ON OUR MIND
The blush delivering the kind of perfectly undone flush that suggests good genes, not just good makeup.
We are all too familiar with the highly-rated, well-recommended blushes which are tried and tested and have been around for decades. However, there’s a new blush on the block which seems to be appearing in every beauty girl’s GRWM video - the Westman Atelier Baby Cheeks Blush Stick.
Its attributes are: it’s creamy, compact and available at £44 per stick. The blush promises the sort of naturally flushed we’re all trying to achieve, the barely-there but definitely-there makeup.
We’re reviewing the latest beauty saviour in more detail.
Westman Atelier calls Baby Cheeks a multi-use formula for lips and cheeks designed to give a “flushed-from-within pop of colour”. Its selling point is how easy it is to apply with a simple swipe directly to cheekbones, before blending with your fingers for buildable coverage.
The formula also comes with an impressive ingredients line-up of jojoba seed oil, raspberry leaf extract, vitamins C and E, plus Westman Atelier’s signature biomimicry pigment technology. In beauty speak, blush which behaves less like makeup sitting on the skin and instead seamlessly melts into the skin, creating a realistic shadow effect.
Petal, a muted dusty rose shade seems to be garnering the most online attention. Neither overly-pink or subtly beige, the colour gives a middle ground blush tone which looks polished but not too made up.
Baby Cheeks is an exceptionally elegant cream blush. The real talent is that all the shades look believable without any excess shimmer creating the glow, no aggressively wet finish or powdery edges which clearly show where the blush begins and ends.
Petal, in particular, delivers the desired muted, slightly sun-kissed rose colour which makes you look healthier without immediately making you look more made up. The distinction between Baby Cheeks and other blushes is that you’re paying for a product which is very good at looking like you’re wearing nothing at all. Luxury beauty logic at its finest!
For all of the current hype surrounding the product, Baby Cheeks is refreshingly straightforward about what it delivers.
Jojoba Seed Oil gives the stick its creamy texture, allowing the blush pigment to glide easily over the complexion without sticking and pulling at the foundation beneath it. Kaolin Clay helps tame some of the creaminess, absorbing less oil and giving the finish a little more grip. Vitamins C & E are skincare ingredients which help protect the skin against environmental factors, but they are more of a nice-to-have rather than the main reason to buy into the product.
The real reason everyone is obsessing over the blush is its infamous finish. Baby Cheeks masters the art of looking dewy but not greasy, the pigment diffuses rather than sticks and leaves behind a softly lived-in look. It layers well over other products without looking too built up or disturbing makeup underneath. The ingredients are good, and the finished look is even better.
£44 might feel slightly on the pricier side for a blush, however it’s not a product we finish quickly. The formula is designed to be applied sparingly and built gradually, meaning a single stick has the potential to stay in your makeup bag for a long time. If Baby Cheeks becomes your blush best-friend, the one you are constantly reaching for, for a daytime work look, dinner-dates and everything in between then the cost per wear becomes significantly less. However, if it sits in your drawer surrounded by other blushes of very similar tones, no amount of girl maths is going to make it feel worth your while!
There is also the option of the Petite Baby Cheeks at £24 for a smaller 2.5g. Technically poorer value per weight, but a good choice if you’re looking to test the product and see how well it fits into your makeup routine before a full investment. Sometimes the sensible purchase can be the more considered one.
Verdict: Our ruling? Worth It! Baby Cheeks doesn’t reinvent the cream blush, it refines it. Expensive in both look and feel, understated and incredibly easy to wear, it’s the kind of product that earns its place in your makeup bag by consistently becoming what you reach for time and time again.
Westman Atelier Baby Cheeks Blush Stick - £44. Beautifully balanced pigment, an impeccable finish and considered packaging which makes an everyday product feel extra special.
NARS The Multiple £34. The competitor. A cult multitasking blush stick with the same easy-blend appeal as Westman Atelier’s Baby Cheeks.
Rhode Pocket Blush - £25 | Very good, the hype that’s taking over our algorithms.
Refy Brown Mascara - £22 | The softer alternative we should have adopted years ago.
Gisou Lip Oil - £24 | Perhaps you only need one flavoured lip oil, not twelve.
See you next Tuesday.