Canmake Cream Cheek – CL01 Clear Red Heart

In cleaning (and clearing) out my makeup stash I’ve developed a renewed interest in cream blushes.

The ones that have a dewy, moist finish really float my boat. As a person with really dry, naturally matte skin I find that the glossier the finish, the more flattering that blush looks on me because it gives the appearance of healthy, glowing, well moisturized skin.

So far, the Stila Convertible Colors have been the only blushes I’ve come across that have a dewy finish on my skin. The NYX cream blushes were recommended to me as something very dewy so they’re next on my To Do list. I’ve tried Tarte’s cheek stains in the past but I hated them. Too highly scented, really sticky and messy; my tubes would always sweat (didn’t matter if it was cold or hot weather) and the sticky condensation would gather around the top and drip down the side. Yuck.

No cream to powder formulas if I can help it because they tend to accentuate dry skin and/or flakiness. Unfortunately, the majority of drugstore cream blushes are cream to powder. Illamasqua cream blushes had a nice, creamy formula in the pan but on the skin were disappointingly matte.

That brings me to Canmake’s newer Cream Cheek Clear type line of cream blushes. There are three permanent shades and the one I own is CL01 Clear Red Heart, a shimmer-free red. The clear type blushes have a gel formula and transparency that’s different from the regular range of Cream Cheek blushes which contain microshimmer, have a creamier formula and higher opacity.

I was hoping Clear Red Heart would be similar to the Stila cream blush but as it turns out this on my skin this wears like a non-dewy, non-sticky blush stain. It’s not quite what I was looking for in a cream blush but the color is pretty enough that I’m tempted to keep it. I do have a few more cream blushes on their way to me — a red color among them — so I’ll wait and see how that one works out before deciding whether or not to pitch Clear Red Heart.