Consider this another edition of “bloggers made me do it”. I’ve been aware of the Clinique Cheek Pops for quite a while, but had never actually purchased one. That embossed flower design was enough to send many, many beauty addicts into a blush buying tailspin, but I held off because I’ve started to come to the conclusion that there isn’t really anything unique in terms of blush shades anymore, so why do I really need another one? Then Jen of Vibrant, Vivacious, Veracious Beauty Blog posted about Cola Pop, and I was sold. (I don’t know what it is about Jen’s posts, but she always seems to find something unique that makes me want to purchase it as well!)

Clinique‘s Cheek Pop blush in Cola Pop ($27 CAD) is a dark, burnt red blush that probably looks frightening to more than half my readers, but to me, it screams amazingness. Obviously you don’t wear blush at full strength, so try not to let the pan shade frighten you.

What I’m loving about Clinique‘s Cheek Pops is that the company seems to have gone from a very dated metallic plastic look (I could never get on board with Clinique because of their packaging, how terrible is that?) to a very modern thick acrylic packaging. The Cheek Pops come encased in a very solid acrylic compact that shows you the colour of the product right out of the gates.

Of course, many of us beauty addicts are suckered in by the beautiful imprint on the product, but I find the imprint is actually functional since it helps my brush to pick up the product from the compact.

Swatched at full strength, I felt like this blush was screaming my name. I mean, look at that dark red! It’s gorgeous! But bear with me, here’s how it looks on the cheeks when blended out appropriately:

See? Way less terrifying. As we approach fall (thank god, I’m so sick of this heat – I will forever be a fall and winter woman at heart), this is the exact kind of colour I want hugging my cheeks.

I love the soft red-pink flush it gives my cheeks. At the risk of sounding basic, it gives that “cold weather” flush that I always want on my cheeks, particularly since I don’t actually flush that nicely at all from the cold!

As with most blushes, I don’t notice any issues with longevity, and this will definitely last the entire work day on me (which is about 10 hours including my commute before I take my makeup off). I’m impressed that Clinique came out with such a gloriously dark shade and it could definitely be built up to be more intense if you have darker skin (as per my swatch!). For once I feel that Cola Pop is a totally unique shade of blush and I’m happy to have added it to my collection!