Rare Beauty Soft Pinch Luminous Powder Blush Review & Swatches

Rare Beauty Soft Pinch Luminous Powder Blush ($26) is a new glowy blush formula that launched for Summer 2024 in six shade selections. As you know the Sephora Spring Savings Event Sale 2024 has started and I was convinced that the new Soft Pinch Luminous Powder Blush would sell out super fast. Selena has a chokehold on the beauty world and it seems like all her releases do amazingly well. I’m either not looking in the right places or there haven’t been a lot of reviews on these yet. I did see one Instagram Reel and it was awful. No offense to the Instagrammer but the blushes looked so sheer in her video that I braced myself for disappointment. She reinforced that these weren’t blushes at all but glorified highlighters, which I felt they were as soon as I saw the promo images. However, upon trying one I’ve been proven quite wrong it what I thought would be a meh formula. This formula shocked, surprised, and delighted me.

Rare Beauty Soft Pinch Luminous Powder Blush is inspired by the Positive Light Silky Touch Highlighter formula. I’ve likened them to Kaja Beauty Mochi Glow Highlighter and Mochi Pop Cream-to-Powder Blush as they both have that smooth-baked domed design. However, after trying Rare Beauty’s Soft Pinch Luminous Powder Blush I can say it’s a lot more pigmented than Mochi Pop Blush!

I would say avoid this if you aren’t a shimmery-blush kind of girl or guy. It does bring the shimmer, radiance, and glow to your face. And if that isn’t your thing you might want to skip. I love blushes that have a beautiful glow or bit of shimmer and this formula is exactly what I want and like from a shimmery blush. I got the shade Joy and it reminds me of the apricot shade I so dearly love from the discontinued Melt Cosmetics Digital Dust Duo in Buzz Kill. Joy is described as a muted peach but I think it’s a very pretty orangey golden peach on my cheeks. I do think there was a missed opportunity with the shade range in this collection! I’d have loved to sheer more shades and easier-to-wear ones. Some corals, more peaches, some prettier shades of pink. The color range just isn’t appealing to me. I imagine if these do well they will extend the shades but right now I think the only one I like right now is Joy.

The formula is a baked blush which I’ve always been fond of. I find baked blushes apply very smoothly but this formula has some issues. It applies and looks quite lovely but if you have textured skin, drier skin, or larger pores this may accentuate those issues. You want to prime well to get the smoothest finish. A little setting spray will also help to refine the finish. I thought it was going to be a drier formula but it’s quite soft and silky. I also, thought it might present a problem picking up color! I thought maybe it was going to be a denser formula but it’s soft and finely milled and color picks up easily with a brush! It also wore quite long on my cheeks and retained it’s radiance for a good seven hours before showing signs of fading.

Rare Beauty Soft Pinch Luminous Powder Blush Swatches (Joy)

What’s the packaging like on the new Rare Beauty Soft Pinch Luminous Powder Blush?
Rare Beauty’s packaging isn’t anything to write home about. It’s a simple beige compact with the Rare Beauty emblem in gold on the top. Inside you’ll find a nice little mirror for application on the go. It’s very simple and minimalist which I’m fine with! As much as I love cutesy and pretty packaging I do appreciate a nice, simple compact from time to time.

How much does Rare Beauty Soft Pinch Luminous Powder Blush cost and what’s the size?
The Soft Pinch Luminous Powder Blush is $26 and 0.098 oz.

How long does Rare Beauty Soft Pinch Luminous Powder Blush?
This formula wears for about seven hours on my dry skin.

What’s the Rare Beauty Soft Pinch Luminous Powder Blush application like?
The application is excellent. It applies very smoothly but proper prepping is key as this formula might accentuate drier areas, pores, or textured skin.

Rare Beauty Soft Pinch Luminous Powder Blush was a success story for me. I didn’t I was going to like this formula but it surprised me. I do wish there were more shades to choose from as the ones they do have just aren’t appealing to me but perhaps at some point they’ll consider extending the shade range!

Try this formula out! I think it’ll surprise you! Or have you already? Share your thoughts of you have!

Where to buy

Sephora