Soap & Glory Cheekmate

Being a fan of Soap & Glory's bodycare line, I was elated when they launched a full makeup range earlier this year. It did not make its way to Sephora Singapore this year so I had my husband pick up a few items from Boots in London. Cheekmate, a cherry red cheek and lip stain, was top of my shopping list.

Like their bodycare line, Soap & Glory's makeup line is very affordably priced with fun concepts and great product design with their trademark sense of humor. Cheekmate retails officially at just £8, but my husband actually paid less as Boots had a "3 for the price for 2" offer on S&G, as they frequently seem to do.

Enriched with Vitamin C, kiwi and raspberry extracts, Cheekmate is a lightweight gel stain that melds effortlessly into the skin for a healthy rosy color. It comes in a convenient travel-friendly squeeze tube that makes it easy to control the amount of product dispensed. The tube looks tiny with only 11ml of product, but the gel stain is well-pigmented so one only needs a very tiny amount for each application. Even with daily use, one tube is likely to last at least 4 months.

Aside from its non-greasy feel, I was also impressed by its lasting power on my skin. It wore very well over more than 8 hours without any fading, much better than most powder blushes that I've tried. The gel texture is also easier to apply without any streaks than Benefit's Benetint. I don't use it on my lips as I prefer lipglosses or lipsticks.


Here are some comparison swatches with the other cheek stains in my collection. The pic below shows (from left to right): Cheekmate, Becca Beach Tint in Watermelon, Essence Bloody Mary Blush Gel and Armani Blushing Fabric #1. Both Cheekmate and the Essence Blush Gel have a clear gel texture whereas the Becca and Armani blushes have more of a cream texture that sheers out to a translucent finish.

Compared to Cheekmate, Becca Watermelon Beach Tint has a more orange undertone while the Essence Blush Gel is more raspberry and Armani Blushing Fabric #1 is more candy pink. Only the Armani blush has the faintest hint of gold shimmer. Cheekmate is the most well-pigmented of the lot. All four can be layered easily for a more intense finish but Cheekmate takes the least amount of product to achieve an intense swatch of color.

When applying Cheekmate, I apply it much more lightly, like the swatch on the extreme left of the photo below. If you have access to Soap & Glory's makeup line, Cheekmate is definitely well worth checking out. I hope Soap & Glory releases more shades in the future.

Ingredients list.