The Haus Labs Color Fuse Blush Makes Other Blush Look Bad

If Stefani Joanne Germanotta (or, as the general public calls her, Lady Gaga) says jump, I’m going to the trampoline store. I watched a Jared Leto film for this woman. My best friend and I one time fell into perfect harmony while singing “Paparazzi," and we knew that wasn’t just our talent alone — that was the good Gaga juju running through our veins. I once broke up with a boyfriend in college who tried to tell me her music was bad. When the world flipped out at her incredible vocals after she performed the medley from The Sound of Music at the 2015 Oscars, I was like, “Oh, you didn’t YouTube-to-mp3 the a cappella version of ‘Born This Way’ from the HBO special Lady Gaga Presents the Monster Ball Tour: At Madison Square Garden and listen to it every day for months in 2011? Just me?’" All of which is to say: if Lady Gaga touches it, I’m likely trying to get my hands on it, too. 

I previously wrote about my love of the Haus Labs Triclone Skin Tech Medium Coverage Foundation back in the fall, and how the formula in shade 440 Medium Deep Cool was the first foundation to ever match my skin tone perfectly. So of course, when Haus Labs announced its foray into my second favourite beauty product, blush, I said immediately yes. 

Launching today, February 23, the Haus Labs Color Fuse Blush comes in five shades: Acai Sky, a plummy pomegranate; Dragon Fruit Daze, a flamingo pink; Hibiscus Haze, a jammy mauve-brown; Pomelo Peach, a dreamy sunset coral; and Watermelon Bliss, a true red. The brand describes the new addition as a “talc-free blush [that] melts beautifully to feel and diffuse like a second skin”, with an “innovative hybrid formula [that] allows you the colour versatility you seek for your cheeks." So does the Haus Labs Color Fuse Blush deliver? My colleague Karina Hoshikawa and I tried it out — unsurprisingly, we have thoughts. 

“Since 2019, I have made blush a central part of not only my makeup routine, but also my personality. I wrote about my love for purple blush last summer — blushes are better than ever before, and we’re all out here looking like cherubs. These Haus Labs blushes absolutely understood the assignment. I’m especially picky when it comes to a powder blush because, being a darker skin tone, some blushes just make me look like I’ve come from a ritual embalming, giving coffin chic. Not only are the blushes huge, which means you’re getting a ton of product for $38, but they are pigmented beyond belief. There’s a very, very famous peach blush with an iconic sex-related name that has never shown up on my face; Pomelo Peach is actually what that other blush claims to be. I also love that there’s a shade option for every vibe, and they’re so buildable you can really decide what you want to do for yourself and your aesthetic.

The brand recommends layering the blushes on top of each other for a two-toned look, so I wore Dragon Fruit Daze on the high points of my cheek, blending into my hairline, and layered Pomelo Peach on top, closer to the apple of my cheek for an ombré effect. It was so pretty and the perfect pop of colour. I highly recommend using the lightest touch with these, because the pigment is pigmenting for sure, but you can tone down the colour with the leftover concealer from your beauty sponge if you find yourself entering Bozo the Clown territory. R29's deputy beauty director Jacqueline Kilikita tried out the TikTok circle blush trick last week, and I cannot wait to use that technique with these blushes. I’m going to have, and love them, forever. I can’t wait to see how they expand the shade range and when they make the travel-size version.” 

“After years of never wearing blush, I’m now fully in my flushed-cheeks era. While I mostly gravitate toward cream blushes nowadays, my oily face loves a powder formula every now and then for longevity purposes — and Haus Labs has really done that with its version. The Color Fuse blush is so pigmented, I need only barely graze my brush (right now I’m loving the Jones Road Blush Brush) in order to pick up a good amount of product off the compact. Also, the pan is also so generously sized, I know it’ll be a long time (slash, never) before I get close to running out. My favourite shade is Pomelo Peach, which warms up my olive skin like magic. I usually go for more terracotta or bronzy-blush shades, but Haus’ peach is so perfect for spring — I can’t wait to wear it nonstop.”