Water Based Cheek Color You Say?

Congrats, you've made it half way through the week, and as a congratulatory present I've got a new makeup review that will blow your mind. Cream blush.... it's either too powdery or extremely creamy which then leads to greasy cheeks and sometimes even acne - no thanks! I was looking around Sephora as one normally does and I was looking for a cheek product that wasn't a powder, provided a blowy pink stain, was long lasting and hopefully didn't feel too heavy on. I know - my requirements for products are quite hefty, but how else am I supposed to find the best product for me? I'd heard so much about getting a healthy, rosy glow from Benefit's Benetint and was initially going to look into that one but when I realized how inflexible application was (I left the store with streaks on my cheeks....), I made my way to the Josie Maran counter where I was introduced to a little friend with a massively long name... the Josie Maran Coconut Watercolor Cheek Gelee in Poppy Paradise. No surprise here, this was on my list because I saw it on Vivianna Does Makeup and I thought ok, let's give this a whirl.
At first the concept kinda freaked me out. It's a gel so when you stick your hand in the pot it feels like really stiff jello and it's like a water based balm. It is so hard to explain the texture in writing, I didn't even realize this! When you swatch it on your hand it seems like it basically stains your fingers more than your actual skin but I wasn't put off by it and took it home with me to play around with a little more. Solution? I've been applying this was a small, dense duo finer brush by Lancome and it works perfectly. It gives the nicest rosy flush without going over board. As you can see in the swatch above, the left swatch is when the product is applied heavily and the left is when you blend it out a bit. I think that's what I love the most about this product - you can customize how much colour payoff you get just by blending it in the right way. This beauty is made up of 50% water so it feels super lightweight on your skin and it definitely does keep your cheeks hydrated if that's a concern of yours in the winter time. Lasting power was pretty great on me but that all really depended on what foundation I had on while trying it out. Oh, that's another note. As with any other cream or gel cheek product, you have to apply it to your skin directly or onto a liquid or cream foundation.. not a powder! The Cheek Gelee performed much better on top of powder compared to other cream cheek options I've tried in the past but for that flawless "I'm-just-blushing-from-within" look, it's best applied on top of another liquid or cream base. 
This range comes in 5 other shades - ranging from red to corals to even a warm, bronzer type shade! It retails for $29 CAD at Sephora, which although this little pot is quite small, the amount you need to get glowing cheeks makes you waste almost no product at all. Overall, I'm really pleased with this purchase and I think it would be great for anyone with any skin type who wants a long wearing, stain on the cheeks! (This may be appearing in an upcoming makeup look... maybe even tomorrow *hint hint*)
Any other cream cheek products you're in love with? I'm still debating on whether the Stila Convertible Color will be next on my list - Gerbara is definitely a shoe in for my perfect shade #peachypinkaddict