Cream Blushes

I remember trying my first cream blush ages ago. It was such an awful experience. I can't even remember what brand it was, but I just remember it feeling sticky and yucky. It didn't blend well and it rubbed off all the makeup I had on underneath it. Terrible! I thought to myself, 'Never Again!'.

It's now been a few years since that sticky situation and about six months ago, I decided to give them another go. How brave am I?! So, I picked up the Illamasqua one and then a YSL and so on and so on. Each of them impressing me more and more. Changing my perspective and making me fall in love and prefer cream blushes (not to say I don't still use powder because I do). You're probably wondering now "what's the big deal of cream instead of powder?". When using a cream product, you can make your blush look more natural. Cream products can be buffed into your skin making it look as though it is part of your skin, not sitting on top of it. They also tend to have more natural looking finishes of satin/velvety or dewy. Much more 'skin-like' than a powdery product. And they're actually quite easy to apply. I love love love using the Real Techniques Buffing Brush for this. I dab it into the product lightly (you generally won't need much at all) and tap it onto my cheeks. Then just blend it out. It makes it so easy by doing all the work for you. I also find that using my fingers is quite a simple and quick option.


Onto my favorites!!!! I've swatched all of them above. They each have other shades in their ranges. These are just the ones I have in my collection. Cream blushes tend to look very dark and bright, but they blend and sheer out beautifully and natural on the skin. And a little goes a long way. Start small and add if necessary.

YSL Creme De Blush - 1: Velvety Peach (far right) & 9: Baby Doll (Second to last). I know I know, I'm starting from the wrong end (right to left), but the YSL are my favorite so that's what I want to talk about first! I am absolutely obsessed with these. I want every color! But, they're pricey so, little by little is the philosophy. Why do I love them? They're a bit different than the average cream blush. They actually have a mousse-like texture which makes them glide onto your skin so smoothly and effortlessly. They don't feel sticky whatsoever. Just smooth and they have a satin/velvety finish. Really natural. The packaging is gorgeous as is all YSL packaging. I can't get enough. I want more!

Stila Convertible Color (dual lip and cheek cream) - Petunia
This I picked up because it is more of the classic cream blush. Creamy texture that blends into the skin. The plus? The cream isn't sticky. Once you blend it onto your skin, it melts into it and becomes part of your skin. This one has more of a dewy finish. I think this is great worn alone, but also really nice to use as a base for a powder blush. When you want your makeup to last longer, layering cream and powder products will give you that longevity. So, wear this alone or lightly layer a powder blush over top. Cool thing about this one too is that you can use the color on your lips! Very versatile product. Especially when you're on the go and it has a mirror in the compact. What more could you ask for?

Illamasqua Cream Blusher - Promise
I find the consistency and finish of this to be very similar to the Stila one. It's creamy, blends well and has a dewy finish. I know there's no real function of a blush smelling good, but this one really does. I want to eat it every time I use it (don't worry, I haven't.....yet). It smells sweet, like candy. Nothing overwhelming though and it doesn't linger when applied so you won't be smelling like sweets all day long.

Revlon Photoready - Flushed
This was the first drugstore option I picked up. I wanted something more affordable to recommend that I felt worked just as good as a higher end product. I would actually rate this one right underneath my YSL loves. It's almost a combination of the Stila and YSL in terms of consistency and finish. The product feels creamy like Stila. It blends well like all the others. What's interesting is that the creamy feeling turns into a velvety feeling as you start to blend and upon finish, it looks/feels like the velvet/satin finish of the YSL blushes. So beautiful. This color is gorgeous too. Looks scary bright, but blends into a sheer bright pink that really does make you look like you have flushed cheeks.

L'oreal Magic Smooth Souffle Blush - Cherubic
OK, here I go again talking about the YSL. And you're probably annoyed especially since they're the most expensive option of all of these. But they really are amazing. L'oreal seem to be the best brand to go to for the closest drugstore compatibles to YSL. So, off I went perusing the L'oreal section and found the Magic Smooth Souffle Blush. Hmm... soufflé? Mousse-like? Sounds about right. I snatched it up and busted that baby open like nobody's business. And score!!! So so so similar to the YSL Creme De Blush. Similar texture, same feeling upon application, same finish. Oh yeah! Only downfall is that they don't have many shades. I do like this color. Looks very natural and pretty for when you have a strong smokey eye and want color on your cheeks without it overpowering the look. But they need to expand the color range!

Anyhow, those are my favorites. I do use the YSL ones the most and will probably eventually buy every color they make, but I do believe that all of these are really great options to try out. Don't be afraid of a new texture. I have been addicted to these for the past few months. I'd definitely recommend sampling one out and if you don't want to spend too much, just try one of the drugstore options or you can get a sample of the others from a counter. Chanel recently released cream blushes in one of their latest collections. I can't wait to swing by a counter and test those out too. Talk soon.