Category Archives: Blush (Cream)

NYX Hibiscus & Tea Rose Stick Blush Review, Swatches, Photos

Purchased Affiliate Links Since Ulta’s 40% off NYX sale ends in a few days, I wanted to be sure to get this review up today! I purchased these two stick blushes on the first day of the sale, and so far, I really like them.

The packaging is pretty basic; colored plastic that closely matches the shade of the product. They contain a good amount of product – – and the full price around $6 at Ulta or Cherryculture.

I believe that some of the shades contain shimmer, but I chose two shades with creme finishes – no sparkle or shimmer at all. Both are very pigmented.

Hibiscus heavily swatched & blended out // Tea Rose heavily swatched & blended out

I found each of the stick blushes a bit difficult to blend out over dry skin, but they were easy to blend over well-moisturized skin, including over foundation. I would not recommend using these over a powder foundation; they are not emollient enough for that to work. They work best over well-moisturized skin or over liquid foundation.

I’ve only worn them a couple times so far, but wear time seems typical for a cream product, or perhaps a little better than usual. For me, that means that they last 5-6 hours (creams usually last 4-5 hours on me; this is probably partially because I wear blush very lightly).

Overall, I really like these, and I’d definitely recommend them – especially on sale!

*I purchased the product(s) featured in this post. This post contains affiliate links. Please see my disclosure policy for more information.

Flower Cosmetics Elegant Azalea Win Some Rouge Some Creme Blush: Review & Swatches

Purchased Affiliate Links

I purchased two items from the new(ish) Flower by Drew Barrymore line (available available exclusively at Walmart, -->online --> and in some stores). Earlier today, I reviewed the Color Play Creme Eyeshadow in Time Willow Tell, which I did not like – but you win some and you lose some, and this Win Some Rouge Some Creme Blush is a definite hit! (Okay that was terrible of me.)

Again, I’m not a fan of Flower’s packaging; the white plastic looks cheap and tacky to me, and I really wish they had printed the shade names on the actual packaging rather than on just the peel-off labels.

Most – or perhaps all – of the other cream/creme blushes I own are true creams, but this Flower blush is a cream-to-powder formula. The texture is sort of silky and powdery, but also creamy, if that makes any sense – and it definitely dries down to a powder finish. It is incredibly pigmented (the heavier swatch below is just one swipe!) but also extremely blendable, so it’s easy to apply anything from the sheerest layer on up.

Flower Elegant Azalea Creme Blush Swatch

Elegant Azalea – heavy swatch, blended swatch

I chose the shade Elegant Azalea, which is a bright coral-pink with a matte finish; no shimmer or sparkle at all (my swatch photo came out oddly and it sort of looks like there is shimmer; there definitely is not any).

Overall, I love this blush. It’s a great color and a great texture. I love that it’s so blendable and so easy to apply a sheer layer, yet also so easy to build up more intense color. I would absolutely recommend this product, and I’m considering picking up more shades!

*I purchased the product(s) featured in this post. This post contains affiliate links. Please see my disclosure policy for more information.

Addiction Cheek Sticks – Swatch of the Day

Purchased

Suspicious // Tea Rose

I love these. Tea Rose has a slightly better (more emollient) texture which is wearable on both lips and cheeks – Suspicious works beautifully on my cheeks, but I don’t like the texture on my lips. I purchased these on Ichibankao for ¥4050 (around $42) each, which includes shipping. In Japan, they retail for ¥2940 (around $30), but Ichibankao is the easiest way to get them if you live in the US. Next on my to-buy list: Rose Bar. You can see swatches of all the currently-available Cheek Sticks on the fantastic blog So Lonely in Gorgeous, here.

*As noted in this review, I purchased both of the featured products. Please see my disclosure policy for more information.

Revlon Baby Sticks Swatches & Initial Thoughts

Purchase

Sunset // Pink Passion // Tahiti

Revlon has a new collection out called the Pacific Coast Collection by Gucci Westman. The collection includes four new shades of lip butters, four shades of Colorstay polish, a white Colorstay gel eyeliner, two Colorstay eyeshadow quads, and one totally new product – the Baby Sticks, which come in three shades (Sunset, Tahiti, and Pink Passion). I purchased all three to swatch and review. Since I just bought them today, this post is swatches and my initial thoughts rather than a full review.

As you can see, the Baby Sticks are packaged in plastic tubes that exactly match the color of the product inside. The lids snap closed quite securely – I don’t think they would be likely to open in your bag. The product inside twists up and down easily. The plastic tube does not have the shade name printed on it, but there is a white adhesive label on the tube itself which has the bar code, ingredients, and shade name. The Baby Sticks were shrinkwrapped (yay for drugstore packaging that shows when it hasn’t been opened!).

It’s hard to tell from the first photo, but the tubes are very small, and there isn’t much product inside (.1oz) – here are two photos with a quarter for perspective. For perspective, Revlon’s Photoready Cream blush has .44oz, and MAC’s Cremeblend blush has .19oz.

It’s always hard for me to describe textures – I guess I would call this sort of emollient and waxy. It blends easily, and leaves a sheen on the skin. It is comfortable on the lips, but quite different from the texture of most lipsticks and balms, though closer to a waxy balm than anything else. I did not detect any smell or taste, but I have a cold right now and there may be a scent I am just missing!

Now to the potential problem with these: they are sheer. Really, really sheer. Here are one-swipe swatches of all three shades, done with medium pressure.

One swipe each: Sunset // Pink Passion // Tahiti

Here are VERY heavy swatches; these are about 15-20 swipes done with heavy pressure. It would not be possible to wear these like this – it’s just too much product; I swatched them like this so you could better see the color of the Baby Sticks.

15 – 20 swipes each: Sunset // Pink Passion // Tahiti

As you can see, Pink Passion is the most pigmented. I can definitely see it working as blush on those with fair skin, and it might work on those with medium skin who prefer sheer blush. Sunset may work on those with fair skin who prefer sheer blush. I don’t see Tahiti working on anyone – it’s so so sheer that it’s almost clear.

Since these are meant for the cheeks & lips, I also did lip swatches. In each set, the top photo is my lips with no product, and the lower photo is with the Baby Stick applied.

Tahitian

I can’t see Tahitian on my lips – maybe just a hint of shine.

Sunset

Sunset adds a hint of color.

Pink Passion

And Pink Passion works very well on the lips; it looks and feels similar to a tinted balm.

So, overall, I am a bit disappointed in the Baby Sticks. I love cream blush, and I love multipurpose lip/cheek products, but I really prefer a more opaque product I can sheer out (or even a sheer product I can build!) to a product like this, which is sheer and not very buildable. I’ll play with them some more, and update this review if my thoughts change.

If you prefer a more intensely colored product, I would skip these. If you’re okay with something sheer, I would tentatively recommend checking out Pink Passion – the pigmentation level of that one in particular is really quite reasonable, and the texture (as a first impression) seems very nice. I suggest that everyone skip Tahiti – it’s just too sheer to be workable – and I’m still on the fence about Sunset.

I hope these swatches were helpful – after seeing this, are you interested in the Baby Sticks?

MUA Yummy Cream Blush Perfection Review & Swatches

MUA Blush Perfection cream blusher – Yummy

Quite a while back – more than a month ago – MUA a UK drugstore brand, had a promotion with free worldwide shipping. I placed a small order – well, I bought a lot, but it was inexpensive! – and one of the items I bought was the cream blush in the shade Yummy, which sells for £2.

If you aren’t familiar with it, MUA (which stands for Make Up Academy) is known for good quality and cheap prices – it is sort of the UK version of Wet n Wild. Here’s my entire haul – many more reviews will be coming in the next weeks!

background weirdness is because it didn’t actually fit in my lightbox

The cream blush, Yummy, is packaged in a lightweight plastic compact. It’s not elegant, but it gets the job done. As I’ve said many times, at this price point, functional is all I ask for – and this is functional, so it works for me.

heavy / blended

I would describe the color of Yummy as a soft rosy neutral. It is very pink in the heavier swatch, and thus would probably look pinker on fair complexions; however, blended out (and on my face), it loses some pinkness and turns in to a very neutral shade – a great everyday pick. Somehow, it reminds me of MAC Blushbaby (my favorite neutral blush) – but in comparison, Blushbaby has more brown, and Yummy has more pink.

Texturewise, Yummy is very creamy and emollient with a dewy finish. I would recommend it for drier skins only – I can imagine it sliding off oilier skins and not working at all. I don’t always set my makeup with powder in the winter, but I felt like this blush needed to be set with powder. Wear time was typical for a cream blush for me; 3-5 hours depending on how heavily I applied it.

Overall, I would definitely recommend the MUA cream blushes as affordable options for those with normal to dry skin, and I would recommend the shade Yummy as a great neutral blush for light to medium skintones. This is my first MUA product, and it’s a hit!

ELF St. Lucia Contouring Blush & Bronzing Cream Review & Swatches

ELF St. Lucia Cream Blush / Bronzer

I recently placed an ELF order, which consisted of several brushes and one makeup item – the new Contouring Blush & Bronzing Cream, which comes in one color, St. Lucia. ELF’s original Contouring Blush & Bronzing Powder is also named St. Lucia – so this is probably meant to be a cream version of that, though in the powder version both the blush & bronzer are shimmery, and neither of the cream products have any shimmer.

The blush and bronzer are housed in ELF’s standard black compact; I quite like ELF’s packaging, as it’s sturdy, sleek, and functional. You can see some beads of moisture on both the blush and bronzer, which is completely normal – almost all cream products have this when purchased.

The texture of these creams is nice – they’re quite pigmented, but no so pigmented that they’re hard to work with. They’re very blendable if your skin is moisturized, but tricky to blend on dry skin. They dry down quite slowly – you don’t need to worry about taking your time blending. I powdered over, and ended up with a natural finish – powdering over worked well, no caking or problems. I’m happy with the texture.

St. Lucia Cream blush – one swipe / blended

St. Lucia cream bronzer – one swipe / blended

The blush is really great shade – it’s a very natural, easy-to-wear dusty pink – I think it would look good on fair to medium skintones. The bronzer, however, is a difficult shade; it leans sort of yellow/orange, and it’s hard to image it working well on just about anyone as a bronzer (and definitely wouldn’t work on anyone as a contour shade). Then, I tried layering them, with this result:

blush, bronzer, both layered

I love the layered shade – it has just the right amount of pink and brown, and is very wearable and neutral. So, even though I can’t see myself wearing the bronzer alone, I still have two great shades in this duo – the blush alone, and the two shades mixed.

Here’s a full face photo; I’m wearing both shades in this, applied quite lightly – no eye makeup at all because I’m on the way to the eye doctor. The blush is subtle, but it’s definitely there.

Wear time is around four hours, which is typical for me for cream blushes – they just don’t last well on me, especially since I tend to apply so lightly. I’m sure I could get longer wear with a heavier application.

Overall, I would definitely recommend this duo for anyone with fair to medium skin – it’s a fantastic value, and one of the best products I have tried from ELF.

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