The best cream blushes add a flush of soft-focused colour to your cheeks. From Hailey Bieber’s signature sun-kissed glow to Sabrina Carpenter’s dewy pink look, this make-up staple is all about achieving a natural glow.
While powder blush will always be a popular choice, a cream blush is a cheek-brightening best friend if your skin is prone to dryness or wary of products that might cling to fine lines.
Whether you seek a lightweight or rich consistency, the beauty of these blendable buys is that they’re easy to layer and build, so the exact amount of cheek coverage can be tailored to your preference. They can be applied with a brush or fingertips, and the creamy texture serves up a smoothing splash of colour, which may either be matte or dewy. Plus, these gel, liquid or balm-like formulas are easy to dab on throughout the day for a colourful boost.
With all that in mind, I’ve been testing the best cream blushers to buy, in pink, coral, neutral and warm tones. From subtle shades to long-wearing options, read on to see my full tried and tested findings.
How I tested
When testing cream blushers, I considered the following criteria:
Why you can trust IndyBest reviews
Helen Wilson-Beevers is a beauty expert and has written The Independent’s guides to the best eye creams, the best tinted moisturisers and the best moisturisers for dry skin. She knows what to look out for when testing the best cream blushes and what to avoid.
The best cream blushes for 2025 are:
Merit flush balm cheek colour, Beverly Hills
Best: Overall
Size: 9g
Shades: Nine
Why we love it
- Easy application
- Shade range
- Buildable
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.
Buy now £32.00, Meritbeauty.com
Illamasqua colour veil, tonic
Best: Budget cream blush
Size: Not specified
Shades: Six
Why we love it
- Lightweight
- Compact size
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.
Buy now £8.00, Amazon.co.uk
Glossier cloud paint, puff
Best: For a sheer finish
Size: 10ml
Shades: Nine
Why we love it
- Buildable
- Lovely packaging
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.
Buy now £22.00, Glossier.com
Pat McGrath Labs divine blush: legendary glow colour balm, peach lotus
Best: For a glassy effect
Size: 7g
Shades : Six
Why we love it
- Handy stick applicator
- Nourishing ingredients
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.
Buy now £27.00, Asos.com
Victoria Beckham Beauty cheeky posh cream blush stick, playground
Best: Luxe cream blush
Size: 5g
Shades: Seven
Why we love it
- Luxe packaging
- Doesn't settle into pores
Take note
- Expensive
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.
Buy now £39.00, Victoriabeckhambeauty.com
Pixi Beauty on-the-glow blush, fleur
Best: Cream blush stick
Size: 19g
Shades: Three
Why we love it
- Skin-nourishing ingredients
- Can use on lips too
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.
Buy now £18.00, Amazon.co.uk
Jones Road lip and cheek stick, tawny nude
Best: Multi-tasking cream blush
Size: 8.4g
Shade: Eight
Why we love it
- Lightweight formula
- Smooths creases
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.
Buy now £36.00, Jonesroadbeauty.com
Rare Beauty stay vulnerable melting blush, apricot
Best: For satin effect
Size: Not specified
Shades: Five
Why we love it
- Application mirror
- Rich pigment
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.
Buy now £23.00, Spacenk.com
Beauty Pie supercheek cream blush, universal pink
Best: For a matte look
Size: 5g
Shades: Eight
Why we love it
- Vegan-friendly ingredients
- Impressive staying power
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.
Buy now £30.01, Beautypie.com
Nudestix nudies bloom, poppy girl
Best: For an integral applicator
Size: 7g
Shades: Seven
Why we love it
- Brush tip applicator
- Can use on lips and eyelids too
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.
Buy now £24.01, Johnlewis.com
Mii Cosmetics colour wonder lip and cheek balm, au naturelle
Best: Cream blush compact
Size: 3.2g
Shades: Three
Why we love it
- Skin-friendly ingredients
- Staying power is great
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.
Buy now £23.50, Amazon.co.uk
Which are the best cream blushes?
Our best overall buy is Merit’s flush balm cheek colour for delivering a bold pop of dewy cheek colour, with a wide shade selection. Meanwhile, if you favour a stick applicator, Pat McGrath Labs’ divine blush: legendary glow colour balm offers lip and cheek radiance and a gorgeous glassy finish. Finally, for a natural-looking flush, we also love Glossier’s cloud paint.
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