I want to tell you a story of how I went to Sephora looking for a very specific item, left with something drastically different, and how this turned into a Clinique Cheek Pop blush review. Can you relate?
Shopping Sephora as a Beauty Expert
You don’t get to spend over 50 years on the planet without turning into a bit of a….well, a know-it-all. It’s an obnoxious quality, but like wrinkles, hot flashes, and errant hairs sprouting from your chin, it comes with the territory.
So when I head to Sephora, I know exactly what I want. My list is in one hand, and my cell phone, filled with screenshots of products spotted on Instagram, is in the other. And I want to be left alone to shop in peace.
Hi, my name is Phyllis Bourne, and I’ve been a beauty blogger, beauty writer, and beauty lover for years. And because of my beauty expertise, I frankly don’t want to be bothered with a sales associate, no matter how helpful.
Usually, I can shake ‘em with a firm but polite “No, thanks” or “Just looking.” But the friendly associate offering her assistance at a location I popped into during a recent trip to NYC wasn’t deterred so easily. Not even my middle-aged lady stink-eye stopped her from sticking to me like glue and babbling away about the virtues of every product I placed in my hand cart.
My initial Sephora shopping list completed, I started checking out the products I’d taken screenshots of – helpful sales associate still in tow. First up was Clinique Cheek Pop blush. I knew it wasn’t what I wanted or needed but I was intrigued and needed to see it up close and personal.
Clinique Cheek Pop Blush Review
Clinique was my go-to brand when I worked my first job after college. You would find me on weekends at the local department store Clinique counter, often leaving with a new product in one of their signature green cass.
However, I haven’t revisited Clinique much in the last couple of decades. I couldn’t tell you why, but this history drew me to the Clinique Cheek Pop blush.
I tested the shade I screenshot from social media, as well as a few more colors from the blush line. I first tested them on the back of my hand; they looked fabulous, but I wasn’t sure. Clinique’s Cheek Pop blush was a powder when I was hoping to finally find the perfect cream blush. My fellow midlifers, you feel me. That cream is kinder to us than a powder.
“I love that blush,” the yappy sales associate said.
My eyes rolled back in my head.
She continued. “It’s a powder that basically turns into a cream on your face.”
Now she had finally said something helpful! Next thing you know, I was sitting in a chair while she tried several colors on my cheeks. This blush indeed turned powderless upon application. Clinique Cheek Pop blush also gave me a natural, youthful flush usually found on girls in their teens.
I ended up purchasing three shades of the Clinique Cheek Pop blush. I also have a new favorite Sephora sales associate when I visit NYC!