Smith & Cult Cool Pink Flash Flush Cream Blush Review & Swatches
Cool Pink
Smith and Cult Cool Pink Flash Flush Cream Blush ($24.00 for 0.09 oz.) is a light-medium pink with neutral-to-cool undertones and a matte finish. The texture was gummy; creamy but thick, almost clumpy when I tried to apply and blend it out with my fingertips, and very prone to clumping on itself when worked with. I only found marginal success using a stippling brush to tap the product onto my skin and do the barest blend, but it was hard to blend out seamlessly as it moved around my skin too easily. It wasn’t worth using over foundation as all it did was lift and absorb whatever it was on top of in the worst way (patchy, uneven, added visible texture).
It had semi-opaque pigmentation when applied with fingertips (the method the brand says to use) and sheer to semi-sheer coverage applied with a brush as it was a drier, thicker formula that did not pick up well on brushes. The only upside was it lasted for seven hourson me before fading, though I would have expected longer based on this type of formula (cream-to-powder) and experiences with competing formulas.
FURTHER READING: Formula Overview for details on general performance and characteristics (like scent).
Top Dupes
- NARS Impassioned (P, $30.00) is more shimmery, darker (90% similar).
- Physicians Formula Rosy Pink (P, $12.99) is more shimmery (90% similar).
- Tarte Whimsy (LE, $29.00) is darker (90% similar).
- Zoeva Gentle Touch (P, $11.80) is more shimmery (90% similar).
- MAC Lotus Blossom (LE, $40.00) is warmer (90% similar).
- Tarte Flush (P, $29.00) is more shimmery, darker (90% similar).
- Burberry S/S15 Runway (LE, $65.00) is more shimmery, lighter (90% similar).
- Kevyn Aucoin Shadore (P, $37.00) is darker (90% similar).
- Jouer Tease Me (PiP, ) is lighter (90% similar).
- Dior Rose (001) (LE, $56.00) is more shimmery (90% similar).
Formula Overview
$24.00/0.09 oz. - $266.67 Per Ounce
The formula is supposed to be a "lightweight, cream-to-powder blush" that is "pore-smoothing" with a "barely-there feel." The texture has a thicker, more clay-like feel to it, where there's creaminess to it, but there was also a drier, more velvety/powdery feel present as well. It was a tricky formula to work with, as it was dry and prone to crumbling/flaking off my skin when I tried to use it with my fingertips (which is what the brand says to use with the product). I had the best luck working with a stippling brush, but the drier texture made it more difficult to pick up product with a brush. I did not like how they applied on my skin; they were uneven and sometimes caught on any dryness or flakiness.
They seemed semi-opaque to opaque in coverage initially, but I struggled to get that to translate on my cheeks as the product didn't build up well with a brush. If I applied with fingertips, though, the application was uneven, product seemed to sink into my pores, and looked nightmarish. They pick up and move foundation a lot, and when applied on top of powder, the product goes on unevenly and tends to clump up. The only good thing about this formula was it lasted six to seven hours on average for me.
Browse all of our Smith and Cult Flash Flush Cream Blush swatches.
Ingredients
Cyclopentasiloxane, Cyclohexasiloxane, Dimethicone Crosspolymer, Polyethylene, Mica, HDI/Trimethylol Hexyllactone Crosspolymer, Hydrogenated Polyisobutene, Talc, Dimethicone, Jojoba Esters, Octyldodecanol, Silica, Nylon-12, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Dimethiconol, Phenoxyethanol, Dimethicone/Vinyl Dimethicone Crosspolymer, Tocopheryl Acetate, Isopropyl Titanium Triisostearate, Triethoxycaprylylsilane. May Contain: CI 77891 (Titanium Dioxide), CI 77491, CI 77492, CI 77499 (Iron Oxides), CI 19140 (Yellow 5 Lake), CI 75470 (Carmine), CI 42090 (Blue 1 Lake).
Disclaimer: Ingredient lists are as available by the brand (or retailer) at the time of publishing. Please always check product packaging, if it exists, for the ingredient list applicable to the product you're purchasing, or the brand or retailer's website for the most up-to-date ingredient list.
Oh, dear. Hope you didn’t buy the whole range to review. The S+C foundation is pretty well received, but this is embarrassing.
Pfft, of course I did, LOL.
Hopefully this one was subject to summer storage/delivery, and the others won’t be such abysmal failures.
Yikes. This blush is one miserable fail. It barely even shows up on your cheeks, much less the shade seen in the pan. ??
Yikes! This sounds so bad. I wasn’t expecting an F.
So, I’m scrolling through today’s email and I see this beautiful blush color and THEN I scroll a little further and see the rating and my jaw drops. So sad, because it’s a really beautiful color. Oh well…
I was super jazzed for new cream blushes to try but alas, the excitement was very shortly lived!
Uh oh, a teeny tiny amount of miserable abject failure – seriously, 2g of product for a blush is ridiculous enough, but for it to be that useless as well? Insult to injury, right there.
They are quite small!
Mmmm, “gummy.” Just what I hope to read in a blush review.
I’m a cream blush lover and looking for more properly pink pinks, so this might (on paper) have fit the bill. Thank you for sparing me the money and frustration!
No problem! Can’t recall using the word “gummy” to describe beauty products before…. possibly I have but definitely rare!
OMG – that goes to your “Most Disappointed List” for the end of year – a major disappointment.
Oh dear … not good.
Ouch!