Cheek Duos & Palettes | 2020 Editor's Favorites

Best Beauty Products
Contains: Affiliate Links, Sample
Christine |

This year, there were a lot less cheek duos, trios, and palettes that were released compared to 2019, and I’ll be curious to see if that trend continues into 2021 or if it was one-off due all that made 2020… well, 2020!  I love a good duo or trio when they’re offered in more than one colorway, as I think they can offer greater versatility than a single cheek color.

If you’re unfamiliar with how I like to do my year-end favorites, here’s the low down: I pull from the products I reviewed in 2020, regardless of whether they were new, limited edition, or an established range I’ve only just gotten around to reviewing. These are personal favorites, so they may or may not be the highest rated products reviewed during the year (though they will tend to be better rated, naturally!). (You can check out best of 2019 if you missed last year’s.)

Temptalia’s Favorite Cheek Duos/Palettes | 2020

01.

01. Raw Honey Melt Cosmetics

Melt Cosmetics

PPermanent. $39.00/0.24 oz.

A

Melt Cosmetics Raw Honey Digital Dust Duo Blush ($39.00 for 0.24 oz.) is a new, shimmering blush duo that featured a deeper, reddish-copper hue paired...

Read Review
View Swatches
View Dupes

Melt Cosmetics Raw Honey Digital Dust Duo Blush ($39.00 for 0.24 oz.) is a new, shimmering blush duo that featured a deeper, reddish-copper hue paired...

Read Review
View Swatches
View Dupes
We hope you'll consider supporting Temptalia by shopping through our links below. Thanks!
SephoraSephoraBeautylishUltaNordstrom More
Side-by-Side Swatches
We hope you'll consider supporting Temptalia by shopping through our links below. Thanks!
SephoraSephoraBeautylishUltaNordstrom More
Glossover Breakdown
A
6
B
0
C
0
D
0
F
0
94%
Average
Glossover Averages
product
9.5
pigmentation
9.5
texture
9.5
longevity
9
application
5
Total
94%
product
9.5
pigmentation
9.5
texture
9.5
longevity
9
application
5
Total
94%

Your Year in Review: Cheek Duos/Palettes

I thought it would be interesting to read through how readers used products throughout the year, what favorites emerged, what products fell by the wayside… so, if you want to join in, copy and paste the questions below and add your answers via a comment!

  • Is there a cheek palette that became a go-to?
  • What makes a good cheek duo/palette for you?
  • Do you think you’d purchase another cheek palette in 2021?
We hope you'll consider supporting Temptalia by shopping through our links below. Thanks!
SephoraSephoraBeautylishUltaNordstrom More
Explore Temptalia

We're here to help you make better beauty purchases that you'll enjoy and love! We recommend signing up to take advantage of personalized features like tracking products you own, viewing dupes that you already have, and more!

Here are some useful resources for you:

Foundation Matrix™

Find your next foundation or concealer match!

The Dupe List™

Find a product dupe or compare two palettes.

Swatch Gallery™

Find swatches by color, product, formula, etc.

Compare Any Two

Curious how two shades compare to each other? Type in the shades below to get instant side-by-side swatches!

9 Comments

Comments that do not adhere to our comment policy may be removed. Discussion and debate are highly encouraged but we expect community members to participate respectfully. Please keep discussion on-topic, and if you have general feedback, a product review request, an off-topic question, or need technical support, please contact us!

Please help us streamline the comments' section and be more efficient: double-check the post above for more basic information like pricing, availability, and so on to make sure your question wasn't answered already. Comments alerting us to typos or small errors in the post are appreciated (!) but will typically be removed after errors are fixed (unless a response is needed).

We appreciate enthusiasm for new releases but ask readers to please hold questions regarding if/when a review will be posted as we can't commit to or guarantee product reviews. We don't want to set expectations and then disappoint readers as even products that are swatched don't always end up being reviewed due to time constraints and changes in priorities! Thank you for understanding!

Leave a Reply

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

We hope you'll consider supporting Temptalia by shopping through our links below. Thanks!
SephoraSephoraBeautylishUltaNordstrom More
Nancy T
Medium, Olive, neutral undertones. Combination skin. »

Is there a cheek palette that became a go-to? I have a few that are! Dior Backstage Glitz quad and Hourglass Ghost Quad.

What makes a good cheek duo/palette for you? Either a cohesive color story or one where I know that each shade will be fully utilized in some manner, that none will go to waste.

Do you think you’d purchase another cheek palette in 2021? If one comes along, and I do believe two already have, I sure would!

Genevieve
Lightest, Pink undertones. Dry skin. »

Is there a cheek palette that became a go-to? No – I don’t use cheek palettes because, quite often, one or more of the shades don’t suit me.

What makes a good cheek duo/palette for you? A good cheek duo for me includes a semi matte blush shade in coral tones and a slightly cool toned highlighter that would not be too shimmery. I really like the Cover FX duo in Peach shades, but it is difficult to get here in Aus as it sells out very quickly. What I really like is a mosaic of coral shades from light to dark so I can swirl my brush in it to get a variable range of colour on my cheeks.

Do you think you’d purchase another cheek palette in 2021? No – the brands don’t really come out with the format I prefer.

Rachel R.
Lightest, Neutral undertones. Oily skin. »

Is there a cheek palette that became a go-to? Sephora Collection Holographic
Face and Cheek Palette was a go-to the little bit I wore makeup this last Fall. The True + Luscious Lucky Glow Palette was a go-to during the spring and summer, though that may be more of a face palette. I used the shades mostly on my cheeks. My Natasha Denona cheek palettes probably would have been go-tos if I’d worn makeup more this last year. I really liked the Love and the Darya palettes.

What makes a good cheek duo/palette for you? Shades that suit my skin tone, are easy to blend, and are either buildable or easy to sheer out. If a small palette, all the shades need to be usable. If a larger palette, most of the shades need to be useable. No dark and/or orange and/or shimmery bronzers. I prefer powders due to my oily skin. If there is a mix of creams and powders, then they need to somehow be kept separated from each other, such as in my Natasha Denona cheek palettes. I don’t buy cream only duos/palettes.

Do you think you’d purchase another cheek palette in 2021? Knowing me, yes. I want to try Lethal Cosmetic’s cheek products, and Odin’s Eye highlighting palettes next year.

Frost
Light Medium, Yellow, moderately yellow undertones. Dry skin. »

– When I didn’t know anything as a super newbie, I got a 3-pan hourglass blush palette. Huge mistake. They are all great products but I never need to use 3 at the same time and it’s huge. As a result, I never bring it on trips or have it on the table that after 2 years, it almost looks new still…

– I’m interested in getting something like SUQQU or Kevyn Aucoin ombre highlighter-blush palette that is compact & has both highlighter/blush that you can easily control the intensity of the shade.

brendacr1
Light Plus, Pink, slight pink undertones. Normal skin. »

Is there a cheek palette that became a go-to? HG Unlocked Palette
What makes a good cheek duo/palette for you? I’m very pale and my coloring makes it that I can pull off quite a few different colors schemes, corals, roses or pinks will suit me. I like having some darker contour shades and highlighter shades to give a little shimmer is a bonus.
Do you think you’d purchase another cheek palette in 2021? I have enough in my stash for now.

Celesta
Very Light, Neutral, slight pink undertones. Normal skin. »

Is there a cheek palette that became a go-to? TheBalm Will Powder Blush Quad was fantastic for me this year! Also; Beauty Bakerie Cotton Candy Champagne palette and Hourglass Ambient Lighting Ghost Unlocked palette.

What makes a good cheek duo/palette for you? Being able to use all the shades either separately or in combination and a good variety of finishes and shades.

Do you think you’d purchase another cheek palette in 2021? I truly don’t need one, lol. But I would love the ND Love Cheek palette. It looks like the kind of pink that won’t make my cheeks look lavender.

Kimberly
Medium, Yellow, slight yellow undertones. »

Is there a cheek palette that became a go-to? The Tarte Blush 101 Amazonian Clay Blush Palette was my go-to this year, but it was the only face palette in my collection that has the full bronzer, blush, and highlighter combo until my very recent purchase of the Physician’s Formula x Weylie palette, so it’s not exactly a fair comparison

What makes a good cheek duo/palette for you? I haven’t owned many cheek palettes, so I don’t have a large range of experience when it comes to them, but my skin tone is in the perfect medium range where pretty much any shade works for me, especially blush. So having “useable” shades has never been an issue for me. I would probably avoid any palettes that have hard-to-clean packaging, as my mom requires that I keep all my palettes clean at all times

Do you think you’d purchase another cheek palette in 2021? I’m open to purchasing another cheek palette, but it’s not high on my priority list, and there’s currently nothing on the market that piques my interest

We try to approve comments within 24 hours (and reply to them within 72 hours) but can sometimes get behind and appreciate your patience! 🙂 If you have general feedback, product review requests, off-topic questions, or need technical support, please contact us directly. Thank you for your patience!