Are you looking for a good cream blush? Then look no further, because Merit has their Flush Balms and these are pretty. For years, these were hard to get though, but if there is one product by Merit that I think defines the brand are these cute little domed cream blushes. I picked up the shade Archival when I was in London, so let’s test it out and give it a review.
When I finally spotted Merit in store, I was over the moon. I had heard they had become available online through Sephora UK, but I had this hunch that that might mean they are also available in store and they were! The Flush Balm was the only product that truly stood out to me from the line, so I decided to try that out first. With 12 shades available that are all warm toned or super bright, I ended up going for Archival: a warm tone mauve that looked beautiful in a swatch.
Review: Merit Flush Balm Cream Blush in Archival
So I am not sure when this will come to mainland Europe, but as of late, once a brand becomes available in the UK, a few months later it comes to EU Sephora. At least that has happened to Hauslabs, so I have good hope that this will happen to Merit too. If not, you can order online if you aren’t traveling to a UK Sephora any time soon. The Flush Balm isn’t cheap: at €30 is quite expensive for how much product you get.
What does this have to offer?
The Flush Balm is a cream blush. It comes with 9 grams of product according to the packaging, but it feels like a lot less. Why? Because this formula is very sheer and it takes building up for it to fully show up. However, it has a glowy finish, is easy to apply and pretty much fool proof. So if you struggle applying cream blushes, this may be for you, because you can just not overdo this one. That said, I have fair skin and I need a few passes for this to show up, so depending on the depth of you skin tone and the shade you get, you may go through this quickly as you use quite a lot of product every time.
What does this look like in a swatch?
It was difficult getting a clear picture of the swatch. The sheer texture means it barely shows up. Building it up is done easily and it still is easy to blend. This doesn’t really dry down, so if you have oily skin you may not love this. I feel this stays pliable throughout the day, which can be a downside if you experience blushes disappearing on you quickly. On me it lasts all day, but I have more of a dry skin type. Archival is a warm mauve, but on my cheeks it pulls much more pink and cool toned.
What does this look like on the cheeks?
With the Merit Flush Balm I really had to get used to the application method. This ended up being best applied straight from the packaging, which is not my favorite way as it isn’t the most hygienic. You just dot this onto your cheeks and blend it with fingers. It sheers out beautifully, but it can sometimes be a bit too sheer. I am not sure what this will look like if you have much deeper skin than mine. Blended out, I feel it loses a lot of warmth and it looks more pink once the rest of my makeup is done. That may be something to bear in mind when purchasing these.
Should you buy the Merit Flush Balm?
This is a beautiful cream blush, but the Merit Flush Balm is a tad expensive for what it is. What mostly disappointed me in the Merit range overall was how warm toned the shade selection was in all the products. Everything was so yellow and brown! Not a cool tone is sight, which is why I probably won’t invest in more Merit any time soon, but it was fun trying out this blush. It ticks a lot of boxes: it is easy to use, has a beautiful texture and on my dry skin it lasts all day. The downsides are the availability, price point and the fact that you need 4 – 5 layers, even with fair skin, to get a noticeably blushed effect on the cheeks.
Buy the Merit Flush Balm here *.
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