Melt Cosmetics Polished Cream Blushlight Review & Swatches

Polished

Melt Cosmetics Polished Cream Blushlight Melt Cosmetics Polished Cream Blushlight ($22.00 for 0.14 oz.) is a darker, pinky-coral with moderate, warm undertones and subtle pearl throughout a natural finish. It was richly pigmented where a little went a long way, and with the more emollient texture, it was easier to build up than it was to diffuse and sheer out if one over-applied.

The consistency was creamy, smooth, and emollient with good spreadability and blendability, as it did not look like it settled into my skin nor did it lift up base products when I tested it over foundation. With this shade, I found a brush gave me more even, blended results with less effort (which was how I applied it for actual wear; in the photos, I used fingertips, and I have some post-acne marks that are making it look a bit less even than it was to my eye in person–sorry about the state of my skin!). I felt like fingertips worked well, but it just took a little longer to get the best result. It stayed on well for eight and a half hours before showing signs of fading.

FURTHER READING: Formula Overview for details on general performance and characteristics (like scent).

Top Dupes

View Swatches View All Dupes

ColourPop Invite Only (P, $8.00) is darker (90% similar).
Estee Lauder Wild Sunset (P, $34.00) is more shimmery, lighter, cooler (90% similar).
Tom Ford Beauty Megeve (Blush) (LE, ) is less shimmery, lighter, warmer (90% similar).
Tom Ford Beauty Love Lust (Discontinued) (DC, $60.00) is more shimmery, lighter, cooler (85% similar).
MAC Painted Canyon (LE, $24.00) is less shimmery, darker, cooler (85% similar).
Ciate Matchmaker (P, $26.00) is less shimmery, cooler (85% similar).
ColourPop Holiday (2019) (P, $8.00) is less shimmery, lighter, cooler (85% similar).
Too Faced Cherry Bomb (Blush) (PiP, ) is less shimmery, darker, cooler (85% similar).
NARS Deep Throat (PiP, $30.00) is more shimmery, cooler (85% similar).
ColourPop Drop of a Hat (LE, $8.00) is more shimmery, darker, cooler (85% similar).

View Swatches

Formula Overview

$22.00/0.14 oz. - $157.14 Per Ounce

The product is primarily marketed as a cream blush, but the brand also stated that they can be applied to lips as well with some shades working as cream eyeshadow for a monochromatic look. There was nothing about coverage that I could find, though the brand's swatches--both live and in promotional images--were opaque.

The formula was lightweight, moderately emollient, and slightly gel-like, which helped it spread better over bare skin and over base products. Most shades were not prone to lifting up base products and worked well with both fingertips and brushes for application.

As the formula was more pigmented with most shades ranging from semi-opaque to fully opaque, I found brushes were particularly good at getting a sheerer, more diffused application, especially around the edges. If you want a sheerer effect, I'd recommend using less product and building up more as they were more pigmented than most cream-based blushes.

They dried down to a more transfer-resistant finish, so they did not remain emollient, which helped them last longer on my skin. They could still be blended out once dry, and if I rubbed with a fingertip, product would transfer, but the color didn't lift away if I had to brush a stray eyelash or hair from my face (as examples). They still had a natural sheen on my skin, less than dewy but definitely not matte either!

On average, they lasted eight hours on me with a couple of shades lasting a touch longer. I found the shimmer-less shades to last slightly longer in comparison to the shimmery shades, which were more emollient in the pan as well.

Browse all of our Melt Cosmetics Cream Blushlight swatches.

Ingredients

ISOAMYL LAURATE, ISONONYL ISONONANOATE, POLYGLYCERYL-2 TRIISOSTEARATE, MICA, POLYETHYLENE, OCTYLDODECANOL, SILICA, BEHENYL DIMETHICONE, TRIBEHENIN, DIMETHICONE/VINYL DIMETHICONE CROSSPOLYMER, TALC, DISTEARDIMONIUM HECTORITE, PARFUM / FRAGRANCE, TOCOPHERYL ACETATE, BHT, BENZYL BENZOATE. MAY CONTAIN: TITANIUM DIOXIDE CI 77891, IRON OXIDES CI 77491, IRON OXIDES CI 77499, RED 28 LAKE CI 45410, YELLOW 5 LAKE CI 19140.

Disclaimer: Ingredient lists are as available by the brand (or retailer) at the time of publishing. Please always check product packaging, if it exists, for the ingredient list applicable to the product you're purchasing, or the brand or retailer's website for the most up-to-date ingredient list.