THE £2.50 CREAM BLUSHERS NO ONE IS TALKING ABOUT (BUT THEY SHOULD!) + TIPS ON HOW TO GET BLUSH RIGHT EVERY TIME

**********This post contains both gifted and non-gifted items. Gifted mentions may also be present. All links used are affiliate.********** 

I love me a cream blush. Creams look good on young skin but can truly transform the look of older complexions. A little blush here and there can be enough to add a little colour and make you look radiant and who doesn’t want that healthy flush? Let’s chat about £2.50 cream blushers worth all the hype but no one is talking about them! Say hello to MUA Makeup Academy Blushed Liquid Cream Blush.

I discovered these little tubes filled with beautiful light liquid to cream flush of colour ages ago so I'm sorry it took me so long to post this review, but here we are. One shade of MUA Blushed cream blush was included in one of the Latest in Beauty collection boxes I received and it got me hooked, so I picked up a couple more shades to satisfy my makeup-loving heart. The little tubes are super easy to travel with, don’t leak and make it easy to only distribute the amount you need. And they are only £2.50 each! The formula isn’t truly liquid or gel or cream but a hybrid of them all. The colour is rather sheer (this is good news guys, more about it in the tips section below) but can be built up if you so wish. And with the blush being at the centre of 2020 summer makeup looks, you can go a little crazy if you like!

Glossier Cloud Paint dupe?

Now, of course, you may notice these look a little like other cream blushers that are a bit more expensive, don’t they? Yes, you got that right, I’m talking about Glossier Cloud Paints which are £15 each or 2 for £25 and offer 7 shades in a variety of colours, whereas MUA is sticking to basics more here IMO. Which one to get depends on your opinion on dupes and your budget at the end of the day, but I thought it was worth a mention. Personally, I haven’t tried Glossier ones even though I’ve been lusting after Beam and Dawn for ages! Now if you'd like to know how they compare check out the post by Jasmine Talks Beauty here.

Now, a lot of people get blush really wrong. Think red blush, blue shimmery eyeshadow applied REALLY badly and a pink lipstick aka Poland in the 90's or at least how I remember some women from my childhood. Don't you worry, I got ya.

Here are a few of my tips on how to get it right every single time:

1. Right blush placement can make or break your whole look.

So where do we place blush to make it look its best? That all depends on your own face shape. Best tip: do not smile to raise your cheekbones. Yes, we should all concentrate a bit of blush on the apples of our cheeks but you want to do it when you don’t smile. When you smile and apply blush you risk it downing on your face and in the end make you appear tired and older. So be your best resting b*tch face self, look straight and add a little colour to the apples of your cheeks so it lifts your face instead!

Visit Daniel Sandler for tips on how to identify your face shape and how to place the blush correctly here.

2. Opt for sheer and not pigmented

Quite the opposite to eyeshadows, you want your blush to be on a sheer end of a spectrum. That way it’s super easy to add just a flush of colour and then go from there if you want to build it up. However, if you have a very pigmented blush that you love, choose a fluffy, not dense brush (I adore The Kit Stars Powder Brush or Real Techniques Blush Brush) and pick up the least amount of powder you can. I would only touch it with the lightest hand possible, then first apply it to the back of the hand and then go to your face with what’s left on the brush. Or invest in a different blush altogether hah!

3. Powder, liquid or cream?

Now that’s just personal preference and that changes for me a lot. Powders are usually super easy to use, just swipe it lightly on the apples of your cheeks and voila (light hand my Queens, light hand is your best friend) but personally, I think liquids and creams are the easiest as you can take a little on your finger and dab dab dab on your cheeks. I personally use a synthetic duo-fibre brush (Eco Tools) for cream/liquid and it’s been working fab for me!

MUA Makeup Academy Blushed Liquid Cream Blush

Now we know how to apply it, let’s go back on topic and talk my favourite shades in MUA Makeup Academy Blushed, shall we? I have 3 shades, but there’s 3 more to choose from, and I want them all of course lol! I was kindly gifted Misty Rose, a beautiful everyday light rosy shade and bought Tiger Lily, a stunning medium peach & Watermelon, a juicy warm red. I’m still lusting after Peach Puff, the lightest peachy shade & Taupe Tango which has some warm nude to orange tones to it. As I said, these blushers are rather sheer when applied lightly, so you can pull off most shades if you play safe! I personally prefer warmer blush shades as they give a bit of warmth to my rosy and pale complexion but you do you babes.

I find the formula to last pretty well on me, you can definitely get up to 10 hours on my dry cheeks but I can’t comment on their lasting power on someone a bit more oily in the cheeks area. I have combination skin with normal to oily t-zone and very dry cheeks so cheek cream formulas tend to last well on me. You can always powder these down too, although I’ve been going powder-free lately, minus powdering down my t-zone and to set under-eye concealer and I simply prefer not to set cream blushers as they melt so beautifully on the skin and look super natural without.

Honestly, I can’t recommend MUA Blushed enough. Super cheap and really good quality, not only for £2.50 price point but superior over a lot more expensive luxury blush formulas. It stays well on me, doesn’t dry me out or worse, make me break out, so it’s a big thumbs up from me. I mean, come on, at £2.50 each how could I not!

Available from Beauty Bay and MUA Store UK. 

And if you don't like cream formulas, then the new MUA Makeup Academy Blushed Matte Powders should be more up your street. Oh, and they are £2.50 too. Available from Beauty Bay, MUA Store UK and Superdrug.

Have you tried the MUA Blushed yet? Or maybe you’re an avid Glossier fan? Let me know your thoughts.

Thank You For Reading.

With love,

Full disclaimer:

In line with an updated CMA/ASA Non-broadcast Code, all products marked with * have been gifted to Beauty Drama Queen for review consideration, therefore are considered sponsored and displayed as a form of an unpaid advertisement.

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Products I've bought myself, but there's a current or past (up to 12 months) relationship with the brand present will be marked with **.