Review: Sally Hansen Natural Beauty Sheerest Cream Blush

While shopping the CVS beauty clearance sale, I stumbled upon Sally Hansen's cream blush in Rosy. I'd been looking for a cream blush, and I figured the price on this shade ($3.75) was just right for me to test the brand out. Pardon the picture, as it's quite obvious I tested my blush out before I held the product photo shoot. I just couldn't wait.

Of the clearance colors this was the lightest one, however, they do make a shade that is lighter than this one, it's called Bloom. It's a paler pink, which I think may have worked a little better on my skin, since I'm impossibly pale right now. I'm still glad I got this shade, because the color is pretty easy to work with, as long as I'm not heavy handed. Below is a swatch of what the shade looks like if I just swab it on without blending. As you can see, the color is certainly pigmented and would be a bit too dark if I just swiped it on with my finger and didn't blend. I'm not sure I'd call this sheer at all. There is quite a lot of color pay off.

Now lets get to the review.

When I first tried this product out, I wasn't floored. The pigmentation was great, but the cream liner felt a little dry to me. Applied with the fingers, I found it a little tricky to blend out because it wasn't super creamy. The only other cream blushes I've used regularly have been Maybelline's Dream Mousse blushes, which are definitely a different consistency. I've also sampled MAC cream blushes (in the store). I found the Sally Hansen cream blush much drier than MAC. It's nothing like the Maybelline mousse, but I didn't really expect it to be.

That being said, I did figure out how to best use this blush so that it would apply and blend evenly, and it's quickly becoming my go-to blush. Rather than applying it with my finger, which picks up too much color for me, I use a stippling brush to apply it. This way, I can build up the color as I want, and it gives me a lovely rosy glow, appropriate, considering the hue's name. The stippling brush picks up less product and blends the it out beautifully. When I use this application method, the blush looks dewey and is definitely sheerer, making it look much more natural.

I really like the packaging for this blush. It's much better than the packaging for Maybelline's Dream Mousse blush, which is more of a deep pot. Sally Hansen's Natural Beauty cream blush, which by the way is from Carmindy's product line (you know, Carmindy from What Not to Wear) comes in a compact, which makes it much easier to use with both a brush or your fingers, as you prefer to use it. The plastic is also quite sturdy.

I like to wear the cream blush underneath powder blush to give my blush more lasting power throughout the day. I can't speak to the blush's lasting power all on its own. However, I find that blush tends to fade throughout the day and the best combination for me has been to combine a cream blush with a powder blush on top to set it in place. I don't like to have super bright cheeks, so this helps keep the flush going all day without having to over apply to counteract the effects of fading. That's just my two cents.

The Sally Hansen Natural Beauty Sheerest cream blushes retail for approximately $10.99 at CVS, which is just a tad pricey (though still cheaper than MAC). However, you can always use coupons to offset the price, or like me, wait until they are on sale, or better yet, clearance.

Have you tried this product before? What were your thoughts? Are there other drugstore cream blushes that you love? Please share, I'm always interested to try out new makeup!