Get Cheeky With These Hard Candy Cheeky Tints

Anything with the phrase “cheeky” in it is particularly nostalgic to this beauty lover, given the name of my blog, Getting Cheeky, which I nurtured for several years before “retiring.” So, of course, when I heard that Hard Candy had released a cheek product for spring 2016 called the Cheeky Tints, I was all ears.

Hard Candy was the cool girl makeup brand that I couldn’t get enough of as a tween, and it’s been fun to watch the brand’s style evolve over time.

I remember treating myself to their nail polishes with babysitting money (I won’t tell you when that was…because it will make me feel ancient) and lovingly collecting the rings that came with the polishes in a coordinated hue.

Hard Candy’s Cheeky Tints are part of the “new wave” of high quality makeup that’s fun, but doesn’t break the bank. These tints are available in six shades and, at only $6 each, you can definitely treat yourself to a fair few of them without dipping into your spring break fund.

I tested the Cheeky Tints both with a brush and with my fingers, and while the brush application looked lovely, I suppose I just like finger painting for grownups and favor my god-given applicators.

To avoid letting the product dry down too quickly and ending up with one splotch on each cheek that’s darker than the rest (liquid blush and stain, ladies; we’ve all been there), I make sure to dispense the product onto my hand before picking up the color with my finger and blending into my cheek. I’ve found that with all of the shades, this works best to control the pigment.

Hard Candy’s Cheeky Tints are water based with a thick gel formula that’s easy to control, both when squeezing the product out of the tube and applying. The consistency is incredibly easy to blend and lasts (I kid you not) all day.

I’ve been favoring Goddess applied heavily underneath my foundation to warm up my overall appearance, or on top of foundation for a lasting bronze that helps me look a bit less like I’ve just spent the entire winter in the “arctic tundra.”

But Geisha has been my favorite blush of late. It’s an incredibly natural flush that reminds me a bit of Benefit’s classic Benetint.. It’s perfect and so natural for spring.

Remember how I mentioned that these are easy to squeeze out of the packaging (in other words, you don’t squeeze out too much at a time)? I think that may just be the best part. For $6, Hard Candy doesn’t skimp and gives you a whopping 0.67 ounces. Given that these squeeze out of a tube, the packaging is incredibly hygienic, meaning that these Cheeky Tints are bound to go a long way and last quite some time! (Available now at Walmart.)

Oh, since we’re on the subject of blushes, what’s your favorite liquid blush formula of all time?