ColourPop Coastal Drive Blush Stix Review & Swatches

Coastal Drive

ColourPop Coastal Drive Blush Stix ($8.00 for 0.33 oz.) is a medium, reddish-brown with moderate, warm undertones and a natural, dewier finish. It was moderately emollient, which gave it noticeable slip and made the product more prone to sheering out from its semi-sheer coverage.

It’s designed to be a buildable formula, and it was somewhat buildable; I felt like sheer application was most readily achieved, and a second layer yielded semi-sheer coverage, while a third yielded medium but higher than medium felt like an overapplication of product. The product applied evenly and smoothly to bare skin as well as over base products as it wasn’t prone to lifting them up. It didn’t fully dry down but didn’t feel tacky or slide around during wear, so the dewier finish remained visible throughout wear. This shade lasted well for eight hours before fading visibly on me.

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

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Formula Overview

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Formula Overview

$8.00/0.33 oz. - $24.24 Per Ounce

The formula is supposed to "blend effortlessly" with a "natural, skin-like finish" that can be layered or applied on bare skin. The brand recommends applying directly from the tube for heavier coverage and using a brush to pick up product for less coverage, though the coverage "easily builds colour to your heart's desire." They dry down to a semi-set finish--lightly dewy, definitely "natural, skin-like" in appearance, but not overly tacky or really wet-looking. I haven't found that they migrate or move around much, so the formula is still longer-wearing at seven to nine hours with minimal movement. They have applied well and worn well over foundation thus far, too. They are not transfer-proof but are transfer-resistant; they won't smear around with an inadvertent touch but aren't fully locked down.

The pigmentation varied a bit from shade to shade, but most shades were semi-opaque to fully opaque when applied directly from the tube in one "swipe" motion, though I think mimicking this on cheeks isn't quite as easily done as compared to my arm. I preferred picking up product on my fingertip, patting on the apple of my cheek and diffusing upward and outward, then using a clean fingertip to diffuse and soften the edges as needed. I appreciated that even the deeper hues didn't seem to "sink" into my pores and were as easy to apply and blend out as very light, more my-skin-but-better (literally, my skin!) hues. I would describe the formula was buildable from semi-sheer to medium with semi-opaque coverage possible, but there's enough slip in the formula that it starts to sheer out noticeably even when applied more heavily.

The consistency was lightly emollient, lightweight, and thin with good spreadability and movement; it didn't lift up base products but still worked well over bare skin. I didn't experience it lifting up or creating patchiness over time on top of foundation, even when I set the foundation initially, but I would recommend (same as I would for most cream-based cheek formulas!) to pair with a less-matte foundation for optimal results (the dewy finish plays well with a more skin-like base).

Oh, the caps have the names of the products, but the rest of the tube doesn't, so if you have more than one open, take care in getting the right lid back on!

Browse all of our ColourPop Blush Stix swatches.