Merit Flush Balm vs ILIA Multi Stick: 6,075 Sephora Reviews Read

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Review-analysis guide: 6,075 customer reviews read on Sephora (November 11, 2026), sorted and counted by us; product details from the Sephora listings checked November 11, 2026.

By The Beauty Read · Checked November 11, 2026 · AI-assisted research and editing · Contains Amazon affiliate links

Merit Flush Balm (paid link) vs ILIA Multi Stick (paid link), by Sephora buyers: 43% of 1,572 usable Merit reviewers said it blends easily, but 24% said it faded. ILIA's stick drew fewer fading reports (14%) and more patchy or dragging ones (16% against 5%), and its low ratings have risen since 2022.

Merit Flush Balm vs ILIA Multi Stick: what 6,075 Sephora reviews show

Cream blush promises a flush that melts into skin, and it fails in two ways: it slides off by lunch, or it drags and goes patchy on the way on. To settle the merit flush balm vs ilia multi stick question, we read every review the Sephora pages served for Merit's Flush Balm, ILIA's Multi-Stick and Fenty Cheeks Out (paid link), 6,075 cards in all, and counted blending, wear, sheerness and patchiness. [4] [5] [6]

The formats differ more than the colours. Merit sells a radiant balm, which reviewers describe in a round pot, that the brand calls impossible to mess up. ILIA's Multi-Stick is a twist-up stick of oils, butters and waxes, including beeswax, made for lips as well as cheeks. Fenty's Cheeks Out is a small compact of sheer, buildable cream that the brand says resists sweat and water. [1] [2] [3]

A big share of what we read could not count. 1,871 cards sat in sampling months, when a page fills with free-product reviews, and we set those months aside whole. What remained was 1,572 usable reviews for Merit, 864 for ILIA and 1,507 for Fenty. [4] [5] [6]

Is Merit Flush Balm worth it? Easy to blend, quick to fade

We read 2,239 of the 2,244 reviews on Merit's page, and 564 of them came in two sampling waves, its first two months in early 2021 and January 2023. Of the 1,572 usable reviews left, 48% liked the shade, 43% said it blended in easily and 34% described a natural, sheer flush. [4]

Wear is the weak spot. 24%, 382 reviewers, said it faded or rubbed off, against 13% who said it lasted all day, so is merit flush balm long lasting? Not for most who mentioned wear, and the fading share climbed from 18% in 2021 to 29% in reviews since 2025. [4]

So is merit flush balm worth it? For an easy, believable flush, many said yes. 19% called it a repurchase or a staple and 15% gave one or two stars. 11% found it too sheer on their skin, and 8% complained about the price or how fast it ran out. [4]

ILIA Multi Stick review: a lip-and-cheek stick that drew more drag reports

ILIA's page reaches back to 2016, but much of it came in waves. 1,307 of its 2,293 cards fell in three sampling periods between December 2020 and September 2023, which is why this ilia multi stick review rests on 864 usable reviews. [5]

Those 864 buyers liked the double duty. 22% said they used it on lips and 17% praised the lip-and-cheek use, while 39% liked the shade. The complaints were about application: 18% found it too sheer and 16% said it went patchy, dragged or lifted their foundation. [5]

Recent buyers were harder on it. One- and two-star reviews made up 17% of the 416 usable reviews up to 2021, 31% of the 348 from 2022 to 2024 and 36% of the 100 since 2025. Reports of a hard or dry stick went from 6% to 15% over the same stretch, and 20 reviewers said the formula, shade or packaging had changed. [5]

Fenty Cheeks Out cream blush review: the most all-day wear reports, the smallest pan

Fenty's page had no sampling month at all, so 1,507 of its 1,543 cards counted. Most are early ones: 804 date from 2020, the blush's first year on the page, and only 58 from 2025 onward, so this fenty cheeks out cream blush review leans on its first two years. [6]

Its buyers were the most positive about wear and payoff. 16% said it lasted all day against 7% who said it faded, and 36% called it pigmented or buildable. 10% gave one or two stars, the lowest share of the three. [6]

Price was a common gripe. 14% said it costs too much for what you get or runs out fast (the Sephora page lists 3 g), though 16% praised its value (a little goes a long way, or worth the price). In a straight Merit vs Fenty choice, Fenty drew fewer fading reports (7% against 24%) and Merit gives three times the product. [6] [4] [3] [1]

What breakout reports can and cannot tell acne-prone skin

No retailer review can prove a product won't clog pores, but the counts give a sense of scale. Breakouts, clogged pores or bumps came up in 13 of 1,572 usable Merit reviews, 16 of 864 for ILIA and 7 of 1,507 for Fenty, 36 in all. Reviewers who called their skin acne-prone or sensitive were a small group. 39 said so about Merit and 3 of them reported a breakout; for ILIA it was 2 of 26, and for Fenty 1 of 14. So for the questions is merit flush balm acne safe and is fenty cream blush acne safe, these counts show only how often reviewers reported breakouts, about 1 in 100, not whether either is safe for acne-prone skin. [4] [5] [6]

If you patch test, the labels show what differs: Merit and Fenty both list octyldodecanol first and are thickened with waxes, while ILIA's stick is built on sunflower and castor oils, cocoa and shea butter and beeswax. Neither the Sephora pages nor our counts make a pore-clogging claim either way. [1] [2] [3]

How each cream blush felt and wore on oily, dry and deeper skin

Settling into pores and greasiness were rare on all three. 45 of 3,943 usable reviewers said a blush settled into pores or looked cakey, and greasy or too-shiny reports came from 4% for Merit, 6% for ILIA and 2% for Fenty. Scent or taste complaints came only for ILIA, from 38 reviewers. [4] [5] [6]

Sephora reviewers can fill in a skin type, and wear split along it less than you might expect. Among those who chose oily skin, 20% of 128 said Merit faded, against 5% of 58 for ILIA (3 reviewers) and 7% of 210 for Fenty. On dry skin the fading shares were 25%, 15% and 7%. [4] [5] [6]

Reviewers with a Tan, Deep or Rich skin tone on their profile were a small group for Merit (40) and ILIA (37), against 175 for Fenty. Too sheer came up for 27 of 175 for Fenty (15%), 8 of 40 for Merit (20%) and 10 of 37 for ILIA (27%), all higher than among fair-skinned reviewers. [4] [5] [6]

How we read each Sephora page for this Merit Flush Balm vs ILIA Multi Stick check

Of the 6,075 Sephora cards we read, 1,871 sat in months with 20 or more reviews on a page and more than half of them marked Incentivized or Staff or saying the product was free, and we set those months aside whole, organic reviews included: 254 on the Merit page in February and March 2021, its first two months of reviews, 310 in January 2023, and 1,307 on the ILIA page across three sampling waves (December 2020 to February 2021, March to June 2022 and July to September 2023). The Fenty page had no such month. Another 223 outside those months carried the Incentivized or Staff badge or said the product was free, 116 of them on the ILIA page, and 38 were repeats, not yet used, in another language, about shipping, empty, or about another product. That left 3,943. [4] [5] [6]

Skin type and skin tone in the counts above come from the profile block each reviewer filled in on Sephora, not from guesses. ILIA's page also covers its shimmer Multi-Stick shades, and we counted those reviews with the rest. [4] [5] [6]

Our Amazon links open listings we found through search results on November 11, 2026; Amazon's own pages would not load for us, so we could not read who sells them, and each card says so. Sephora labels the Merit Flush Balm as sold only at Sephora, so check the seller line on Amazon before you order it. Every product detail here comes from the Sephora pages, not from Amazon.

Keep reading

• Liquid blush: e.l.f., Milani and L'Oreal across 850 reviews
• Powder blush: e.l.f., Milani and Clinique across 3,203 reviews
• Lip liner: e.l.f., NYX and Maybelline

Frequently asked questions

Merit Flush Balm vs ILIA Multi Stick: which lasts longer?

Neither got strong marks for wear, but ILIA drew fewer fading reports. 24% of 1,572 usable Merit reviewers said it faded against 14% of 864 for ILIA, while 13% and 11% said each lasted all day. Fenty's Cheeks Out did best on wear, at 16% lasts all day and 7% fades fast.

Is Merit Flush Balm long lasting?

For most reviewers who mentioned wear, no. 24% of 1,572 usable Sephora reviewers said it faded or rubbed off, against 13% who said it lasted all day, and the fading share has grown to 29% among reviews since 2025. Many still liked how it blends, so plan on a touch-up.

Is the ILIA Multi-Stick good on lips?

Many buyers use it that way. 22% of 864 usable ILIA reviewers said they wore it on lips and 17% praised the lip-and-cheek use. The common complaints were about application: 18% found it too sheer and 16% said it went patchy, dragged or lifted makeup.

Is Fenty Cheeks Out worth it for the size?

Buyers split on that. 14% of 1,507 usable reviewers said it costs too much for what you get or runs out fast (the Sephora page lists 3 g), while 16% praised its value, saying a little goes a long way or it was worth the price. It had the most lasts-all-day reports of the three (16%) and the fewest one- or two-star reviews (10%).

What did reviewers with deeper skin tones say about these cream blushes?

Fenty drew the most reviewers with a Tan, Deep or Rich skin tone on their profile, 175 usable reviews against 40 for Merit and 37 for ILIA. Too sheer came up for 27 of that Fenty group (15%), 8 of Merit's (20%) and 10 of ILIA's (27%), small groups, so deeper shades are worth swatching first.