The 10-Minute Makeup Must-Haves series shows off some of *the best* makeup for speedy (but sensational!) skin, eyes, cheeks and lips.
Five minute, 10 minute… Heck — three-minute makeup! You can do it *all* with Clinique Blushing Blush Powder Blush ($24 each). These totally goof-proof powder blushes are fantastic for those out-the-door days, which I’ve come to love and appreciate lately.
You may have noticed that I’ve been wearing shade Sunset Glow a lot lately (like, all last week!). It’s a beautiful golden coral with a satin finish, and the magic behind this (and all of the blushes in this family) is that it’s semi-transparent, meaning that you can take your blush brush, dip it into the pan, do a swish or two on your cheek, a quick blend at the edges, and be totally and completely done. You won’t be stuck erasing a hard line of demarcation at the edges of your cheeks. Instead, you’ll find a soft, subtle gradient, and it almost just happens naturally if you load a brush with this blush and gently tap-tap-tap it a few times on your cheek. It’s like powder blush for dummies!
And HELLO, flexibility. If I’m ever in the mood for more color on my cheeks, all I have to do is pop another layer or two on, because these blushes also build up beautifully.
Fresh, natural colour builds to desired intensity with sculpting brush. Lasting wear, oil-free. Silky formula sweeps effortlessly over cheekbones to create a natural look. Fresh, jet-milled colour builds and blends beautifully to desired intensity with custom sculpting brush. Lasting wear, colour-true. Oil-free.
I’ve been wearing Sunset Glow for warm-toned eyes and cheeks, and soft pink Cupid with cooler tones. Both blushes lay down just the perfect amount of color, so my face looks fresh and radiant, and my makeup looks polished but not overly done.
On top of all that, this blush lasts! When I put it on with the rest of my face in the morning, I’m fine until the end of the day.
I also love — and this is a small thing, but one of those things that’s handy when you’re rifling through your makeup bag at the crack of dawn — how the bottom of the packaging shows the blush color, so you can easily pick out what you want to wear at a glance.
And if you’re all about bright lip colors — reds, hot pinks, crazy corals — then these blushes are made for you! They create just enough color on your cheeks to complement a bold lip without overwhelming the rest of your makeup. I bet MAC Relentlessly Red, Fashion Legacy, Crosswires or Vegas Volt would look amaze-balls with Sunset Glow, and Girl About Town, Candy Yum Yum or Pink Pigeon would look gorgeous with Cupid.
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
Kim says
April 2nd, 2019 at 8:14 amLovely, as always! I find that blush absolutely makes a difference (I look half dead without it). And I’m with you 100% on powders. They’re so much easier to apply and blend.
Karen says
April 3rd, 2019 at 7:44 amOne of these days I’ll get you to try something other than Malice!
Kim says
April 4th, 2019 at 10:15 amHAHA! Remember when I only wore Orgasm? Your beautiful Malice pics made me gasp and convert. So, there’s still hope! 😉 I tried a Tarte sample a few months ago and it’s a pretty, light pink but it didn’t work for me. I could have layered all day and it still wouldn’t have been Rodeo Clown enough for me. HAHA!
Karen says
April 4th, 2019 at 10:27 amI know! I still have hope because you did try a new shade and you fell in love with it. If it happened once it can happen again, I’m sure of it!
Chelsea says
April 2nd, 2019 at 11:16 amEveryone now is all about pigment pigment pigment but buildable products are so underrated for ease of use and just getting it done quickly! However, I know for a long time powder products always looked ashy af on folks with more melanin – not sure if the pigment helps those folks.
I like buildable (except in certain things – eyeliner!) because I have a tendency to want to be too heavy-handed. I broke ALL my crayons growing up from coloring too hard and I try not to use that philosophy in my makeup 😂
Karen says
April 3rd, 2019 at 7:44 amOh boy! Connor breaks all of her crayons, too (she’s a passionate about intensity in her coloring books, ha ha ha)!
Ya know, I never did find that Clinique dual-ended mascara and primer you love so much, le sigh!
Chelsea says
April 3rd, 2019 at 2:28 pmI can’t find it either! 🤬
Diana says
April 2nd, 2019 at 11:22 amSunset Glow is so pretty! I never realized until you did these posts, just how much blush can be a natural looking booster…I’m almost out of Charlotte Tilbury Sunset lover, the Mac Vegas Volt is 😍
Karen says
April 3rd, 2019 at 7:42 amHi Diana,
Vegas Volt is one of my summer staples. Love, love, LOVE it! I’m crazy for coral!
Cindy says
April 2nd, 2019 at 11:57 amI’ve been wearing Clinique blushes for years and may have to go back and revisit these! These were my high school/college blushes! (And Cheekers from the drugstore too lol) It’s nice when a brand keeps its mainstays instead of discontinuing good products and making “limited edition” ones all the time.
Karen says
April 3rd, 2019 at 7:42 amHi Cindy,
Those Cheekers blushes were good for the price! Old school but totally effective. I hope you revisit these Clinique blushes… They really are underrated and so, so good.
Savannah says
April 2nd, 2019 at 2:54 pmAre these finely milled along the lines of CHANEL blushes? Or more like Mac? (The only brands I’ve used.) I used to wear Mac all the time but the past year I’ve been only using Chanel. When I tried wearing Mac again I find I didn’t like the way it looked on me anymore. Just curious 🙂
Karen says
April 3rd, 2019 at 7:41 amHi Savannah,
I think they’re finely milled. What you might like about the Chanel blushes (if you’re using the Jouse Contraste line) is they have a similar semi-transparency to the Clinique ones featured here. That’s what I like about my fave Joues Contraste shade, Malice!