Pixi Blush and the Dewy Cream Blushes That Sit Beside It

Pixi Blush and the Dewy Cream Blushes That Sit Beside It

Pixi blush started with a makeup artist who wanted color that enhances skin instead of covering it. Here are the On-the-Glow sticks and LiquidGlow serums, plus the glowy creams and dewy liquids I would put next to them.

In 1999 Petra Strand opened a small Pixi boutique in Soho, London. She was a working makeup artist and a mother of four who could not find products that were fast, kind to skin and actually worked, so she made her own. Her line on it, "enhance, never mask, your natural beauty," is still on the brand's site, and it explains why Pixi blush looks the way it does: sheer, skin-first and a little dewy.

The On-the-Glow Blush is a tinted cream stick for cheeks and lips. Per the brand's description, it is skincare-infused, with aloe vera, fruit extracts and ginseng, and it blends with fingertips, a brush or a sponge. Cassis and Chantilly are both dewy, and Cheek Tone and Juicy sit in the same range. Pixi Sheer Cheek Gel in Flushed is another way in, a sheer gel for a light touch.

Then there is LiquidGlow. Pixi describes it as a weightless serum blush and lip tint that goes from a sheer tint to a fresh, dewy flush. Summer, Peony and Fresh are the shades here. The formula is built to be buildable and quick.

A quick test: swipe a stick on the back of your hand, press with a fingertip, and see whether it reads sheer. If it does, it will look like skin on your cheeks.

Magazine page collage for Pixi Blush and the Dewy Cream Blushes That Sit Beside It, featuring Pixi, Tom Ford, Bobbi Brown and Pat McGrath Labs
Pixi Blush

Pixi blush

Glowy cream sticks and balms

Pixi sits in a crowd of glowy creams, and this grid is the crowd I like best. Pat McGrath Labs Divine Cream Blush in Peach Lotus is a soft peach coral stick with a radiant finish, made with shea butter, squalane and passion fruit extract. Dolce&Gabbana Cherry Glaze Bar in Whymsical Berry is a pop berry stick that is waterproof and sweatproof, with Italian cherry oil. Dior Rosy Glow Blush Stick in Toffee is a pearlescent nude beige with a formula that adapts to skin's pH and offers up to 12 hours of hydration and wear. LYS Beauty Higher Standard in Unfazed is a berry plum stick with medium coverage. Iris&Romeo Sunlight is a radiant bronze glow balm for lips and cheeks that starts as a sheer flush.

Kissed By The Sun in Play Time, from the London brand, is a multi-use cheek glow, and that is all I can say from the name. Bobbi Brown Skin Enhancer is a multi stick that works as blush, bronzer and highlighter. Tom Ford Soleil Sunkissed Liquid Cream Blush in Mile High is a soft berry that dries to a cloud-like soft matte.

Pairing tip: use a cream stick on bare skin, press with fingertips, and put powder only where you get shiny.

What I would skip: Mile High over a very dewy base if you want the glow to stay. It is soft matte, so it changes the finish.

Glowy cream blushes

Dewy liquids like LiquidGlow

LiquidGlow has plenty of liquid cousins, and these are the dewy ones. Saie Dew Blush in Lady is a nude mauve liquid cream with a chunky doe-foot applicator, dabbed on one to two dots per cheek. Armani Beauty Cheek Tint in Starlit Peach is a warm tangerine pink that melts in and lasts up to 12 hours. ciele blush & PROTECT in Kirsty is a warm nude mineral liquid with SPF 50+, and the brand calls it acne safe. REFY Water Blush in Acai is a deep cool berry in a cushion compact, sheer and water-based.

Yves Saint Laurent Make Me Blush in Fuchsia Fling is a bright pink liquid that dries like a powder, with one, two or three dots to control the intensity. Patrick Ta Liquid Transition in Quite Confident is a vibrant coral that bridges the under-eyes and cheeks. Fenty Beauty Shake N' Play in Quit Wine'in is a plum wine liquid that is waterproof and transfer-proof for up to 12 hours. MAC Strobe Beam Liquid Blush is an iridescent, water based gel blush that is sheer and buildable.

How to wear it: put one dot on each cheek and blend before you add a second.

What I would skip: blending a fast-setting liquid with a brush over a wet base. Use your fingers, quickly, and move on.

Dewy liquid blushes like LiquidGlow

Choosing your glow

To choose, start with how much shine you like. If you want a sheer flush that looks like skin, pick the Pixi On-the-Glow sticks or the LiquidGlow serums. If you want more color with the same softness, a cream stick from grid two is the next step. If you want the most control, choose a dewy liquid and build it one dot at a time. Keep the base light, blend with fingertips, and put the same tint on your lips so the whole face matches. That is all this look asks of you.