Do you find cheek palettes useful?

I like duos and trios, but anything larger than that is usually more than I want/need. I like cheek palettes to be more compact, and I think when they get larger, it’s harder to be equally in love with all of the shades as one is with just one or two of them. Maybe if I was a big traveler, a cheek palette would be handy, though!

— Christine

22 Comments

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Erica Avatar

Not really. I have a lot of blush so I never reach for much more than a duo at most. I also find a lot of blush palettes to have the dullest, uninspiring shades. I definitely find better quality and more unique shades in the single or duo realm!

Christina D. Avatar

I most definitely prefer my blushes as singles and occasionally duos (Cover FX), while I prefer my eye shadows in palettes. Even for the one of two blush palettes that I have, I use only one or two colors at a time.

Mariella Avatar

Usually not because they generally contain a mix of colours I do find flattering and those I don’t or just wouldn’t purchase on their own so don’t really want them in a palette. Two exceptions – a wonderful LE one from Sephora years ago called “Bronzed and Blushing” that was also unbelievably budget priced and one from IT Cosmetics (I think it was a “CC Face palette” with a blush, a bronzer and a fantastic face powder that I wish they’d make available on its own; every time I wear it, someone compliments me on my skin!)

Amy Avatar

I took a chance on the Mac light holiday palette last year, and I’m so glad I did. It’s got two easy highlight/blush combos in there, and I reach for it a lot. It was cheaper than buying four equivalent products (slightly over two, actually). It’s not something I usually do, though, because the combinations rarely work well for me (particularly when bronzer is included, because it’s not something I wear much if at all).

Kira Avatar

For blush palettes, I have bought 1-2 NARS 6-pans, 1 Clinique 3-pan, 1 Hourglass 3-pan over the years. I do regret getting the bigger cheek palettes, as there were 1-2 in each that I ended up not using. I will no longer buy cheek palettes where I don’t see myself extensively using each color. I now prefer singles or duos for blush.

kjh Avatar

I see some cognitive dissonance for me here. I love blush palettes, but pretty much only Nars. Unless it’s pink or coral dominated, then no way. I don’t care if there are shades I won’t use. Those shades might get a smidge of love, if a non-favored shade would be better in a given look. If the palette is duped in stash per T, it’s a no. Now lipstick ‘palettes’/mini-collections, highly unlikely to purchase, as most colors I would not wear. So, why is this selection factor ok for blush, but not for l/s? I think it’s bec blush can be sheered out and opaque l/s in a non-favored shade sticks out like a sore thumb. A ‘wrong’ blush might be an ‘Eeek.’ But a ‘wrong‘ lipstick is an ‘Ew!’ or an ‘OMG!’

Maggie Avatar

I’ve bought lipstick palettes in the past bc I used to paint and thought it would be fun to customize my own colors. Then, I realized it wasn’t for me when I had to bring out additional items that had to be cleaned after use (and cleaning lipstick off tools can be a pain if done regularly): a mixing dish, spatulas and a brush to apply everything with. Plus, it’s even more irritating when I inevitably need to reapply a few hours later but I’d need to have all the tools with me to reapply (or set aside a pot of the original mixed color to be used later and THEN I’d have to eventually clean the pot).

Now, I prefer to apply straight from the bullet with a brush if necessary. And if I’m in the mood, I’ll scrape from bullets to mix colors when I’m in the mood.

kjh Avatar

I used to, too. Melt ‘em, mix ‘em, or drizzle them into lipstick wells. But now, being an old bat in the age of Covid, i barely get them on, much less blend or mix them. I’m going to put on Guinevere right now. Take that, surgical mask!

Lesley Avatar

I don’t use highlighter at all or bronzer very often so a palette with those plus a blush is something I never would buy. If it were only blush, it is useful in theory but of course depends on the shades and finishes. Something that combined several finishes of one shade would be useful to me but I have not seen anything like that for cheeks.

Arena Avatar

I love the visual effect. Always have.
Unless they are something I have put together myself, they are next to useless practically speaking. I can only use 2 shades at best and the last shades are usually “How can I creatively pan this” or just “well, I guess it was worth it for the ones I used”. Which is just a waste of money.

One exception are the Clinique cheek pop trio’s….these are stunning exceptions and…..so far….. I have been able to make them work in ways that make me happy.

Maggie Avatar

Yes, I do. My preference is buying single blush pans to put in magnetic palettes. My only large pre-made blush palette is the ND Darya Palette which is fun to mess around with but I find it clunky and large to store next to my other items: it’s the price, I think for having a bunch of regular sized pans in one palette. I’ll probably not be buying anymore large face palettes unless I especially like the formula and colors (I’m eyeing TheBalm, sometimes they have great palettes). I have a couple of cheek trios that I enjoy and may purchase more duos and trios in the future.

kjh Avatar

TheBalm has awesome blushes. Keep an eye on Hautelook for them. I got 3 @75% off a bit BITD, thanks to Muse’s sales banner. The 3 Loumanizers palette is pretty nice as well.

Rachel R. Avatar

Yes, providing I can use all all the shades. Duos and trios are the easiest way to make sure all the shades work on me.

As for larger cheek palettes, I love them for travel, because they’re a great way to get variety without packing a bunch of singles. I’ll use them at home, too. I have a very light skin tone, so I usually pass on palettes with bronzers in them, or very dark blush and/or highlighter shades. Fortunately, I have neutral undertones, and can get away with most blush colors.

Cameron Avatar

I like duos and trios. I don’t like bulky items so things like the Darya palette are too large for my personal taste, but on the other hand, the blushes in the Hourglass palette are a bit small to get my bronzer brush in… I promised myself not to buy any more face palettes unless I will use all of the shades. There always seems to be one that I don’t like, or is too dark for me.

Jen Avatar

I’m pretty light complected so cheek colors are sometimes challenging for me (and my skill level) as they can get overly strong easily. Often in palettes I find I might be able to use one color with no problem, a second with a little work and the third (or more) if I’m lucky or not at all. So, palettes often end up feeling wasteful. This is one time I would more enjoy putting a palette together myself, compared to eye shadow palettes like was asked in a previous post. I think the difference is that I have more color restrictions on my cheeks than my eyes and those guidelines offer me some structure to work with.

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