Happy Thursday! I have been on such a cream blush kick recently and obsessed with trying as many formulas as possible. Today I’m sharing with you my favourite Cream Blush Formulas. From cream to powder, to sticks and traditional cream blushes, I have tried them all!
I used to be so afraid of cream blush! I thought I was going to end up looking like a clown or a doll and that they would be really hard to work with. When MAC released their Glow Play blushes last year, I finally thought “I’m going to dip my toe in”. The MAC ones are a sort of hybrid, they are cream, but become powder on the cheeks. I felt like that was the best way I could trial how a cream works/feels while still having the safety of powder.
I fell in love with the Glow Play blushes. They were my favourite blush of 2020 and I now own 8 out of the 11 shades they have. They are sublime and also don’t transfer onto masks.
That is another thing with cream blushes, a lot of them do not hold up to being under a mask. Some better than others, some of these I can just pat back and it will look fine. Some will actually come off in chunks and your face will look patchy. However, I have completely fallen in love with how cream blush looks on the skin and how it goes on. It makes your cheeks look so healthy and dewy. Some formulas are more pigmented than others, some are easier to work with, I’ll break all that down as we go through each formula, but boy my love affair with cream blush is not going anywhere soon!
SO, let’s get into my favourite formulas!
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KIKO VELVET TOUCH CREAMY STICK BLUSH – £8.99 from Kiko
Kiko is such an underrated brand in my opinion. They make some incredible products. I think I’ve only ever had one product that I didn’t like from them. Their blushes are absolutely divine. This was one of the first cream blush sticks I ordered to try and I was not disappointed.
These are definitely not mask proof, they do transfer just to let you know. However, this cream formula is unlike anything else I have. It’s almost mousse like? It’s quite a light, but thick texture, but somehow manages to blend like a dream.
When I felt the texture, I was worried it might be hard to work with, but nothing could be further from the truth. These are easy to work with and don’t set so fast you can’t blend them.
Although I know the recommended way to apply cream blush is with your fingers, I just don’t like to. I can never get it blended right or in the right place. So, I use a dense, small brush to tap onto the end of the product and then stipple on my face. All of the cream blushes I’m mentioning today apply well with a brush.
These blushes last a full day on me with barely any fading. If I’m wearing a mask, they won’t last as long and will move, but if I’m not then it lasts all day and doesn’t budge. There are 8 shades (only 7 showing on their site right now though) and I have four of them. I love them all equally, there’s no difference in formula between colours which is great.
I know this post is about blushes, but the cream highlighter is gorgeous too. I’ll probably eventually do a cream highlighter post, but I haven’t tried enough yet!
MILANI CHEEK KISS CREAM BLUSH – £13.50 from Beauty Bay
This is the newest cream blush to my collection, but it was love at first swipe! This is a very thin formula, it almost feel like a lip gloss. However, surprisingly, it packs a punch pigmentation wise. This formula is just stunning, it doesn’t set down, so stays looking really dewy throughout the day. It’s beautiful! There’s only four shades and I have the shade Nude Kiss. I’m contemplating getting the Coral Crush shade, but in some photos I’ve seen it looks really bright.
The other two shades would be great for my darker skinned readers. There’s a beautiful berry red colour and a deep browny red colour.
This is another cream blush that isn’t transfer proof, but you are able to blend it back in once you remove your mask. There’s no shimmer in it, but it isn’t matte either. This is probably the most “shiny” cream blush in my collection, but it’s more like a gloss than because of shimmer. Although I feel like this is glossy, it isn’t sticky, so don’t worry about your hair getting stuck to your cheeks!
This has good lasting power too, I can get a full 12 hours from this before it starts to fade.
NATASHA DENONA LOVE CHEEK DUO – £38 from Cult Beauty
This particular duo is limited edition I believe, but Natasha Denona does release other palette with her cream blush formula from time to time. In this duo there’s a gorgeous matte coral cream blush and then a powder highlighter, but we’ll just talk about the blush today.
This cream blush is quite thick in texture and very pigmented. It’s quite easy to over do it and you need to dab your brush in once or twice to have enough to cover your whole cheek!
It is slightly drier than some of the other formulas I’ve mentioned today, so take a little more work to spread and blend in. However, it’s still easy to work with and looks stunning on the cheeks. This colour is just pure Spring/Summer and I can’t wait to wear it all through the coming seasons!
This is a very long wearing formula and it doesn’t really transfer or budge. I had a slight mark on my mask, but you couldn’t see that it had moved or been removed from my cheek.
ELF MONOCHROMATIC MULTI STICK – £4.50 from Elf
These are tiny little sticks of blush, but great for the price! Unfortunately, there is an inconsistency in the shades, but you can make them all work. Dazzling Peony is my favourite closely followed by Sparkling Rose. Glistening Peach is very glittery, which if that’s what you’re looking for then great. However, I didn’t find it that flattering on me. It’s a shame as the colour is gorgeous.
I’m mentioning these as a favourite formula because of the dazzling peony and sparkling rose shades. They are a breeze to work with, just the right amount of pigment. Buildable so you can go as sheer or heavy as you want. The formula is quite thick, but easy to move around. It sets down somewhat and stays put for a good 12 hours before fading. They don’t swatch the best, but they do go well on the cheeks.
It does transfer onto masks, you’ll be able to see that it’s moved, but a quick tap back in with a finger and it will be fine again. For the price these are fantastic. I do wish that the Glistening Peach shade wasn’t basically pure glitter, but other than that, they’re well worth the price!
MAC GLOW PLAY BLUSH – £24 from MAC Cosmetics
The original creamy blush that made me fall in love with cream blushes! These feel so strange when you first touch them, they are springy! However, this is the most forgiving, easy to blend formula. There’s one shade (cheeky devil) that is verrrrrry sheer and needs building up, but all the others are easy to build up.
These set down and become almost a powder, but they still manage to give you that healthy, glowy cheek. These last a full 14-16 hours on me and don’t transfer onto masks either. Some of the shades I might get one dot from each cheek, but mostly they don’t transfer.
Some shades have a slight shimmer and others are matte. However, the matte ones don’t look lifeless on the skin at all, they still look like a cream blush would normally look. The shimmery ones don’t have any large chunks of glitter which is great.
I adore these blushes, they stole my heart last year and I continue to wear them all the time. I’ll be cracking out the brighter shades for Spring and Summer! I think the range of colours is fantastic too, there’s something for everyone. The brighter ones would look beautiful on dark skin, but because the formula is buildable I think even pale people like me can wear some of the brighter shades!
FENTY BEAUTY CHEEKS OUT FREESTYLE CREAM BLUSH – £19 from Boots
I had the Fenty cream blush on my makeup wish list for months and months! My husband got me the shade Petal Poppin’ for Christmas and I love it. Again, this is on the thicker side formula wise, but it still feels light on the cheeks and blends very easily. These are super pigmented, so a little goes a long way.
There are some really fun colours in the range too, lilacs, cool pale pinks, berries, lavenders. Fenty always nail colour ranges in my opinion.
Petal Poppin’ is a pink with a hint of peach, it looks gorgeous on the skin and I think a lot of undertones could pull it off. It layers well and you can get it to be quite full on colour wise. There’s no shimmer in the shade I have. This lasts a good 12-13 hours on me, it never disappears completely, but it does fade.
I am definitely going to get more shades of this formula; I’m eyeing up Strawberry Drip and Cool Berry next!
SWATCHES
Now it’s time to look at some swatches of all of these different formulas!
There we have it! My Favourite Cream Blush Formulas! There’s a variety of price points, finishes and types of cream blush in this list. I’m still going to be trying as many cream blush formulas as I can as I’m obsessed with them right now, but for now these are the best ones I’ve tried!
