11 best cream blushes for a natural and long-lasting glow

Presented in a sleek, gold pot, this dome-shaped cream blush is perfect for easy application. There are nine shades to choose between, including orange, peach and berry in warm and cool shades, and our tester has been using the earthy pink Beverly Hills option almost daily for several months. Although the finish is comfortingly lightweight, this creamy blush offers an instant pop of colour which creates a gorgeous glow. Plus, you can easily build it up for a bolder look that doesn’t slide off. The dewy finish also offers a slight skin-plumping effect, and key ingredient vitamin E provides smoothing hydrating too.

Whether applying it on a bare face or full make-up day, a swipe of this Merit cream blush never fails to offer a healthy-looking flush, with minimal effort. It’s become our secret weapon for a speedy make-up pick-me-up.

This unique cream blush has a gel-like formula which feels refreshingly lightweight on skin and offers a similar powder effect to a compact. The 4.5ml glass pot is a handy compact size, and we think its contents would last a while as a tiny amount offers strong cheek coverage.

Meanwhile, the jelly blush consistency makes it a blendable buy for layering up our cheek colour without creases. Available in six shades, our tester likes the neutral-toned tonic, for a subtle flush of colour which we’ve noted remains in place all day.

Presented in cute paint tube packaging, complete with a twist-off lid, there are eight shades to explore including coral, fuchsia, peach, and mulberry. Puff is a pale pink number, offering a sheer wash of cheek colour that we found to be buildable too.

Ideal if you prefer a natural-looking glow, our tester squeezed a drop out of the tube and blended the fragrance-free gel-cream hybrid onto the skin. We saw a brightening make-up lift, which could be easily made into a bolder layer with extra product. The blush colour lingers for hours on end and the fun tube fits neatly into our make-up bag too.

This brand-new cream blush from make-up legend Pat McGrath’s eponymous brand comes in six colours, including the pretty pink lotus shade which we’ve been wearing. It’s presented in a stick applicator and because of that, the balm-gel formula makes for an ideal lip product too. One slick of the glossy formula offers a beautiful glassy finish, minus any stickiness or greasiness.

Key ingredients include shea butter, squalane, and passionfruit extract, so it’s supremely softening and hydrating. Our tester recently took this beauty staple on holiday and swore by it for lip and cheek radiance. We also love the pink and gold packaging and find this chic product a joy to apply.

Just one slick of this cream blush stick serves up bold cheek colour available in peach, pink and poppy shades, with terracotta nude being our current favourite pick. Our tester appreciated how well the texture perfects that tricky balance between being glossy and staying put, with our cheeks showcasing a soft, velvety finish. The tube packaging is suitably posh too and the stick itself has a signature VB logo stamped on it.

Ingredients include skin-softening blue lotus wax and soothing ginseng extracts, with the highly pigmented product delivering a powerful pop of long-wearing cheek colour. Plus, the formula doesn’t settle into pores and its slimline stick adds extra precision application ease.

A twist-up cream blush stick available in three shades, we particularly like this rosy pink fleur colour. The robust packaging means we’re not afraid to take the cream blusher out and about or chuck it in our bag. Plus, our tester found the creamy cheek colour slides onto the skin quickly and effortlessly, with aloe vera ingredients making it feel soothing.

The pale sugary pink shade accompanies a sheer, glossy finish, creating a glowing, dewy effect. A buildable formula, you can add as little or as much product as you’d prefer, and we find the pink tones work well as a lip tint too.

There are eight shades to choose between when shopping this lip and cheek stick, including pink, coral, mocha and plum, and our current favourite is the earthy tawny nude option. The lightweight formula feels gentle on skin, and we particularly like using it as a quick make-up pick-me-up when our face looks a bit tired. Plus, because of the easy stick applicator, this can be done in a rush.

We notice a demi-matte finish when popping it onto lips and cheeks, with the formula smoothing over creases rather than clinging to them. This is a versatile make-up buy, whether you prefer to apply the blush with fingers or a brush.

Presented in a chic rounded compact, complete with an application mirror and metallic detailing, we instantly appreciated how luxe this cream blusher’s packaging looks. The lightweight creamy formula added a satin effect to our tester’s skin, while the blush texture feels extremely smoothing. There’s no greasiness, just an initial lightly glossy effect that melts into skin and leaves a lingering sweep of silky, cheek colour.

While a few colours are available, we especially like the earthy apricot, for a healthy-looking natural finish. If you favour a blush which delivers pigment smoothly but doesn’t slide about, this is the perfect pick.

Immediately after opening this cream blush pot, our tester noted the bright cheek colour has a similar texture to lipstick. Also available in berry and peach tones, we were impressed that dabbing just a small amount of product created a vibrant, matte pink effect on our tester’s cheeks. Vegan-friendly ingredients include synthetic waxes, silica and mattifying powder, with the Italian-made composition delivering strong pigment and a powdery finish which doesn’t slide off.

The texture blends well, but doesn’t budge, making this a brilliant cream blush should you like smoothing cheek coverage with excellent staying power.

Ideal for easy application, this cream blush comes in a tin complete with its own internal mirror. Plus, the dual-ended stick has a brush tip as well as its main cream blush end, meaning we didn’t need to source a separate make-up tool to use for blending.

The cream blush is a chubby shape reaching our entire cheeks easily, whether we fancied going for this range’s pink, red, earthy, or brighter poppy shade. The latter added a brightening boost to our cheeks, with the colour gliding over skin, and we also found this versatile blush lends itself well to lips and eyelids too.

This lip and cheek balm compact has an integral mirror, which we’ve found helpful for top-ups on the go. It’s a versatile buy, as the product doubles up as both a blusher and lip colour, and the creamy formula glides on without slipping off. Key component hyaluronic acid offers hydration, so is smoothing on any fine lines or dry patches. Meanwhile, additional ingredients like apricot oil, argan oil, castor oil and jojoba oil provide welcome moisture, which we’ve found soothing on parched skin too. There are three shades to sample, and we particularly like the earthy nude au naturelle option. It creates a natural cheek and lip colour, while simultaneously offering a softening skin finish.