ColourPop Born to Blush Cheek Quad Review & Swatches
Born to Blush
ColourPop Born to Blush 4-Pan Cheek Palette ($18.00 for 0.3 oz.) is a light-medium set of shades that includes a cream-to-powder highlighter, powder bronzer, and two powder blushes. The three powder products had more buildable coverage paired with slightly more powdery, thinner textures that worked best over matte or powdered skin. The highlighter performed beautifully on bare skin as well as layered over foundation.
In my experience, ColourPop’s powder blush formula has a really smooth, silky consistency that can be on the more powdery side (which helps ensure it is more buildable than not) sometimes emphasizes dryness on my skin. I did find that to be true with these to varying degrees, as they were a little thin, flat, and weren’t always as effortless to apply as I would expect.
Born to Blush
PPermanent. $18.00.
Camera Shy
Camera Shy is a light and bright, golden peach with moderate, warm undertones and a metallic sheen. The texture was smooth, emollient, and almost wet in feel to the touch, though it quickly turned powder-like once I started to pat it onto my skin and blend it out. It had medium, buildable pigmentation when applied with a synthetic brush and more semi-opaque to opaque coverage applied with a fingertip. It wore nicely for nine hours before fading a bit.
FURTHER READING: Formula Overview for details on general performance and characteristics (like scent).
Top Dupes
- Sol Body Lunar or Later (LE, $12.00) is warmer (90% similar).
- Milani Moon Glow (P, $10.00) is cooler (90% similar).
- Give Me Glow Late Night Coastin (P, $17.25) is more shimmery, lighter, cooler (90% similar).
- Glossier Play Pale Pearl (P, $20.00) is less shimmery, darker, warmer (90% similar).
- MAC Flash and Awe (LE, ) is darker, warmer (90% similar).
- Clionadh Vesta (P, $12.50) is darker, cooler (90% similar).
- LORAC Destined (LE, $23.00) is darker, warmer (90% similar).
- Anastasia Regal (LE, ) is more shimmery, lighter, cooler (90% similar).
- NARS Sunstreak (LE, $30.00) is less shimmery, lighter, cooler (85% similar).
- Givenchy Mystic Pink (LE, $47.00) is less shimmery, lighter, cooler (85% similar).
Formula Overview
$10.00/0.15 oz. - $66.67 Per Ounce
The formula is supposed to have "buildable" coverage and can be applied with fingertips (which will yield "higher coverage") or a brush (for sheerer coverage). It's a cream-based product that has a subtle, "wet" feel to it but never has the thickness of a true cream-based blush.
It goes on with the smoothness of a cream formulation but diffuses and blends (without lifting up one's base) more like a powder product. The product sets to a powder finish, so the product won't slide around during the day.
On me, the wear tends to be between eight and 10 hours. Most shades have medium, buildable pigmentation with some being semi-opaque to opaque on occasion. They are typically blendable, easy to use, and long-wearing.
Browse all of our ColourPop Super Shock Cheek (Highlighter) swatches.
Camera Shy
PiPPermanent in Palette. $10.00.
All the Feels
All the Feels is a light-medium brown with strong, warm yellow undertones and a matte finish. It had medium color payoff in a single layer, which was buildable to fuller coverage with two to three layers. The texture was soft, finely-milled, and smooth, though it was on the drier, thinner side, too, which I have found translates into an application best suited for drier/more matte skin (e.g. powdered skin) or else it can stick and be difficult to blend out. It stayed on well for eight hours before fading visibly.
FURTHER READING: Formula Overview for details on general performance and characteristics (like scent).
Top Dupes
- Estee Lauder Saffron Sun (LE, $65.00) is lighter, cooler (95% similar).
- ColourPop Perk Up (LE, $12.00) is lighter, cooler (95% similar).
- Haus Labs Medium Level 6 (P, $38.00) is cooler (95% similar).
- Sephora Bora Bora (P, $17.00) is darker (95% similar).
- L'Oreal Light Medium (P, $15.99) is lighter, cooler (95% similar).
- ColourPop CA Dreaming (P, $8.00) is warmer (95% similar).
- LYS Beauty Harmony (P, $18.00) is darker (95% similar).
- Dior Soft Bronze (03) (P, $48.00) is lighter, cooler (95% similar).
- MAC Give Me Life (LE, $28.00) is darker, cooler (95% similar).
- Physicians Formula Deep Bronzer (P, $14.99) is more shimmery, lighter (95% similar).
Formula Overview
$8.00/0.25 oz. - $32.00 Per Ounce
ColourPop's Pressed Powder Bronzer is supposed to have a "super velvety-soft" feel that yields a "natural tanned glow." There was no mention of coverage, but the brand's promotional swatches showed full coverage. The bronzers had a soft, silky texture that was slightly powdery in the pan but tended to apply with ease, blended out nicely, and sat well on the skin. The majority of the shades seemed to have a semi-matte to satin finish, which helped them glide on and appear more natural (in finish) on the skin. The wear ranged from eight to eight and a half hours on me.
Browse all of our ColourPop Pressed Powder Bronzer swatches.
All the Feels
PiPPermanent in Palette. $8.00.
Inner Blush
Inner Blush is a light-medium peach with moderate, warm undertones and a matte finish. The consistency was soft, lightly powdery, and thin, though finely-milled and smooth to the touch. The blush applied fairly evenly to bare skin, but it was more reactive to any natural oils on my skin so it was easiest and most foolproof to work with it over powdered skin. It had medium, buildable color coverage, which was as marketed, that lasted well for eight hours on me.
FURTHER READING: Formula Overview for details on general performance and characteristics (like scent).
Top Dupes
- Charlotte Tilbury Smokey Eye Beauty (Cheek Pop) (LE, $40.00) is cooler (95% similar).
- ColourPop Wildcats (LE, $12.00) is darker, warmer (95% similar).
- Dior Coral (004) (P, $37.00) is darker (95% similar).
- Tarte Slay Bells (LE, $29.00) is darker (90% similar).
- Milani Coral Beams #4 (PiP, ) is darker (90% similar).
- Too Faced Apricot in the Act (Blush) (PiP, ) is more shimmery, darker (90% similar).
- Melt Cosmetics Honey Thief (P, $22.00) is darker, cooler (90% similar).
- Laura Mercier Provence (P, $28.00) is lighter (90% similar).
- Kevyn Aucoin Dolline (P, $37.00) is darker, cooler (90% similar).
- Marc Jacobs Beauty Tan-tastic Glo (Blush) (LE, ) is darker, cooler (90% similar).
Formula Overview
$12.00/0.13 oz. - $92.31 Per Ounce
The formula is supposed to go on "smoothly" and have a "natural and healthy flush" that has "long wear" and "can be layered to your desired intensity." It is a lightly to moderately powdery powder blush with semi-sheer to semi-opaque, buildable color payoff. The consistency has a drier, thinner feel and though it feels silky to the touch, I found it the type of powder blush can be tricky to blend out evenly on the skin, depending on one's skin type or base preferences. The drier the skin/base, the better the formula would blend, but any natural oils or slip caused the blush to go on unevenly and was difficult to blend out. The wear was between seven and eight hours on me on average.
Browse all of our ColourPop Pressed Powder Blush swatches.
Inner Blush
PiPPermanent in Palette. $12.00.
Lil Bashful
Lil Bashful is a medium-dark pink-coral with moderate, warm undertones and a matte finish. It had medium, buildable color payoff that adhered fairly well to bare skin but could have been more blendable as it was prone to sticking to wherever it was initially applied. The technique I use for this shade, along with others in the range, is to use little product and a very feathery brush and gently tap it into place, then repeat to the next area, slightly overlapped. This results in having to do less diffusion/spreading. It wore well for eight hours before showing signs of wear.
FURTHER READING: Formula Overview for details on general performance and characteristics (like scent).
Top Dupes
- Tom Ford Beauty Cherry Blaze (Right) (PiP, ) is cooler (95% similar).
- Rose Inc Daylily (P, $18.00) is lighter, glossier (95% similar).
- Pat McGrath Paradise Glow (LE, $44.00) is darker (95% similar).
- Tarte Endless (LE, $29.00) is more shimmery, cooler (90% similar).
- Gucci Beauty Bright Coral (04) (P, $49.00) is more shimmery, warmer (90% similar).
- Guerlain Gold Palette #7 (LE, ) is more shimmery, cooler (90% similar).
- REFY Malaya (P, $20.00) is darker, warmer (90% similar).
- ColourPop Hi Infatuation (PiP, $12.00) is darker, cooler (90% similar).
- KIKO 108 Orange Coral (DC, $12.00) is more shimmery, lighter (90% similar).
- NARS Croisette (LE, $30.00) is darker, cooler (90% similar).
Formula Overview
$12.00/0.13 oz. - $92.31 Per Ounce
The formula is supposed to go on "smoothly" and have a "natural and healthy flush" that has "long wear" and "can be layered to your desired intensity." It is a lightly to moderately powdery powder blush with semi-sheer to semi-opaque, buildable color payoff. The consistency has a drier, thinner feel and though it feels silky to the touch, I found it the type of powder blush can be tricky to blend out evenly on the skin, depending on one's skin type or base preferences. The drier the skin/base, the better the formula would blend, but any natural oils or slip caused the blush to go on unevenly and was difficult to blend out. The wear was between seven and eight hours on me on average.
Browse all of our ColourPop Pressed Powder Blush swatches.
I do love Camera Shy and a Lil Bashful, but not the other two shades because they’d be too light on me. Still something to consider getting.
A very pretty and evenly toned blush set – I think this is more suited to those with warmer undertones to their skin though.