Rare Beauty Joy Soft Pinch Liquid Blush Review & Swatches

Joy

Rare Beauty Joy Soft Pinch Liquid Blush ($20.00 for 0.25 oz.) is a brighter, medium-dark coral-orange with strong, warm undertones paired with a lightly dewy finish. It was intensely pigmented where a little went a long way; I’d recommend wiping off excess along the opening of the tube or else dab lightly to get one or two dots of color per cheek. I also had good luck putting product on the back of my hand and picking up with a synthetic brush to apply it to my cheeks.

The texture was lightweight, airy, and felt like a more emollient serum with a lot of glide but didn’t feel as “wet” as traditional liquid blush would. I was able to pat and press the product onto my skin and gently spread and diffuse the color over my cheeks using my fingertip or a synthetic brush. There was more playtime with the dewy finish, which ensured I could apply and blend out without worrying it would lift up my base products, and it worked just as well over bare skin. It lasted nicely for nine hours before fading visibly.

FURTHER READING: Formula Overview for details on general performance and characteristics (like scent).

Top Dupes

View Swatches View All Dupes

Flower Beauty Melon (P, $9.99) is cooler (85% similar).
Kosas Velvet Melon (High Intensity) (Blush) (PiP, ) is more shimmery, lighter, cooler (90% similar).
MAC Tomato (LE, ) is more shimmery, warmer (90% similar).
Colour Pop Under Pressure (P, $8.00) is lighter, warmer (90% similar).
Tom Ford Beauty Soleil Neige (Blush) (LE, ) is lighter, cooler (90% similar).
Colour Pop Totes (P, $8.00) is more shimmery, more muted, cooler (90% similar).
Too Faced Ginger Peach (P, $30.00) is more shimmery, less glossy (90% similar).
MAC Groovy (LE, $30.00) is more shimmery (85% similar).
Patrick Ta Do We Know Her (Crème) (PiP, ) is more shimmery, lighter, cooler (80% similar).

View Swatches

Formula Overview

$20.00/0.25 oz. - $80.00 Per Ounce

The blush is supposed to have "long-lasting color pigments" that last "all-day" where "a little goes a long way." That being said, they also say it "blends and builds beautifully," though when one looks at the "how to" instructions, I could see that being achievable as they actually say to remove excess and then use one or two dots of product on each cheek. The line-up has includes four shades in a true, flat matte finish and four shades in a lightly, dewy finish.

Like a lot of the liquid products in the brand's range, they have a lot more slip and feel more serum-like, but a little did go a long way with respect to pigmentation. First and foremost, to control application, I would recommend dotting (lightly!) once or twice per cheek but I would work one cheek at a time, especially with the matte finish. I also felt using a sponge or brush worked well for diffusing and spreading about the blush better than fingertips when working over a base as fingertips seemed to leave slight imprints and seemed more prone to lifting up product.

When in doubt, use the least amount possible! I liked dabbing a bit on the back of my hand and using a fluffy, duo-fiber brush to apply to cheeks, which gave me a better diffusion with less chance of lifting up base product. This method worked best with the dewier finish blushes as there was enough playtime, but the matte blushes dried down faster and I had to use more product to keep it malleable on the back of my hand.

They wore between eight and nine hours on me before showing signs of fading. Though I haven't been able to find a clip I can reference specifically to it, I've had multiple readers state that the brand owner (Selena Gomez) has mentioned that the packaging was designed to be easier to open. I found that to be true of the flattened, knob-like tops found on the liquid blushes, as it took little pressure to twist open.

Browse all of our Rare Beauty Soft Pinch Liquid Blush swatches.

Ingredients

Hydrogenated Polyisobutene, Hydrogenated Poly(C6-14 Olefin), Mica, Octyldodecanol, Ethylene/Propylene/Styrene Copolymer, Trimethylsiloxysilicate, Isododecane, 1,2-Hexanediol, Disteardimonium Hectorite, Sorbitan Sesquioleate, Propylene Carbonate, Triethoxycaprylylsilane, Aluminum Hydroxide, Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower) Seed Oil, Gardenia Florida Fruit Extract, Nelumbo Nucifera (Sacred Lotus) Flower Extract, Nymphaea Odorata Root Extract. [+/- May Contain/Peut Contenir: Iron Oxides (CI 77491), Red 7 Lake (CI 15850), Yellow 6 Lake (CI 15985), Titanium Dioxide (CI 77891), Yellow 5 Lake (CI 19140), Red 28 Lake (CI 45410)].