Tag Archives: blush

Color Your Complexion for Summer: Blush is Back

If you enjoyed the highlighter phase, but never quite caught on to contouring, I have great news. Blush is back! Blush goes in the same spot as contouring, making your face look fresh and bright instead of sunken. (Is there a reason why skeletal looks were trending?)

The light caught her highlighting in an unflattering manner, so remember, keep highlighting to a minimum. Make yourself up in bright sunlight or a makeup mirror to avoid applying too much. This way you look healthy and colorful. -Photo by Sakshi Patwa

Now that we’ve gotten past (most of) the pandemic, it’s time to show off your healthy state. Hopefully, you’re enjoying it! The sun is out, and it’s time for some color. How to apply blush?

Grab a mirror. When you have no makeup on, look at your cheeks carefully from the front. They will actually tell you where to apply blusher and highlight, if you’d like to add a little shine to your color. Under your eyes rest the tops of your cheekbones. If you notice, they are lighter in color. This is where you add your highlighter, sparingly, if you choose to.

Facial structures differ! If you look closely, you’ll see she has a darker triangle under the eye and, of course, under the cheekbones. She would apply her blush in these two areas. But she needs to bring the blush up a little on top of her cheekbones to avoid a sunken look. The lighter areas of her cheekbones under the eyes and on the side of the face could use a silvery highlighter to match her cool undertones. Photo by Keanen Geego Kilian

The area below this is significantly darker and might be spread closer to your ears than the center of your face. This dark area is where your blusher goes. But obviously it needs to be darker or more popp-ier than the skin in that area for it to work.

This lady can use her natural blushing area and add a slightly more intense color in rose or peach. You also might see a slightly darker area on the side of her cheekbones in a vertical pattern. She can use blush here too. Then she can use a bit of highlighter on the outside of the face under the eyes where the skin is lighter. Photo by Lerike Lazyr.

Very dark, black skin can use bright red colors that pop. Very light, European skin gets away with peach and rose colors. Medium skin tones work well with rust and darker pinks. Tones between black and medium look awesome with a raisin color blush. Again, you can choose any color, as long its just darker than the skin there.

It’s so hard to find pictures with absolutely no makeup. Sorry this is in black and white. This lady has a very clear delineation of light and dark on her cheeks. A red or violet pop of blush, blended in well with highlighter subtly placed in gold on the upper cheekbones will look so beautiful on her. Photo by David Iloba.

If your skin is dark and you can’t find an appropriate color, go for one that pops instead. If you have a European light, skin tone, colors that pop won’t work for you! Look instead for a highlighter to give you some shimmer. A little glitter in the highlight area when it’s hot outside looks lovely on everyone, too.

Blush and highlighter properly applied for a natural summertime look. Lovely. Photo by cottonbro.

Happy summer!