Besides mascara, blush is my other beauty must-have. Even if I don’t have time to do my 5 minute face, I always find time to throw on some mascara and a quick swipe of blush. Blush is a must because it instantly brightens your face.

For many years, I’ve been using the same Estée Lauder powder blush. A couple years ago, my friend introduced me to Tarte’s cheek stain and since then, I’ve started to dabble with cream blushes too. Even with all these options, I find myself often reaching for my old standby powder blush. It is simple to apply, adds subtle color for daytime, and gives me a matte finish, which I prefer since I tend to get shiny early in the day.

Even though I love my old standbys, I went to Sephora to do powder blush reviews of six different popular powder blushes. My goal was to try out some blushes I hadn’t previously used and compare them to each other, to see if there was a better powder blush than what I had been using.

For each of the power blush reviews, I included: the number of color options, the price, and then ratings from 1 to 10 (10 being best) for four different categories: color choices, price, container and texture, and finish/look. I ranked them in order from my favorite to my least favorite, with a bit of description about each. I hope you find the powder blush reviews helpful. I’d also love to hear about your favorite powder blushes, so leave me a comment!

Powder Blush Reviews

Rankings are based on a 10 point scale and reviews are completely my own based on testing each product.

Nars Blush
Colors: 27 colors
Price: $30

Color Choices: 10
Price: 7
Container and Texture: 9
Finish/Look: 9
Overall: 9 (1^st Place in my book)

The thing I liked best about Nars blushes was the broad choice of colors. They have 27 different colors. I like that some of them are matte and some have shimmer. Their colors are very vibrant, but the colors can be toned down, using a big fluffy brush, if you aren’t a fan of too bright. I chose the color “Mata Hari”, which had a berry tone to it. The powder had a nice velvety texture and went on smoothly. I like that Nars blush gives you the option of bright color, should you want a stronger cheek, but can easily be toned down. Overall, Nars powder blush was my favorite.

Tarte Amazonian Clay 12-Hour Blush
Colors: 17 colors
Price: $26

Color Choices: 8
Price: 7
Container and Texture: 9
Finish/Look: 8
Overall: 8 (2^nd Place in my book)

Tarte offers a wide range of colors at 17 to choose from. I used the color “natural beauty.” I really liked the powder finish of this blush. It was velvety and smooth. It looked natural, but the color could be more vibrant if you want to build up the color. I liked that some of the blushes had glitter/sparkle and others didn’t. The containers are also really cute and would be fun to carry in your purse. This was a close second place, runner-up to Nars.

Estée Lauder
Colors: 16
Price: $30

Color Choices: 8
Price: 7
Container and Texture: 8
Finish/Look: 8
Overall: 8 (3^rd Place in my book)

With 16 color choices, Estée Lauder offers a lot of choices. I chose the “pink kiss” color. I’ve been using Estée Lauder powder blush for years because I think it is a great every-day, natural-looking blush. It is simple and has a nice smooth texture. This is my go-to blush for subtle, everyday use. The color options are broad enough to meet most people’s needs and still looks very natural. The price is a little high, but powder blush lasts a really long time. Although Estée Lauder ranked third for me, I still think they offer great everyday wear blushes. If you want more vibrancy and sparkle, see Nars or Tarte.

Laura Mercier Second Skin Cheek Colour
Colors: 10 colors
Price: $26

Color Choices: 6
Price: 7
Container and Texture: 5
Finish/Look: 6
Overall: 6 (4^th Place in my book)

Although Laura Mercier offered 10 colors, I didn’t really like the color choices. I chose the “violet orchid” and found it to be very subtle. I didn’t really like the texture or the finish of this powder. It didn’t feel as natural to me as some of the other powders and didn’t feel as smooth. The finish is very matte. If you like light colored blushes, this one would be OK, but I wouldn’t recommend it as anything special.

Clinique Blushing Blush Powder Blush
Colors: 6 colors
Price: $21

Color Choices: 5
Price: 9
Container and Texture: 6
Finish/Look: 5
Overall: 6 (5^th Place in my book)

The best part about this blush is that it includes a brush for easy application. I found the colors to be pretty dull. I used the “smoldering plum” color and even though it was a darker color, it looked very light on my cheeks. I was underwhelmed with the color and didn’t think this blush felt special at all. It would be fine for an every day blush if you like a very subtle blush — but then I would suggest Estée Lauder’s for subtle everyday wear over Clinique’s any day.

Stila Custom Color Blush
Colors: 2
Price: $20

Color Choices: 1
Price: 9
Container and Texture: 8
Finish/Look: 1
Overall: 5 (6^th Place in my book)

This was by far my least favorite powder blush. The two “self adjusting” colors did not work for me. The pink was way too bright and the coral just looked too orange and unnatural. Both colors were very unnatural looking on my skin. The texture was decent, but the colors were so strange that I knew immediately this wasn’t right for me. I like the concept of two colors that should work for everyone, but it was a fail on my olive skin. Perhaps this would work on people without olive skin tones.

With so many powder blushes to choose from, its often difficult to figure out which one is best. There is no right answer when it comes to choosing makeup. My suggestion is that you head to your local Sephora, Ulta, or department stores that carry makeup. Most of these retailers allow you to test out their products or will have staff available to help you find your right shade. Testing out makeup is the best way to figure out what works best for you.

I hope my powder blush reviews are helpful and I’d love to hear which powder blushes you love best.