Blush: Where to Put It, What Color to Use

You can achieve different looks - from sophisticated to innocent, from urban to natural - just by your blush application. The first and only rule is this: Blush must blend to the point where you simply cannot see where it begins and ends. After that, the choices are many.

Color Categories

There are 3 categories of blush colors: the pinks, the peaches, and the neutrals. It's fun to experiment with all of them.

The Pinks
pale pink, baby pink, Barbie pink, rose, lavender

The Peaches
apricot, salmon, coral

The Neutrals
nude, tan, bronze, neutral peach-pink mixes

And Many Textures

Powders
Most of us are familiar with powder blush. It's the easiest to apply, and goes on with a medium-large, medium-soft (non-fur) brush at the end of the makeup session, after the setting powder.

Cream and mousse blushes
Start with just a tiny bit, applied with the finger. You can add more if needed. Blend with a foundation brush. This goes on after foundation and before setting powder.

Liquid blush
In theory, this would be difficult to apply, but in fact most liquid blushes go on amazingly easily. Use a small amount, apply with finger, blend with foundation brush. Like the cream, it goes on after foundation and before powder.

Mineral blush
Use a small amount and a semi-large blush brush. You can put mineral blushes on at any time during the makeup process. I like to put it on after mineral foundation and before setting powder, but it works just as well on top of the powder.

Blush with Glitter
I love it. You can get blushes come with gold or silver sparkles, or you can apply a matte blush and add the sparkles on top. Glitter is available everywhere, from the local pharmacy to the major cosmetic outlets. Although some glitters come with a puff, I recommend using a blush brush when applying it to cheeks.

Use sparkles sparingly if you have lines or wrinkles, or if your skin tends to look oily. Glitter can settle into lines, and if used too heavily can look like sweat.

Are There Still Rules?
There's no rule about who should wear what color. It's totally a matter of what makes you feel good, and what suits your mood for that day. Although traditionally a redhead might choose a coral or bronze-based blush, she still could look stunning with a deep pink blush and pink lipstick. A woman of color might reach for pinks or lavenders, but she might also dazzle the crowd in blond hair and apricot blush.

Here are questions to ask yourself under each kind of light (sunlight, home lighting, fluorescent):
1. Do I look healthy?
2. Or do I look flushed? (Too much red-based blush can give you that rosacea look.)
3. Do I look natural?
4. Does my look suit the occasion? (Going-out-at-night blush can be richer than driving- the-kids-to-school blush.)
5. How does this color make me feel?

Where It Goes
To look healthy: Look in the mirror and smile. Find the center of the bulge (the cheek's apple) and begin by applying blush there. Stop smiling, get a fresh, clean brush, and blend the color outward from the beginning circle.

To look younger: Feel where your cheek bone is. Apply the blush to the top half of the cheekbone only. Blend voraciously.

To look sophisticated: Apply the blush to the cheekbone, but start more toward the outer part of your face. (Line up your start point with the outer corner of the eye.) Blend outward into the hairline. There should be no color in the t-zone or beneath the cheekbone.

To look totally natural: Use a large, soft brush and dust a bronzy shade in an upside-down equilateral triangle shape, using your cheekbone as the base and about an inch up from the jawbone as the point. Blend like crazy.

To look professional: Brush the color over the cheekbone from the point under the center of your eye, outward. Follow the slant of the cheekbone, but don't let any blush get below cheekbone level.

For a night at the symphony: Use a lighter color on the cheekbone, and a matte bronze or beige underneath the cheekbone. A little highlighter can go just above the cheekbone on the extreme outer edge. Swirl the highlighter outward and then up, continuing over the eyebrow. Yes, you guessed it: Blend.

Brushes
Matching the brush to the job is crucial. Experimentation will find you your best choices. I love a soft, full brush to start with, and then a slightly stiffer brush for details and touch-ups. You can read more about brush choices at Vegan Makeup Brushes.

And finally, if you can create a purse-size version of the blush you're using, it's a good idea to carry it with you during the day for touch-ups.

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