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Rant & Rave: Cream Blush

Tell us what you love and hate about...

Cream Blush

I love the softly dewy finish they give the skin, and as long as they don’t do a lot of moving during the day, I’m game! I don’t like when they’re too thick and are really wet/dewy on the skin, though, as that usually means poorer wear.

— Christine

26 Comments

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MacKenzie G. Avatar

Love: I prefer these to powder formulas. I like the sheerer, dewier coverage, and they sit better on bare skin/unset skin (I don’t wear foundation, and almost never set the places I spot conceal). My current favorites are the Glossier Cloud Paints (I know they’re liquids but still), Colourpop Super Shock Cheeks, and Bite Multisticks. I’d really like to try the Fenty ones, because I love their cream contour stick in Amber.

Rant: I wish there were more viable options. Many are too greasy and break up quickly. Some are also too dry and almost powder-like (*cough, cough, the Too Faced peach ones*).

kiran Avatar

I agree with you and I don’t like the way thicker cream blushes sit and feel on the face. What are some of your favorite cream blushes that you would recommend?

CeeBee Avatar

Anything remotely sticky or tacky feeling and I bail like I’m on a Titanic lifeboat.

I love a cream blush that is decently pigmented and blends easily. I found the Mehron Lip Cremes in the little flip top pots were lovely as blushers (more so than their actual cream blush!) and I liked the Bobbi Brown Pot Rouge before they changed it and put it in new packaging at less than half the size (for the same price!) – NYC did a really good, affordable cream blush stick but I don’t think you can get them anymore. I still always layer powder over them, because I get oily by noon and no one needs their blush to slide halfway down their face… 😉

Sara Avatar

I was excited get a sample of Tarte’s cheek stain, the color was pretty but it was the tackiest thing ever and didn’t quite seem to set. I couldn’t for the life of me figure out why anyone liked them when they were all the rage a few years ago.

Susan Avatar

The older I get, the more I like a good cream blush. Powder ones are not kind to my already dry face. Wet n Wild makes some if you wanted to try an inexpensive one, and my current favorite is one from Flower Beauty. I have one from Julep on order and have read good things about it.

xamyx Avatar

I do prefer cream over powder formulas, but there isn’t really a strong selection of shades.

I have Normal/Dry skin, and I just find creams to have a more “natural” finish.

Lesley Avatar

I like them for bright colors like red or coral because I can get a sheerer application than with powders in those shades. I don’t like them in peach or brown shades because they look a little muddy on me. I have only DS brands of cream—-a Revlon Colorstay and one from a Japanese drugstore plus a stick from Jordana

Lea Avatar

Love! Adore! My absolute preference for blush overall! I do have some powder formulations that I like, but I have always preferred a cream blush for the way it melts into the skin for a natural flush. I like a dewy, natural-skin look in general, so I just gravitate towards creams naturally. I’m so happy there has been a resurgence in cream blush formulations these past few years. I’ve been in seventh heaven!

Heather Avatar

I strongly prefer the dewy, flushed look of a cream blush over powder.

I get annoyed when cream blushes displace my base layer as I apply them, or when the blush slides around my face all day. I don’t need blush on my temples and jawline!

Katy CT Avatar

I love them but they don’t stay on my face. I use them because of the blendability and the buildability but unless I put a powder blush over them it just vanishes so quiickly. I have tried so many brands and no matter what they just don’t stay. So I am both a yes and a no on cream blush.

Kat Avatar

I love how it can look like part of my skin, how it just melts right in, and the natural glowing finish, but I hate how it can lift my foundation and sometimes be a bit hard to blend if it’s too tacky!

Zee Avatar

I haven’t used too many of them to get a co cousin but so far I really like cream blushes. No necessarily liquid blushes, just cream that dries down to a non tacky finish. I find these incredibly easy to blend out, most of them have pretty good quality, and can usually double as lip color too.

Silvia Avatar

I had a small round cream blush many, many years ago can’t even remenver the brand I bought at the mall. I do love how natural they look as if your skin sucks it up living a beautiful soft glow but I do find it a bit more challenging to apply clothes neared to powder blush. Recently I tried the WetnWikd sticks and like them! They glide effortlessly and have two pretty shades which I can use. I been thinking next time I buy blush it’ll be a cream for sure and also aging it does look much natural and healthy! Love them! But I’ll never run out of blush have so many not that I’m complaining love them all! I need blush as a vampire needs blood! Lol! ??‍♀️

Deborah S. Avatar

I hadn’t ever used a cream blush until about a year ago and then I purchased one, can’t even remember the name, but I couldn’t get it to work for me. I suspect user error. I do have several gel type blushes that I really love such as the Pixi and a couple of “water cream’ blushes such as Stila and Nars and they work well for me. I can tap them on and blend out with my fingers or use a synthetic small stipple brush and they work beautifully for me. I am very fair skinned and these types of blushes could go crazy wrong and make me look like a clown but I find them easier to use and they look more natural on my skin. They seem to melt into the skin and don’t emphasize my texture. I have pretty dry skin so I think that helps me. My only complaint is the lack of shades and options.

kjh Avatar

My skin chem was wrong for so long, until (I think) I balanced the pH. After Paula (and now, Korean, too) my skin no longer eats cream blush. People didn’t believe me, when I said Nars Turkish Red (OG intense Bordeauxy red) would be gone in 5-10 minutes! But, Voila! Nada. So, I could have been 60, before I could wear it. Cutting my teeth on CP SSC. Considering I panned Aphrodisiac almost instantly, guess I like it. I like that you can use your fingers, too. It can go bad before powders will. Think I still prefer powders, though, being aged/oily/dehydrated.

Lisa Avatar

I really like how it looks on other people and it looks natural. But I hate how it looks on me. I have cheek redness that needs covering with base products and it is really obvious when it lifts it during application. I keep buying them but I should realize now that they’re not for me.

MJ Avatar

Love: perfect for my dry skin! Cream blushes look so delicate and youthful. I also like that they are harder to over-apply. I can be too heavy-handed with powder blushes.

Hate: they come in less shades and finishes than powder blushes. 🙁

Betty Avatar

I recently purchased an inexpensive CYO cheek palette at Walgreens – it has a cream blush, contour and highlight. I only like the blush, its the perfect formula and every time I wear it I get compliments on my skin. I think it looks natural with just the right amount of dewiness, unlike many other cream blushes I’ve tried in the past. It also has good lasting power and does not “move”.

Kira Avatar

Lately I have not been wearing foundation, so I’ve been trying to wear the Stila convertible color in Peony as a dewy tacky blush. I’m really interested in a dewy, natural look right now. I find the blush is kind of gone after a couple of hours, so that would be my rant 🙁

Rachel R. Avatar

Rant: They can be a bit tricky for us oily skinned people. The go bad much more quickly than powders. I hate oily, greasy, and sticky formulas.

Rave: I actually really like cream blushes when I find formulas that work well with my oily skin, such as ColourPop SSC, Stila Convertible Color, and Butter London Cheeky blushes. I think creams are easy to apply and look really natural.

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