This blush is an affordable alternative to Rare Beauty's £23 formula
As if Selena Gomez 's stellar voice and acting skills weren't enough, the 'bluest flame' singer proved a triple threat in 2020 when she launched her very own cosmetics brand, Rare Beauty. The products went down a treat with fans and make-up maestros alike and, in particular, saw huge success in the cream, liquid and powder blush department.
From the incredible pigments in the soft pinch formula (£24, Spacenk.com) to the lip, cheek and eye versatility of stay vulnerable (£23, Space.com), it would seem there's nothing the 32-year-old can't do. Then again, these products aren't the cheapest, so when I caught wind of a potential alternative for £10 less, I had to get my hands on it – in the name of hard-hitting journalism, of course.
The product in question? No7 's velvet cloud cream-to-powder blush (£12.95, Boots.com), which launched in December 2024. From the uncanny pink casing to the same mauve and rose hues, there's no denying No7 had a goal in mind here. But, appearances can be misleading, so I wanted to get stuck in with both formulas for a true comparison. Scroll on for my honest review.
How I tested
After applying foundation, concealer, cream bronze and setting powder, I proceeded to apply the No7 and Rare Beauty blushes. For context, I used each blush on a different day (versus testing side-by-side) and used a domed fluffy brush to swipe and press the product onto the apples of my cheeks. Though some people prefer to use cream blush products before a loose powder, I've found this method dulls the pigment, especially with my oily skin melding the two shades. As the days wore on, I paid attention to any fading (or lack thereof), patchiness or pigments sinking into pores, and noted any key discrepancies between the two formulas. Here's how I got on.
Why you can trust IndyBest reviews
With several years of review experience spanning bronzers, mascaras and more, Lucy Smith is across all the best (and worst) beauty brands, including No7 and Rare Beauty. She's even tested No7's Bobbi Brown primer dupe and, in her guide to the best bronzers, described Rare Beauty's warm wishes formula as weightless and flattering. She's interviewed make-up artists, like Hollie Ellis and Mira Parmar, and knows her stuff when it comes to application and skin-loving ingredients.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Guardian
12 minutes ago
- The Guardian
‘They're perfect – until they aren't': why are people so interested in the Beckxit beef?
If the biggest feud of the week belongs to Donald Trump and Elon Musk, then the longest running is arguably 'Beckxit'. The name given to the fallout between one of the most famous couples in the world – David and Victoria Beckham – and their less famous eldest son, Brooklyn and his wife, Nicola Anne Peltz, was coined by the Daily Mail this year. But it covers a broader conflict that began in 2022, when Peltz wore Valentino instead of Victoria Beckham to her wedding, and brings us to this week's lavish cover-shoot for German Glamour magazine in which the Beckhams junior discuss their 'occasionally messy, very real love' and whether they might open a restaurant – without a word about her in-laws. Such are the vagaries of celebrity beef, no one really knows what happened in between. But things had clearly ratcheted up when photos of David's 50th birthday party last month appeared online – with no sign of Brooklyn. Further details involving Romeo Beckham's now-ex-girlfriend, various tattoos and a failure to attend one of Victoria's fashion shows began bubbling up, and soon Beckxit had become a reality. Since then every appearance and Instagram post has been picked over by media outlets and armchair journalists alike. Within hours of the Glamour shoot appearing online, the Daily Mail were speculating in one of their 52 stories (and counting) over whether the interview was proof that the feud was far from over. The timing of the Glamour piece was terrible or brilliant, 'depending on whose publicist you were', says PR agent Mark Borkowski, who helped revive Noel Edmonds' career. But however you look at it, it is 'absolutely a war of spin', he says, of the shoot. 'It's what I call a visual soundbite. These images often don't always have the meaning we imbue them with,' he says. 'But we still feed off of it because we are all culprits driven by twitching.' Dr Kadian Pow, a lecturer in sociology at Birmingham City University, agrees. 'The PR moves have to be connected,' she says. 'It's another power play between the two parties.' From the Times of India to Jordanian paper Amman, coverage of this three-year family 'feud' has been extraordinary – especially considering we'll probably never know the truth, nor do we really care. So why are people compelled to read on? 'It's about titillation, and it's about power [and] the Beckhams', says Pow, 'But more widely, these tales are an escape from the doom and political reality [of the news cycle]' says Pow. 'We are fascinated because they are supposed to be richer and better than us – so when we see a flaw that mirrors us ordinary folk and our everyday fallouts, it makes us feel better about ourselves' In The Stars in our Eyes, Julie Klam's 2017 book exploring our fascination with celebrities, celebrity-watching is compared to a fun-house mirror, as if celebrities are constructed to keep ourselves in check. 'If we can get a handle on our relationship to celebrity', Klam writes, 'we can better understand ourselves.' Celebrities are perfect, she says, until they aren't. Sign up to Fashion Statement Style, with substance: what's really trending this week, a roundup of the best fashion journalism and your wardrobe dilemmas solved after newsletter promotion Gossip is not without its victims though, warns Mark Stephens, a media lawyer at Howard Kennedy, citing the media's part in the divorce between Paula Yates and Bob Geldof. Just as newspapers have dedicated Beckham correspondents, there is an entire Tiktok cottage industry of amateur sleuthing which capitalises on other people's difficulties for clicks and profit. Most of this is unregulated of course. 'And there are libel laws that bring to bear [legal action], but the harm is usually done by that point', says Stephens. Still, fights and breakups are life's great equaliser and occasionally, says Pow, when the stars are as big as the Beckhams, these feuds can be 'a shared experience, which is particularly salient in what has become an increasingly siloed society', she says. 'There isn't a lot of monoculture left, but these big juicy stories allow us to whisper together.' Indeed, celebrity feuds have been entertaining us for centuries. In medieval Italy, the satirist Pietro Aretino was supposedly employed by the French king to write propaganda about the Spanish king, while being paid by the Spanish king to write propaganda about the French king. It was a weaponising of gossip on a par with 2019's Wagatha Christie, in which the machinations of back-stabbing celebrity wives turned Instagram into a global whodunnit. These public disagreements don't just sit within the divorce courts and red tops, but on social media. 'The 2014 elevator beef between Jay Z and Solange was a pivotal moment and how these moments are shared' says Pow, of the leaked CCTV footage of Beyonce's sister hitting the rapper over a supposed infidelity. Sometimes these fights feel curated – and often are. At present, some gossip sites are suggesting the feud has been confected to drum up publicity for Victoria's forthcoming Netflix documentary this October. One reason for the intense Beckxit media interest is that it involves two nepo babies (Peltz is also a billionaire heiress). 'These children are looking to monetise their lives, yet are in economic competition not just with their peer-group, but also their parents,' says Stephens. This is particularly uncomfortable for the Beckham 'brand' which is built on family. Victoria and David came of age 'in full tabloid glare', says Stephens. '[But with the offspring] it's harder – what you have is a case of children growing and boundary finding, except in the public eye.' 'I do think people believe that the kids of celebrities are fair game' says Klam. 'But I do not. Nepo babies have it worse than normal people because everyone thinks they've had everything handed to them.' Still, she says, 'now that Brooklyn is choosing to be in the spotlight, well, he is fair game. It's not like he decided to be a shepherd or something.'
BreakingNews.ie
17 minutes ago
- BreakingNews.ie
Lorde ‘pretty keen' to ‘pull some strings' and make Glastonbury appearance
Lorde has said she is 'pretty keen' to see if she can 'pull some strings' and make an appearance at this year's Glastonbury Festival. This draws speculation as to whether the singer from New Zealand, who does not feature on the official line-up, will play during one of the slots marked TBA. Advertisement The full scheduling for this year was announced earlier in the week and includes sets from Irish rap trio Kneecap and singer Charli XCX, as well as headline performances from British pop band The 1975, Neil Young and his band the Chrome Hearts, and US pop singer Olivia Rodrigo. Asked if she would be playing at the festival, Lorde told Jo Whiley's BBC Radio 2 show: 'You know, I'm pretty keen, honestly. 'I feel like, because the album's going to be coming out, I am quite tempted by what's going on, because I've got lots of friends playing as well. We'll see if I can pull some strings and get there.' Lorde performing during the Glastonbury Festival in 2022 (Yui Mok/PA) The 28-year-old is friends with a number of singers including Brat star Charli XCX, who is playing the Other Stage on the Saturday night. Advertisement Earlier in the year, the British singer played at US festival Coachella where Lorde made an appearance to perform their collaborative version of Girl, So Confusing. The singer, whose real name is Ella Yelich-O'Connor, has played at Glastonbury before and performed on the Other Stage in 2017 and the Pyramid Stage in 2022. Asked what it was like to walk onto the Pyramid Stage, she said: 'Absolutely unbelievable, enormous. I was shooketh at the scale. So many cameras … oh goodness. So beautiful, so amazing. 'In 2017 we played the Other Stage, which was so amazing, that was kind of sunset and very moody and just the best. It's the best festival in the world.' Advertisement Entertainment Katie Price faces wait over further bankruptcy-rel... Read More The singer shot to fame with her chart-topping single Royals in 2013, which was included in her album Pure Heroine. She has since released the albums Melodrama (2017) and Solar Power (2021), with her fourth studio album, Virgin, to be released on June 27th. Glastonbury is running from June 25 to June 29 with performances from the likes of US rapper Doechii, UK singer Raye and veteran rocker Sir Rod Stewart, who will be playing during the coveted legends slot.
The Sun
18 minutes ago
- The Sun
James Whale issues emotional update amid terminal cancer battle in heartbreaking live TV moment
TALKTV host James Whale MBE made a heartbreaking admission about his terminal cancer battle live on air during one of his last ever shows. The veteran broadcaster - who has been living with stage four kidney cancer for five years - previously revealed that his show, co-hosted by Ash Gould, 53, would be coming to an end. 6 6 6 6 Back at the beginning of May, James revealed that his condition had worsened, treatment was no longer an option and he "will be lucky to make it to Christmas". He told viewers: "I'm at the end of my cancer journey. There is no treatment I can have anymore." During Friday (June 6th) night's episode of James Whale Unleashed, the two presenters spoke to a guest who had been through cancer with her late husband. James told her: "Until very recently, everything was quite normal for me, everything was fine, and then you do get to a stage like I am now, with things get to be very very difficult." He then added: "To anybody else who is in the final stages of cancer, you have my sympathy. I know exactly what you're going through, I do know, I look basically okay, I get told you look alright and I look okay, it's all make-up." James' comments were shared on X, formerly Twitter, where the star was inundated with support. One user penned: "My heart goes out to you Mr Whale. You are a fighter." A second person gushed: "I'm also stage 4 kidney cancer but you are a real inspiration. I seriously can't believe how much better you look compared to 2 weeks ago!" While another user wrote: "You're amazing James! Keep showing the C who's boss!" In May, James chose to spend his 74th birthday in the company of his friends and family. Lizzie Cundy, a contributor on his TALK show, shared a heartfelt tribute to Instagram from the intimate gathering. She wrote: 'Laughter is the best medicine … Birthday celebrations for my dear friend @jameswhaleradio with @lamontbrownnadine @charliem_obe @simonwi @whodathoughtit .. Happy birthday dearest James, we all love you so much.' The post featured beaming smiles, with James surrounded by his wife Nadine Lamont-Brown, 59, TV producer Simon Withington, 48, and Pimlico Plumbers founder Charlie Mullins, 72. Posing for a photo at boutique Kent hotel, Who'd A Thought It, James wore aviator sunglasses and a white shirt for his big day. Trump crushes 'peace talk' hopes with Musk as he insists Elon has 'lost his mind' and 'vows to get rid of his Tesla' Lizzie also shared some playful snaps from the hotel's grounds, posing with a saxophone alongside Charlie. James appeared in high spirits in a video posted by Lizzie too. He cheekily asked her: 'Who are you? Lizzie, I didn't recognise you with so many clothes on.' Speaking candidly on camera, James said: 'I'm feeling okay. As people know, I'm not about to die - well, you never know, do you? "I've had all my treatment. I don't want anybody feeling sorry for me, I'm just giving you the lowdown. "I think if I make it to Christmas, I'll be exceptionally lucky. "Sometimes I think it might be easier to just have a heart attack and go.' As his wife joined him, Lizzie added: 'People think of James as Mr Nasty, but he's a little pussycat underneath.' Nadine agreed: 'No one's ever been nicer to me than James.' James also revealed his long-running programme could be coming to an end within weeks, as he reaches the final stage of his battle. 6 6
