How To DIY Cream Blush From Powder - Red Apple Lipstick Blog (2024)

Those of us with dry, dehydrated or combination skin know that sometimes a powder based product doesn’t always work the best. Powdered blush and foundation can sometimes enhance dry patches. If you’ve ever looked in the mirror at the end of the day and have noticed how dry and cracked your skin looks you know what I mean. That tight skin feeling is super uncomfortable too.

Sometimes I can use powder, and other times it doesn’t do the trick for me. I used to mix loose powder foundation with my moisturizer all the time but eventually found a serum foundation that I love. Recently, I was thinking about blush. I honestly do love our blushes. The powder is lightweight and super fine, so it blends into the skin easily giving a very natural look to your complexion. However, thinking about achieving that dewy summer skin look got me thinking about my powder plus moisturizer past and wondering if it would work with the blush too.

Taking to social media, I asked if you would be interested in this makeup experiment and what came back was a resounding yes. I’ve done the testing with the blush in Gotta Glow, and now I can share the results with you. I’ll also share exactly how you can turn your powder blush into a cream.

TEST #1: Water

First, just for a baseline, I mixed blush with water. I used a facial mist that is water-based instead of tap water. I had an inkling that this would not work before doing the test, but I wanted to give a try just in case. The result is a dry powder. Water evaporates, so this is not a surprise, but what I didn’t expect was for the blush to be even dryer than the pan blush itself. Water mixed with blush does not create a desirable effect. I didn’t apply it to my skin and I likely wouldn’t unless maybe I wanted to use it as an eyeshadow, but even still I’d be more likely to use the pan itself without water.

TEST #2: Facial Oil

The second test is blush with a facial oil. The powdered blush mixes easily with the oil and turns into more of a liquid serum consistency. The oil enriches the color the most out of all the mixtures. The vibrant color made me nervous at first, but similar to the powder blush, you only need to apply a minimal amount. It blends so easily into the skin, giving a glowy flush of color to the cheeks and even though the color looks dark, it applies softly. For me, it does not feel oily or greasy. It doesn’t feel like anything at all. Now, if you were to use say coconut oil, it might feel heavier so I would recommend using a lightweight oil that is for your face.

TEST #3: Moisturizer

Finally, the blend that jump-started this whole idea, moisturizer, and blush. Mixing the blush with moisturizer takes a little more work as it doesn’t melt into the moisturizer as it does with oil. I thought I would get a creamy consistency, and I did, but it feels more whipped and airy similar to a mousse. This mixture is still relatively easy to blend into the skin. You have to work a little quicker with the blush and moisturizer combination, but this could depend on what type of moisturizer you use. I did notice that the color was slightly darker by a hair. My theory about this is that the oil blends into the skin while the moisturizer blends but sits a bit more on top of the skin, making the color appear slightly more.

How To Make A Cream Blush:

1. Using a clean makeup spatula or utensil scrape roughly a dime size amount of blush onto the back of your hand or a plate
2. If using an oil base start by adding one drop to the loose powder and then add one or two more and mix until you get a glossy liquid consistency and vibrant color
3. If using a moisturizer, the ratio of powder to cream should be roughly the same to a little less moisturizer. You may need to work the mixture together a little bit more than the oil and the result should be a cream or mousse constancy with the color being softer than the oil

How To Blend And Apply Your Cream Or Oil Based Blush:

There are a couple of ways you can apply your cream or oil blush. Either way, you’ll want to use a small amount first. You can always add more.

Start by dabbing a dot or two to the apples of your cheeks. I start two fingers width away from my nose. Then either with a brush or a makeup sponge in a dabbing motion blend the color to your temples. Depending on your skin type, if you use the brush, you could also try light circular motions back to your temples. Keep blending until the color is evenly applied. Having dry skin, I prefer a makeup sponge and dabbing or stippling because I’ve found that brushes and sweeping or swirling motions tend to enhance dry patches and can end up streaking if not done correctly. I encourage you to try both and see what works best for you.

This experiment turned out beautiful, and I can’t wait to try it with the other blush colors, Dolly is calling my name, and I’m also interested in trying it with the Sundrop Bronzer as well. I highly recommend trying this, especially if you tend to have dryer skin. When you do try this, I’d love to hear how it went. Leave a comment below and better yet feel free to share a picture as well.

Cheers to glowy skin! – To watch a video version go here.