When developing our Open Face Color Stick, we researched and personally purchased and tried most all of the multi-sticks with brushes or blushes with brushes out there along with other multi-sticks/lip and cheek tints without a brush.

Our evaluation was based on the following criteria:

• Ingredients: we gave more weight to products that had more premium, pure/natural ingredients
  • We used incidecoder.com to evaluate the inclusion of more premium ingredients by their goodies/superstar rating for ingredients
• Value – we looked deeper into the total amount of product (in grams) vs its price to estimate the actual value that you’re getting with each product
  • Most of these products (especially the ones that come with brushes) have a very premium price point at over $30+
• Format – we gave extra points for products made to be used on at least both lips & cheeks and that also included a brush
• Sustainability/Locally made – keeping things as local as possible is important to us, so we gave more weight to brands that were made in the USA.
  • When looking for a manufacturer to make our Open Face Color Stick, we found out that most of these units with a self-contained brush are made by two manufacturers, one in Korea that has factories in both Korea and China and the other in Italy that also has factories in China – therefore we list both countries as a possible source for production/sourcing.  
• Variety – we gave more weight for brands that had a larger variety of colors (although even if a brand has a variety of colors, they may be very expensive to try out to see if they are the right shade for you)

We did find a missing space with multi-sticks with brushes that are made in the USA with mostly natural ingredients, and we have that we have that as our differentiation point, but there are a lot of other criteria that you might want to look for when choosing a multi-stick/blush stick for low maintenance beauty.

It’s really hard to say what the best ones are, as it really just depends on the things you value in multistick/blush stick you are looking for and in a company you want to support. We didn’t rate brands on being “clean” as that’s a generic marketing term for the most part with different definitions wherever you go, or “cruelty free” because honestly most all brands are nowadays, including us (as far as not testing on animals) so it’s really not a differentiator, just again another marketing tactic. Cruelty free is also a misnomer as even plant-based products could injure/kill animals out in nature as they are being harvested for production.

We focused on evaluating brands that had multi-sticks/blush sticks with brushes and some of the top selling lip/cheek tints (that we’ve seen on Amazon via 3^rd party research tools).  The results of our analysis are in the image below for your convenience if you don't want to read the rest of this more in-depth article (and our recommendations for the best one is at the end of the article).

We go into more detail on each/brand-product below as well as some other thoughts on anything else a company does for good or who it focuses on reaching.

Blush Sticks/Multi-Sticks with Built in Brushes

This is the first category we wanted to try as it spurred the idea for our Open Face Color Stick and really was the inspiration behind starting our brand. The first one of these we ever discovered was the Thrive Causemetics Triple Threat Color Stick via watching a TikTok video.  I had never even heard of these multi-use makeup products but when I saw the video I was hooked! I’m not much of a makeup person, but to have a lip tint, blush, and eyeshadow all in one product with a brush seemed like a must have perfect product for my low maintenance beauty routine.

Thrive Causemetics Triple Threat Color Stick  

• Format
  • The original Triple Threat in the name referred to using it on your lips/cheeks/eyes (when I discovered them before they launched bronzers & highlighters). However, now they’ve also added bronzers & highlighters to the built in brush format so they are now pitching the “triple threat” as 3 different types of products (with the brush) vs one product with 3 different uses - for lips, cheeks, & eyes.
  • The “blush” format is the product type we are reviewing in this article. It makes sense that they position it more for blush now as it did feel a bit chalkier on the lips. They say it’s waterproof/long lasting which is probably why it has more of a chalky feel to it
• Variety
  • They provide a wide variety of colors (8 – for blush colors not including bronzers, highlighters). Olivia (Peachy Pink Shimmer), Isabella (Coral Golden Shimmer), Maggie (Rose Shimmer), Kaisa (Dusty Rose Matte), Dionne (Brick Red Shimmer) – the one I first purchased, Kandee (True Red Matte), Natalia (Warm Tangerine Matte), Tessa (Berry Matte)
• Value:
  • It’s in the higher tier as far as price per gram, the 3^rd highest actually. The variety of colors they offer is great, but at this price point, buying multiple colors to see what color works best on you can get very expensive.
• Ingredients/Production:
  • Most all of the ingredients are synthetic, except a couple thrown in for marketing purposes and only 2 were highlighted as goodie or superstar ingredients according to incidecoder.com. Made overseas from a manufacturer that has locations in Korea/China.
• Other: The company’s foundation was built on giving back to women/charities, which is a great cause that we appreciate. However, it’s unclear how much they give back as a percentage of their overall sales and not very transparent. I’ll take the savings I get for buying a less expensive product and donate half of that to a charity myself!

SURFCHIQUE Open Face Color Stick

• Format
  • Multi-stick with brush that can be used on both lips and cheeks (as well as eyes*).
• Variety
  • Only offers 1 shade currently as it is a new brand and the minimum order quantities were fairly high for a start up brand. Therefore, the launch color of Deep Pink Sea was developed to be a universally flattering color.
• Value
  • The most value (price per gram) vs all the other true multi-sticks with a brush – basically vs Nudestix. There were a few other brands that had a slightly better value but they either were just a blush or a smaller multi-stick without a brush.
• Ingredients/Production:
  • The top brand with the most goodies/superstar ingredients according to incidecoder.com, of all products evaluated. The number of natural oils/butters and extracts beats all others on this list and the only one that includes the superstar ingredient of glycerin ensures that it is a product that provides hydration to the lips and face via glycerin’s humectant qualities. Many brands like to shout about all the “non-toxic” ingredients they don’t have. We like to brag about all the great ingredients we do have.
  • There’s a lot of discourse about fear marketing and “non-toxic’ ingredients – I mean water is toxic (in certain quantities) so it’s really about proportion of ingredients.
  • The two “icky” ingredients we do have according to incidecoder.com are fragrance (but they always say icky to any kind of fragrance), but some products, especially those that use more natural ingredients, just need a dab of fragrance to make the product pleasant to wear. They also just say icky to ascorbyl palmitate because it’s their least favorite form of vitamin C and have doubts on its effectiveness vs other vitamin C products.  However, we’re not here selling the anti-oxidant properties of Vitamin C for this product and its use case either, and it's a completely safe product, they just don't recommend it for making claims for anti-oxidant/Vitamin C use.
  • Made in the USA
• Other:
  • When purchasing products on surfchique.com, a % (listed) of each sale goes directly to a given list of charities that people can choose from, and the % is transparent and increases during certain times of the year
  • Has a recycling program through Terracycle where you can send in used containers for credits towards products on their website

Nudestix Nudies Bloom  

• Format
  • Multi-stick with brush that can be used on both lips and cheeks (as well as eyes*). I tried both the Bloom (Dusty Rouge) and Matte (Cherie) options and they definitely have a creamier feel than the Thrive Triple Threat Color stick. I’m focusing on the Bloom one here (and not their matte version bronzers/highlighters for this analysis) as its dewy nature lends itself to a more buildable, versatile color vs matte options.
• Variety
  • They provide a wide variety of colors (8 – for multi-stick colors not including bronzers, highlighters, blushes). Rusty Rouge, Sweet Cheeks, Bohemian Rose, Crimson Lover, Poppy Girl, Cherry Blossom Babe, Tiger Lily Queen, Sweet Peach Peony
• Value
  • Very expensive, the 2^nd highest price point on this list, after Trestique’s (non-refill product). The extra container with a mirror you get really isn’t needed and we see that they do now offer their version of a “refill” which is just the product with the unnecessary case for $5 less. However, it’s still just a little pricy for me to justify trying a wider variety of the colors that they offer.
• Ingredients/Production
  • Most all of the ingredients are synthetic and none were highlighted as a goodie or superstar ingredients according to incidecoder.com.
  • Made overseas from a manufacturer that has locations in Korea/China.
• Other
  • No listed charity tie ins or causes noted on website and some controversy with the company via some posts I’ve found on Reddit.

Anastasia Beverly Hills Stick Blush  

• Format
  • Blush stick with brush for cheeks/face
• Variety
  • 7 colors – Latte, Peachy Keen, Bubble Gum, Pink Dahlia, Nectarine, Soft Rose, Peach Caramel.
  • I bought and tested out the peach caramel color which I liked as a blush on my cheeks but for my lips I was looking for more of a deeper/richer caramel-brown shade.
• Value
  • It’s more averaged priced based on the products evaluated here but still a bit pricey out of pocket, but it is a bigger stick so there’s more value there.
• Ingredients/Production
  • Made with mostly synthetic ingredients and no “goodies” or “superstar” ingredients according to incidecoder.com.
  • Made overseas with company that has locations in Korea/China.
• Other:
  • Company launched with a focus on brows, no listed charity tie ins/causes on website

 

Makeup By Mario Soft Pop Blush Stick

• Format
  • Blush stick with brush for cheeks.
• Variety
  • Has the most variety of any products evaluated in this article – at 10.
  • Soft Peach (soft peachy pink), Soft Coral (peachy pop), Sweet Pink (neutral soft pink), Pale Petal (soft pink), Dusty Rose (Neutral, Rosy, Mauve), Earthy Pink (Blushing Rose), Raspberry (bright pink), Watermelon (magenta pink), Pomegranate (rich berry), Plumberry (deep rich plum)
  • I tried both an older earthy pink color, plumberry, and raspberry/bright pink and unfortunately the one I liked best, earthy pink is no longer listed on the site.
• Value
  • Due to its larger size, at 10 grams, even at a higher price point of $32 it’s the 2^nd best value on the list (outside of the smaller Elf multi-stick). It’s still a bit higher from an out-of-pocket cost perspective and I’d rather have smaller versions at a lower price point so I can try a wider variety of colors that they offer as I may not end up liking how some look on me. Plus, it takes up a bit more space in my purse so not as convenient to travel with on the go.

• Ingredients/production
  • Made with mostly synthetic ingredients and no “goodies” or “superstar” ingredients according to incidecoder.com.
  • Made overseas with company that has locations in Italy and China
• Other
  • Founded by a popular makeup artist, no charities/caused noted on website

Trestique Blush Stick + Brush

• Format
  • Blush stick with brush for cheeks. I purchased/tried the Moroccan Rose which definitely had more of a powdery feel so it’s definitely best used as a blush stick vs multi stick for lips as well.
• Variety
  • 4 shades – New Delhi Lotus (toasted pink), Moroccan Rose (soft, rosy, mauve), Santa Martin Sunset (burnt melon).
• Value
  • Most premium priced product in relation to the amount of product that you get that we have evaluated in this article. This is most likely due to the premium packaging of their product with the magnetic closing system. However, they do offer a refill product to go into that unit (with a brush) which makes it a slightly better value but still one of the higher priced options on this list.
• Ingredients/Production
  • 5 “goodies” ingredients in their product via incidecoder.com – the 2^nd highest after SURFCHIQUE
  • Made overseas with a company that has locations in Italy and China
• Other:
  • Website mentions sustainability efforts and giving back but section of site where giving back is mentioned is blank – either the web page was still in progress when researching it or it’s just surface level talk that isn’t really backed up.

Random blush sticks with brushes on Amazon  

• Format
  • Blush stick with brush for cheeks, but also mentions it is for lip tint and eyeshadow as well
• Variety
  • Varies but most of the products look similar to the one shown here and has 3 different colors, all more pastel in nature – milk tea pin, rose powder, coral orange
• Value
  • Lower cost at only around $7 but the amount of product isn’t listed on the Amazon product page so it’s unclear what the exact value is
• Ingredients/production
  • No ingredients listed on the Amazon product page, made in China directly from manufacturer

Other Blush Sticks/Multi-Sticks/Lip & Cheek Tints

Boomstick by Boom Beauty (by Cindy Joseph)  

• Format
  • Multi-stick for eyes, lips, and cheeks
  • I’ve tried the original color and it is a sheer, buildable color, however I feel it just wasn’t as smooth as some others I’ve tried and a bit waxier feeling, with less oils used.
• Variety
• They also launched with one color, a more universal berry color (similar to what SURFCHIQUE offers as a newer brand recently launched) and didn’t launch another color until around 12 years later, but now offers 3 other color options (Original-Berry, Golden Peach, Peony Pink, Rose Nude)

• Value
  • Mid-tier priced of the brands/products we are evaluating here in regard to the total product offered, however it’s still a bit pricier out of pocket at $28 – more in line with Anastasia Beverly Hills Stick Blush value
• Ingredients/Production
  • Two goodie ingredients per incidecoder.com
  • Application isn’t as smooth and doesn’t feel as moisturizing
  • Made in the USA
• Other:
  • This brand exclusively focuses on the mature segment and has a pro-age messaging vs anti-aging, which is a great move to carve out a niche, but could be seen as not inclusive to the younger population even though their product could work perfect for a much wider range of people (but this is really probably the opposite of what most other brands do by featuring mostly the youth and being anti-aging)
  • No charities or causes noted that they align with mentioned on their site, focuses on sustainability/recycling in their product choices but no specific incentive provided to encourage customers to recycle

Han Skincare Cosmetics Multi-stick

• Format
  • Multi-stick for eyes, lips, and cheeks
  • I’ve tried a few of their colors, Bordeaux, Nutmeg and Pink Peony. I thought Bordeaux and Nutmeg were very versatile in how they looked on me and really loved their products, however they were just missing the convenient brush for me.
• Variety
  • They have a broad selection of colors (8) but two different sizes and some colors are only available in one size, which can get confusing. However, now just looking at Amazon, their smaller sizes/colors are now out of stock and no longer available and I imagine they are just moving forward with the larger sized option for the colors. Colors that didn’t make the cut were Pink Peony,
  • Larger size colors: Bordeaux Glow, Coral Hibiscus, Pink Peony, Rose Dust (new shade), Cherry Cosmos, Innocence, Rose Berry, Toasted Nutmeg.
• Value
  • They offer one of the best values, after Mario and Elf items and a lower price point of $22 so it’s easier to justify trying multiple shades, however they don’t offer the brush included in their product like SURFCHIQUE does.
• Ingredients/Production
  • They have 4 “goodies” ingredients in their products as identified by incidecoder.com.
  • Made in the USA
• Other:
  • They are committed to sustainability and recycling with many efforts for sustainable/recyclable packaging. They used to partner with Terracycle like SURFCHIQUE does where you can send in used cosmetic containers for recycling and provided free product if you sent in a certain number of items. However, now they partner with Credo (a brick-and-mortar retailer) where you can go into their stores (if they are located near to you) and get Credo credits for recycling your products there.

Elf Multistick

• Format
  • Multi-stick for eyes, lips, and cheeks
• Variety
  • A great variety of 7 colors are offered
  • Bronzed Cherry, Dazzling Peony, Glimmering Guava, Glistening Peach, Glowing Mango, Luminous Berry, Sparkling Rose
  • Since these were the lowest priced products I evaluated, I tried 4 of the colors - Peach, Berry, Peony, Guava. They just seemed a bit lighter and pastel for me when I tried them on and the color just wasn’t deep/rich enough for me.
• Value
  • Best value of products we evaluated in this article
• Ingredients/Production
  • Made mostly of synthetic ingredients but they have one “goodie” ingredient per incidecoder.com which was the Shea Butter.
  • Made in China
• Other:
  • No specific charities/causes listed on website

These are just a few of the multi-stick type products and most all of the blush sticks with brushes/multisticks with brushes that we tested out and there are so many other options out there that we’ve tried but didn’t list here or could try. However, we do think that we hit on some of the best and well-known options in the category and how to best evaluate options for yourself as you are researching multisticks to purchase. Overall, we recommend our own SURFCHIQUE Open Face Color Stick (for the convenient application with a brush) and universal color and the Han multi-stick (for a larger variety of more natural looking colors & ingredients) as your go to options for these types of products.

Notes:

All notes of pricing and ingredients are obtained from the manufacturer’s website on September 2024. Ingredients/pricing can change and updated ingredients are on all actual products/boxes for products. Sources of production were researched via various tools/software on the internet and old-fashioned Googling. They of course can also be changed as well but typically brands stay with their manufacturers for good lengths of time.

*Certain lake colors are not approved for direct use on eyes by the FDA, only in the USA. They are approved for general use (and for use around the eyes in Europe/globally), but just haven’t been tested enough to the FDA’s liking to approve them for official use for around the eyes (just like how many sunscreen agents are approved in other countries but it’s too expensive and time consuming to get FDA to approve new sunscreen ingredients that are safe but just not tested enough by them). The EU updates their standards more frequently than the U.S. (and tends to be even stricter about ingredient approval) which is also why many ingredients are not allowed in the EU vs the U.S. The main concern would be more towards a product like mascara/eyeliner, powdery type of eye color that could find its way into the eyes, foundation, etc., with certain colors you wouldn’t want to use on eyes due to the close nature of getting material into the eye, which is not likely when applied to the top of eyelids with a cream format. It’s also very common in vegan formulas due to the dyes needed to replace carmine in red shades. I wear contacts and have very sensitive eyes and rarely use mascara as it can irritate them easily. I have used many other multi-sticks that include the colors not approved for use on eyes in the USA, on my eyes and have never had an issue. However, we are all different. Therefore, for use on your eyes, using those colors for products on your eyes is up to your own risk tolerance.