Is it time for bright cheeks yet? Could it be that spring is finally going to happen at some point? (Sources say no based on the amount of snow that Toronto got this past Tuesday… yikes!) Maybe we’ll skip right into summer – either one is fine, let’s just feel some heat already!

These are my top blush picks for the spring and summer. I’m a sucker for coral and orange shades, which, conveniently enough, is the theme of every spring and summer EVER!

First up is Hard Candy‘s boxed powder blush (which they refer to as Fox in a Box) in the shade Skinny Dipping. The left side is more of a bronzer really and has a sheen to it. The right side is bright orange that seems rather matte. You could use them independently of each other, but I prefer to swirl my brush into the two shades and get the combined muted peach shade. It’s almost a boring shade – it really doesn’t look like much in my swatch does it? But this shade is really surprising on the cheeks. There’s an instant pick-me-up vibe to the shade that is really refreshing. This has been one of my most surprising blushes (in the sense that I wasn’t expecting to look as amazing as it actually did!

MAC recently came out with a collection for the spring called Fantasy of Flowers and this blush in Petal Power was part of that limited edition collection. Unfortunately it’s sold out online, but you may be able to still find them at free standing stores or counters (Edit: It’s part of the permanent collection now!). Petal Power is one of their mineralize blushes which usually means it has more dimension to it than a normal blush by MAC. Petal Power is no exception – this is a bright hot pink/coral shot through with gold shimmer (not glitter). Personally, I find mineralize blushes can be pretty hard to apply so I have to use a stiffer brush to apply them to my cheeks otherwise I don’t get enough product onto the brush. The nice thing about this shade, aside from the fact that it’s stunning, is that since there’s so much gold in the product, you don’t need to add highlighter to your cheekbones as the gold flecks in this product will set off your cheekbones anyway.

This is the first blush I ever owned and it’s my absolute favourite to this day. Tarte describes their Blissful blush as “warm peach”, but to me this is the very definition of the colour coral. The shade is completely matte and goes on the cheeks wonderfully. Tarte‘s Amazonian clay formula is pretty stiff in the pan, so I use a duo fiber brush to really stab at the product before buffing it onto my cheeks. This isn’t to say that the product doesn’t blend nicely, it does! It’s just something with the formula that seems to make it a harder blush. On me, this blush looks especially good in tandem with a shimmery bronzer.

Revlon‘s Photoready cream blush in Coral Reef is a strong orange coral. The texture of this product is pretty neat – it has a slightly waxy but slippery slicone-y feel. Fingers or a synthetic brush work really well to blend this into the cheeks. It goes on smooth and can be built up in light layers if you’re afraid of the vibrancy of the colour. Me though? Pack that on and blend out the edges and you’ll get a wonderfully flushed look.

Hourglass‘ Ambient Lighting blush in Diffused Heat was such a huge shocker to me. In the pan it looks like a bright vibrant pinky-coral mixed with the Diffused Light powder. As a result, I  was expecting coral *something*. Instead, this swatches out, and applies like, a pale pink. This is almost a bit of a relief to me as I tend to focus too much on coral blushes and as a result don’t end up with much variety.

I said it the last time I mentioned this blush, but I’ll say it again: This blush is idiot-proof. The swatch above is heavy, but it doesn’t apply like that. It goes on softly and can be built up in intensity. The powder swirled into the mix ensures that the blush isn’t as stark or as bright as you would expect it to be by looking at it in the pan. This is an incredibly easy colour to wear and on my fair skin it’ll match pretty much any eye look I come up with.

1. Hard Candy’s Fox in a Box in Skinny Dipping
2. MAC – Petal Power
3. Tarte – Blissful
4. Revlon – Coral Reef
5. Hourglass – Diffused Heat

That’s my roundup! Any blushes you’re loving for the warmer months?