I love a lot of makeup, but until four months ago, I absolutely hated blush.
Although I lusted after that frostbitten flush I saw on my friends, I’d tried dozens of blushes that looked muddy and dull, with a powdery finish that highlighted the texture of my cheeks. Whenever I did find a formula that seemed okay, I wound up fighting against too-cool tones that left me with a garish, neon appearance, rather than a gentle glow.
So when I signed up to test blushes for our guide, I expected to be a harsh critic (or even a hater). That didn’t last long.
I’ve worn our top-pick cream blush, the Color Fuse Glassy Blush Balm Stick from Lady Gaga’s Haus Labs, almost every single day for the past four months. And it has finally broken the blush curse, convincing me to add color to my makeup repertoire after decades of my sticking to a routine with just foundation, concealer, and bronzer.
This creamy, blendable balm works as a lipstick and blush, too.
The first time I opened this blush stick, in a brownish-maroon-peach shade called Glassy Cinnamon, I stamped a dot straight onto my cheek, and I was immediately impressed by how it felt. The balm quickly melted into a creamy, buttery texture when it touched my warm skin.
I then dabbed it in with my fingers, and after just a few taps, I had created a fresh-looking glow that made me look like I’d actually gotten enough sleep the night before. The color on my cheeks was much less intense than the pigment in the stick, but there was enough color that I was unmistakably wearing makeup. Plus, the velvety texture sat perfectly on my dry, textured skin.
And instead of immediate panic and the urge to search for a makeup-remover wipe, I felt a sense of intrigue. Instead of the traditional rosy flush, the Glassy Cinnamon hue gave my medium-toned skin a bronzed blush — a perfect fit for my skin tone rather than a foil to it.
It’s easy to layer more product on the cheeks and lips for a higher-coverage look (left) or to tap on just a tiny bit for a more natural look (right). Neha Tandon/NYT Wirecutter
That easy application is why makeup artists Kanwal Batool and Ashleigh Ciucci recommend this blush stick for beginners. The blush is forgiving yet buildable, and it starts light but doesn’t stray from where you put it. You can apply it directly to your cheeks, as I did, or, if you’re looking for more control, you can put some on the back of your hand like you would put oil paint on a palette and then use your fingers to tap it in with more precision. I’m not especially fussy, so I prefer swiping one streak on each of my cheeks and then a dot on my nose before blending it in.
Both makeup artists also like this blush because of the shade range — and specifically, its use of peach. “Most makeup brands have one or two peachy blush shades, where five out of 11 of Haus Labs’ blushes are peach-toned,” says Ciucci. Peach has a unique mix of cool and warm undertones, which makes it complementary across many skin tones. This universality extends across the shade range, from Glassy Hibiscus (a lighter option that looks highlighter-adjacent on my skin tone) to the Glassy Cinnamon and Cayenne shades, which are well suited for deeper skin tones.
You can buff out the highly pigmented blush for a natural look or layer it for a more done-up one. Neha Tandon/NYT Wirecutter
Unfortunately, many good things come at a price, and this blush is no exception. At nearly $35 for a tube roughly the size of my middle finger, it’s tied with Lancôme’s Subtil Powder Blush for the most expensive blush we recommend, with the others being $25 and under. But for me a little goes a long way: I expect this tube to last me at least a year, as I’ve used it several days a week since October and have yet to twist the tube up once. Plus, it doubles as a soft and comfortable tinted lip balm, though it doesn’t last quite as long on my lips as on my cheeks.
After four months of use, I haven’t had to twist the tube up once (left). There’s still plenty of product left (right). Neha Tandon/Wirecutter
I’ve worn this blush everywhere, from a casual lunch date to a formal wedding. It’s blended gracefully on top of sunscreen and moisturizer, it’s lasted for 14 hours at a time, and it’s always given me a silky finish, even in the bone-dry depths of winter.
I have no Gaga-adjacent talent to display on stage anytime soon, but consider this my metaphorical platform upon which I sing the praises of this balm. As a reformed cynic and former blush fearmonger, I’m officially a convert.
This article was edited by Hannah Rimm and Maxine Builder.