Hydrating Blush and Highlighter Review

As someone who is closing in on 40, I have realized that my skin is changing—and thus, so must my makeup. New dryness, lessening of elasticity, fine lines, and discoloration have made my current routine look dull, textured, and all around flat. It’s true that as we age, our skin gets dryer and so formulas should be hydrating and based in skin-healthy ingredients. Luckily, I have access to makeup artist and mature beauty aficionado Laura Geller, who has made a career of making products for women over 40 from her eponymous beauty brand—as well as insider tips and tricks for application. So, when she shared with me that her go-to product for an instant routine update was her cream blush Wonder Balm, I decided to try it for myself.

“It’s the easiest way to bring life back to your complexion, giving you a fresh, healthy flush with a beautiful dewy finish that never feels heavy or greasy.” But what’s so special about its formula, how does she recommend applying it, and which shade is best for you? I break down my experience (along with Geller’s professional guidance) below.

Available in six shades that include both blush and bronzer, this hydrating balm is a standout among Laura Geller’s lineup of mature beauty products. It boasts a lightweight feel and a dewy finish that Geller herself claims “brings warmth and color back into the complexion without ever clinging to texture or settling into fine lines,” which is essential to aging (and drying) skin.

It currently retails for $32, but Laura Geller’s website has been known to discount it regularly—this weekend with code EX10, you can slash that price down to $17.

Earlier this summer, I received the Wonder Balm in its signature hue “Pinch Me Pink,” a classic neutral pink. Over the past month, I have used it every time I’ve worn makeup. But I also had three marathon testing days where I gauged its longevity and versatility. One was a sticky (over 100 degrees!) summer day where I wore a full face of makeup into the office to test how it would hold up over multiple hours of wear, sweaty skin, and humid air. I also used it mostly on my cheek bones as a blush, but did dab some color onto my lips to see what the product would look like there, too.

A single dab had so much color payoff that a second paler swipe was possible.

“The Wonder Balm formula is so hydrating that it melts right into the skin, it never feels heavy or greasy, which is exactly what mature skin needs,” Geller says of the lightweight product. “As we age our skin tends to get drier and a bit more dull, so I love that this formula brings warmth and color back into the complexion without ever clinging to texture or settling into fine lines.”This is mostly due to its skin-nourishing ingredients, including squalane—a non-greasy, noncomedogenic moisturizer that balances skin by limiting moisture loss—and sunflower seed oil, which helps decrease inflammation and maintain the skin barrier.

As promised, I found the Wonder Balm to be extremely lightweight and moisturizing. It glided across the delicate skin of my wrist in one easy swipe (and I was impressed that there was enough color left to create a paler second swipe that went down on the skin just as easily). And unlike other cream blushes I have used, it did not feel sticky on my skin at all. In fact, after a few minutes of blending it out there, I realized that it had dried down and felt weightless (and hadn’t budged at all).

Blended out on my wrist, the Wonder Balm was super lightweight with tons of color payoff.

Of course, typical wear is not just a swipe across the wrist. So, I asked Geller specifically how to apply the product for the best results. I have never been the most confident blush applicator, as I have fluctuated between many weights. And so I’m never quite sure where on my face to apply color.

Geller recommends using the Wonder Brush, which she says pairs well with both the blush and highlighter formulas of the Wonder Balm—but I am pretty maxed on brushes (and prefer an easier solution!). Which of course, Geller has. “Simply tap it on with your fingers, right onto the apples of your cheeks, then blend up toward your temples,” she directed. That’s it. I was sure I needed more direction than that, but I was wrong. The product easily blended out with just two dots of cream on each cheek, moving into an upward motion.

I was also surprised at not only how well it blended but how much color it imparted. In fact, Geller recommends starting with less product than you think “since the formula blends so easily, you can always build more color if you want it.” So that is exactly what I did. After my first blend, I dotted a tiny bit more onto the apples of my cheeks where I felt that it had blended too much.

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I will say, though, that after a few finger tip applications, I understand why she recommends the brush. The Wonder Balm stained the tips of my fingers because of how well the color dries, and using the brush would have eliminated some mess along the way.

Illuminating and dewy finish with a light sheen of buildable color—after five hours of wear.

I opted to try the classic neutral pink “Pinch Me Pink” that Geller has long claimed as one of her personal favorites. I could quickly see why after just my first use.

In terms of the basics, the color and appearance immediately paid off. I have a few sun spots and freckles on my cheeks that I’m slightly self conscious of drawing attention to. So I tend not to use highlighter anymore (which can be too brightening and eye catching where I don’t want to be caught!). But the Wonder Balm did not feel anything like that. Though it offered a tiny bit of illuminating glow like a highlighter, it wasn’t sparkly or glittery in any way. The finish was more dewy (despite not feeling greasy or sticky) and even blurred and evened out some of the discoloration in my cheeks. This remained true even as I got into hour ten of wearing it one day, which included standing on sweaty subway platforms during some of the most humid August weather I’d ever felt in New York City. Once it’s blended, it does not shift on the skin at all.

“I’ll often use a little on my lips/eyelids too since the formula is so versatile,” Geller shared with me. And though I did not use it on my eyes, I found that the sheer buildable color lent itself well to my lips, but I didn’t love the texture when it dried down. Perhaps if my lips were more moisturized it would be better, but as someone who has perpetually chapped lips, it wasn’t really as versatile a product as I wanted it to be.

When Laura Geller herself is obsessed with a product, you probably shouldn’t question its worthiness. “It’s the kind of product I can apply in seconds and still walk out the door looking put together,” she concludes. After a month of testing, I can verify that it’s true. Not only is the product itself so light and hydrating that it feels like wearing nothing, but the color payoff for a small amount is significant, meaning that it will also last a long time. Unlike other cream products, it dried onto my skin without budging all day, and it took seconds to apply. Although I didn’t enjoy wearing it on my lips (and I didn’t even try it on my eyes), so it was less versatile of a product than initially advertised, it did give my mature skin instant life.

A product that brightens and gives my skin a blurred and glowing finish? This one is definitely staying in my daily routine.

Shop the Wonder Balm now

Charlotte Lewis Finigan is the Senior Commerce Editor at Prevention. After a decade of working in Hollywood writers’ rooms and contributing pop culture writing to ETOnline, Bustle, TVGuide, and CBS, she underwent bariatric surgery and changed her focus to health and wellness. Previously, Charlotte was the Sexual Health & Wellness Writer for Refinery 29. There, she wrote and edited shopping content about new wellness trends, beauty launches, and sex-positive products.   She currently lives in Brooklyn with her girlfriend—and the love of her life, her senior dog, Rory. All three can typically be found perusing the Fort Green farmer’s market for fresh produce or curling up on the couch to watch Survivor.