate, Calcium Aluminum Borosilicate, Aluminum Calcium Sodium Silicate, Tin Oxide, Silica, Hexylene Glycol, Phenoxyethanol, Mica, CI 77891, CI 77491, CI 77492, CI 77499, CI 77000, CI 77163, CI 42090, CI 77400, CI 77289, CI 77288, CI 77510, CI 61570, CI 77742, CI 15850, CI 45410, CI 77007, CI 19140
Reviews
Ingredients Explained
These ingredients are found in both products.
Ingredients higher up in an ingredient list are typically present in a larger amount.
CI 19140 is also known as Tartrazine. Tartrazine is a synthetic dye used in cosmetics, foods, and medicine to add a yellow color.
Tartrazine is created from petroleum and is water-soluble.
Some people may experience allergies from this dye, especially asthmatics and those with an aspirin intolerance.
Learn more about CI 19140CI 77163 is the color-index name for Bismuth Oxychloride, a lab-made white powder that acts as a pearl pigment.
It's what gives a lot of pressed powders, eyeshadows, highlighteres, and mineral foundations that soft pearly glow.
Due to its structure as flat, plate-like crystals that stack like tiles, it feels silky and sticks to skin well. This also makes it very chemically stable and insoluble under normal skin conditions (this just means it sits on top of skin rather than going into it).
It has an interesting quirk: it slowly goes gray in sunlight and the graying is partly reversible in the dark.
At this time, there's no legal cap on how much a brand can use. Both the FDA and the EU permit it without restriction so real-world concentration levels come down to formulation:
Allergy risk is low as well since it's insoluble and doesn't release free metal ions into skin. True allergic contact dermatitis to it is rare enough that there's very little published cases.
However, mineral makeup users do report itching or stinging. The leading explanation for this is irritation from those stiff platelet crystals rubbing on skin (also more likely with heavy, high-percentage loose mineral powders) rather than an immune reaction.
This ingredient shows up on a lot of "pore-clogging" lists but there's no real evidence behind that. It doesn't even have a comedogenic rating from an actual study; the numbers you'll find online come from blogs citing other blogs.
Some people still find it breaks them out. So if that's you, definitely trust your skin.
Learn more about CI 77163Ci 77891 is a white pigment from Titanium dioxide. It is naturally found in minerals such as rutile and ilmenite.
It's main function is to add a white color to cosmetics. It can also be mixed with other colors to create different shades.
Ci 77891 is commonly found in sunscreens due to its ability to block UV rays.
Learn more about CI 77891Mica is a naturally occurring mineral used to add shimmer and color in cosmetics. It can also help improve the texture of a product or give it an opaque, white/silver color.
Serecite is the name for very fine but ragged grains of mica.
This ingredient is often coated with metal oxides like titanium dioxide. Trace amounts of heavy metals may be found in mica, but these metals are not harmful in our personal products.
Mica has been used since prehistoric times throughout the world. Ancient Egyptian, Indian, Greek, Roman, Aztec, and Chinese civilizations have used mica.
Learn more about MicaPhenoxyethanol is one of the most widely used preservatives in skincare (and for good reason!).
It has a large spectrum of antimicrobial activity and especially effective bacteria, yeast, and mold while only having a weak effect on your skin's natural microbiome.
On a cellular level, it disrupts the cell membranes of microbes by poking holes that make the cell leak. This shuts down the chemical reactions the microbe needs to make energy so it can no longer survive.
Another perk of this ingredient is that it stays functional across a wide pH range (3-10).
You'll often see it paired with boosters like Ethylhexylglycerin; one study showed that a 1:9 ratio of Ethylhexylglycerin to Phenoxyethanol damages bacterial membranes as effectively as doubling the Phenoxyethanol concentration on its own.
Typical use concentrations range from 0.3-1% depending on the formula, and this ingredient is capped at 1% int the EU.
Safety-wise, the fear mongering does not hold up to the evidence. The EU's Scientific Committee on Consumer Safety and FDA consider it safe as a preservative at up to 1%, including for children of all ages.
Adverse systemic effects only showed up in animal studies at exposures roughly 200x higher than what people get from cosmetics. And despite its very widespread use, this ingredient is a rare sensitizer and allergic reactions are uncommon.
Learn more about Phenoxyethanol