A few weeks ago, I Facetimed my friend who opened my video chat with an immediate, “why do you look gray.” Granted, I was in weird lighting and wasn’t wearing a stitch of makeup. Harsh as it was, though, she was dead on—come winter, my skin just looks… sad. It’s dry, it’s pale, and it’s oddly tinted with a Close Encounters of the Third Kind hue that looks otherworldly in not a good way. Tl;dr, it ain’t pretty.
Thus began my journey into finding something that could quickly rejuvenate my “blah” winter skin into something human. I’ve never been a fan of the bottled build-your-own-tans, so I knew that was out of the picture. I also knew the bronzers and blushes I had on hand were a little too summery to pass as natural for this time of year. A dive into Sephora’s stock and I eventually stumbled upon the Milk Bionic Blush ($20), a Glossier Cloud Paint lookalike with rave reviews. I added a wintery plumberry shade to my cart, and 4-6 business days later, voila, Bionic Blush was mine.
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Milk, Bionic Blush — $20.00
A single drop of this pigmented paint rejuvenated my sad winter cheeks instantly. Available in a dusty rose, coral, ruby red, and plumberry.
The first thing I noticed when swatching the blush on my hand was how pigmented it was. Holy color—a single drop of this stuff goes a loooong way. In terms of my gray, ET-looking skin, this was a good thing. I used a densely packed blush brush to spread a smidge over my cheeks and was immediately wow’d by the results. Pallid skin, no more. Instead, my cheeks were flushed in a dewy berry hue that looked natural and healthy, as if I had just come inside from a brisk winter walk.
Unlike other liquid blushes and cream tints I’ve tried in the past, Milk Bionic Blush also felt healthier going on. That’s because it’s infused with skin-loving ingredients that moisturize a dehydrated dermis rather than drying it out even more. Ingredients like snow mushroom and reiki mushrooms, powerful antioxidants that protect the skin when they’re on, as well as hyaluronic acid for an extra hydro-boost, and plant-derived collagen to help smooth fine lines and wrinkles. Cheeks are left brighter, for sure, but they’re also left plumper and more moisturized, too.
And the colors. Oh, the colors—these bionic beauties will have you looking rejuvenated in a flash. As I mentioned, I ordered the blush in “Beyond,” a purplish-maroon plumberry that I think is perfect for winter. If you want something with a little more flash, though, I love “Teleport,” a bright coral that adds an instant pop of summer when you need it most. There’s also “Infinity,” a sweet dusty rose for an everyday look, and “Fly,” a stunning ruby red if you’re a fan of the classics.
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Whatever color you decide to go with, take it from me—you don’t need a lot. Just a drop of this colorful blush is enough to transform your cheeks from drab-to-fab. If you do end up squeezing out a little more than you need, smear a bit over the bridge of your nose and under your brow bones for some all-over color (just don’t overdo it). From there, glow and go, leaving your days of gray, “blah” winter skin behind where they belong.
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