I Have Mixed Emotions About the CK One Color Cream + Powder Blush Duo in Happiness

I will never be able to hear the words, “Calvin Klein,” without immediately picturing Michael J. Fox’s purple underwear in Back to the Future, despite millions of dollars in marketing and hundreds of products released over more than four decades! Now that movie? That movie was happiness. 🙂

But not today — not according to CK One Color. Today, Happiness is a $25 blush duo, one of five in the new CK One Color makeup line.

The CK One Color Cream + Powder Blush Duo in Happiness pairs a hard-packed powder blush together with a softer cream blush. On my NC42 skin, the powder appears matte and peachy pink, while the cream looks like a peachy beige.

I think both are pretty — very pretty, in fact — but I’m still having a hard time falling in love with these colors… Hard, because that’s exactly how these colors have been to use (hard).

I usually like soft powder blushes, but this one here feels very hard. Like bedrock! It’s one of those powders that looks super sheer in swatches, but a little more pigmented when applied with a blush brush. Even using a brush, though, I think it’s still pretty sheer, and I find myself having to apply at least five layers to reach a level of pigment I’m happy with on my cheeks.

As for the cream half of the duo, it has a dry, silky, silicone-like texture that reminds me of solid balm primers like Benefit’s Dr. Feelgood. I like how it scoots across my cheeks, but I wish it stuck around a little longer, especially when I wear it by itself.

Worn alone, the cream side starts looking patchy on my skin after about three hours. Even so, that’s not my biggest concern about the product. That honor goes to the pores on my cheeks, which look BIG when I wear this. We’re talkin’ HUGE, as in super-sized.

Normally, I don’t feel like the pores on my cheeks are particularly large, but they certainly seem larger to me when I wear the cream half of Happiness. Just something to consider.

CK One says you can wear the cream and powder products separately or together, by layering the powder blush on top of the cream.

I get the best results when I layer them together, with the cream blush appearing less patchy, and the powder blush appearing a bit more pigmented and intense.

The wear time also improves. When I wear them together, I get about five hours, tops.

Powder blush on left and cream blush on right

I like happiness. I’m actually a big fan. 🙂 But not even a great name completely saves this particular duo. I give it points for sleek, modern packaging (the swivel top’s a nice touch), and I like how naturally radiant it looks on my cheeks when I layer the two products together, but still — $25 is enough to expect better wear time and the flexibility to be able to wear the two sides individually, while still getting good results.

PRICE: $25 (one of five available duos)
AVAILABILITY: Available now at Ulta stores and also online
MAKEUP AND BEAUTY BLOG RATING: B-

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen