Illuminate by Ashley Tisdale Cheek & Lip Tint | Review & Swatches

I was so excited to get my BH Cosmetics order right before I went on vacation because I was able to take some of the products with me to play with them, including the Illuminate by Ashley Tisdale Lip & Cheek Tints ($9 each).  I love cream blushes (especially since I have dry skin!) and I couldn't resist the gorgeous color selection on the Illuminate website (it's a site within the BH Cosmetics website). I also love the fact that these are made in the USA...it's not always easy to find these days, especially with more affordable brands.

So if you want to see what I think of these, keep on reading for my review and swatches! 

Description/Claims:

Add a petal-soft pop of dreamy, creamy color to cheeks and lips with our Cream Cheek and Lip Tint. The dual-purpose product imparts a fresh, youthful flush that looks like the real thing. It goes on sheer and blends beautifully into skin for a hush of blush and builds to a deeper, more dramatic hue if desired. It's the easiest way to glow on the go! Available in six yummy shades -- from apricot to berry -- to flatter a variety of skin tones.

Ingredients: 

Made in USA – Net Wt / Poids Net 5.67 g / 0.20 oz ℮ Ricinus Communis (Castor) Seed Oil, Synthetic Beeswax, Caprylyl Methicone, Octyldodecanol, Microcrystalline Wax / Cera Microcristallina / Cire Microcristalline, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Isononyl Isononanoate, Glyceryl Behenate, C10-18 Triglycerides, Tricaprylin, Tocopheryl Acetate, Ethylhexylglycerin, Caprylyl Glycol, Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea) Butter, Mangifera Indica (Mango) Seed Butter, Simmondsia Chinensis (Jojoba) Seed Oil, Persea Gratissima (Avocado) Oil, Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower) Seed Oil, BHT. May Contain/Peut Contenir [+/-]: Iron Oxides (CI 77491, CI 77492, CI 77499), Manganese Violet (CI 77742), Red 7 Lake (CI 15850), Red 22 Lake (CI 45380), Red 28 Lake (CI 45410), Red 30 Lake (CI 73360), Titanium Dioxide (CI 77891), Yellow 5 Lake (CI 19140) <5818>

Packaging: 

All of the Illuminate products come in beautiful rose gold and white striped boxes with pink accents. They're so beautiful and give more of a high-end vibe...you definitely don't see packaging like this at the drugstore! The Cheek & Lip Tints come in round white compacts with the Illuminate logo on the top of the compact. They don't come with a mirror, but they're see-through, so you can see the shade right away. They also have the shade name on the bottom of the compact.

Formula: 

I'm not always a fan of using a product on both my lips and cheeks...usually, the formula works well for one, but not the other. Typically, a cream blush with a powder finish is too drying for my lips, while a really emollient blush is too greasy/sticky for my cheeks but works well for lips. 

This formula is definitely on the emollient side...it contains shea butter, mango butter, jojoba oil, avocado oil, and sunflower oil so it feels very moisturizing. On the cheeks, it never really feels like it dries down...it doesn't feel sticky but there's definitely a dewiness to it that lasts all day. The entire Illuminate line has a sort of beachy vibe to it, so I feel like these are meant to give an easy, dewy, surfer-girl flush rather than a more matte, made-up look. 

On the lips, the formula feels comfortable but they're not as moisturizing as a lip balm, at least for me. They don't have the thicker feel of a balm...they give more of a thin veil of color that seems to dry down a little better than they do on your cheeks. When you rub your lips together, you don't really feel it that much and it leaves a translucent tint behind that actually lasts for hours.

Shades: 

The first shade that jumped out at me on the website was Cabana. This is a light pinky-nude shade and it looked like it would be perfect for my fair-light skin tone.

Cabana is extremely light and sheer, unfortunately. It's difficult to get it to show up on my skin unless I really build it up. But then when I do that, it starts to feel even more emollient and then my cheeks start feeling a bit greasy. I started out applying these with my fingers, but I found that I was adding too much to my cheeks, so I tried swirling a stippling brush into the compact and then dabbed it on my cheeks first, blending carefully and it seemed to sink into my skin a little bit better since I wasn't adding as much product. 

Here I am wearing Cabana...you can see how sheer and light it is! It gives a barely-there flush of color and I feel like only the lightest skin-tones will be able to wear this one. 

Wearing Illuminate Cheek & Lip Tint in Cabana

Rose is a bright pinky-coral and I had no trouble whatsoever getting this one to show up. It goes on sheer, so the color isn't as intense on your cheeks as it is in the compact, so no worries about clown cheeks!

I really liked this color on me...I'm wearing it here on both my lips and my cheeks. I also should mention that even though this formula is very emollient, it lasted a really long time on my cheeks...pretty much all day! Granted, I do have dry skin so keep that in mind...this formula may slide right off if you're oily. 

Wearing Illuminate Cheek & Lip Tint in Rose

Swatches: 

When swatched on my arm, you can see the full color of these shades. I swirled my finger around in the compact and did one swipe of each. However, once you blend them, they sheer out quite a lot. Rose settles into a really pretty coral-pink flush but Cabana almost disappears.

Rose (left) and Cabana (right)

Here's a close-up:

Rose and Cabana

Here's a side-by-side comparison with Cabana on the left and Rose on the right: 

Overall, there are definitely some pros and cons here. I love that they're affordable and made in the USA and the packaging and color selection is gorgeous. However, I don't think these will be for everyone...especially if you have oily skin, because the silky, emollient texture might feel too greasy.
Since I have dry skin, I don't mind a little dewiness and now that I'm in my late 30's I've found that cream products can give a more youthful effect than powders, which can sometimes settle into pores and lines.

Also, I'm disappointed that Cabana didn't really show up that much, but I love the Rose shade! 

What do you think? Do you tend to reach for products that have multiple uses or do you like using one product for your lips, and another for your cheeks? 

You can purchase the Illuminate by Ashley Tisdale Cheek & Lip Tints at bhcosmetics.com

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