This Is Where The Hell To Put Your Blush
by Audie Metcalf
If you know where the hell to put your blush, please don’t read this. It’s not for you. You will laugh and point and be smug, for you are a person who knows where the hell to put your blush. In fact, stop reading and go put some blush on. I’m sure it will look magnificent.
Ok, good. They’re gone. It’s just us now.
As someone who has both struggled with my own blush placement, AND as someone who used to make a living by putting blush on other people, I feel exceptionally qualified to write this article and to be the person to tell you exactly. where. the. hell. to. put. your. blush.
So, let’s do this. A couple of crucial caveats first.
Don’t Even Use Blush
Allow me to potentially change your life by telling you that in many cases, you might not even need to wear blush. And as someone who would have answered an enthusiastic “BLUSH!” when asked what I might bring to a desert island (which I understand is a very bad choice and a pocket knife would be more useful), that’s really saying something. as you advance in age, your cheeks can get ruddier and more flushed. After you slap on some bronzer, your cheeks might just naturally blush. For bronzer try Chanel’s incredible creamy bronzer or the cream version of Benefit’s Hoola or the new Fenty match sticks which have a massive shade range and work beautifully as bronzer, or Milk Makeup’s ahmayzing stick bronzer) and take a selfie after a few hours. If you notice some lovely pinky peach on your cheeks, you could be in the “I don’t even NEED to know where the hell to put my blush anymore” category. Welcome.
Powder Blush Is A Living Nightmare
No, not all powder blush. And if you’re thinking “But Audie, I adore my Hourglass Ambient Lighting Blush in Luminous Flash—it gives me such a subtle sheer glow with just a light wash of pink, as if stepping right off the slopes après ski!” I will ask you to remember that you are not welcome here in this article because it SOUNDS TO ME like you already KNOW where the fuck to put your blush. So, bye.
For your 25 year olds, your pros, your eccentric aunts, your YouTubers, powder blush is fine. For the rest of us, it’s designed to make us look like deranged clowns. As we age, powder in (mostly) all its forms tends to sink into lines, sit on the skin, and in general do the opposite of what makeup is supposed to do—which is, namely, make us look better, brighter, younger. As a professional blush hoarder, I can confidently say that I’ve tried nearly every fancy and drugstore blush out there, and none give as beautiful a result as a non-powder blush. Yes, even for my oily skinned comrades.
Can I Actually Read Something About What The Article Title Promised Now?
Yes. Though the concept of “where” is intrinsically linked to “what”. Therefore, I have collected some supremely beautiful, easy-to-use blushes, and exactly how to use them.
1.
1. Stila Convertible Color
WHERE:
Big department stores, Sephora, Ulta.
WHY THIS:
This OG cream blush is incredibly easy to use and I always recommend it if “blending” is a word that’s always sounded sort of scary to you.
HOW TO USE:
Tap your middle and ring finger into the pot, then tap into your cheeks on the cheekbone and blend upward following the line of your cheekbone. Tap whatever is remaining on your fingers down towards the center of the cheek. This creates a flush of color and sort of lifts the face. I don’t recommend smiling and patting onto the cheek, as most articles will tell you to do. Unless “deranged clown” IS what you’re going for. I don’t judge.
ANYTHING ELSE:
All of these Stila tones essentially look great on almost everyone. Even their brightest color won’t look that bright once you’re wearing it. Peach and nude tones are universally flattering, so you really can’t go wrong. And don’t ever judge the color in the pan as an exact indicator of what it will really look like on your face. And DEFINITELY don’t just use the back of your hand as a gauge for the color. The only way to try makeup is to put it on the exact spot it belongs because of how all the other colors on your face will affect the result. So, go into the store, bare skinned, find and try on a foundation that you like or that you typically wear, and try the blush on top of that. Try until you like one. Do a jaunt around the mall or outside first before you buy, to be sure you like the color in all lights. This sounds like a lot of work. It is. But it’s better than buying your 19th blush that you’ll never wear.
2.
2. Cle De Peau Cream Blush
WHERE:
Higher end department stores like Nordstrom, Saks, Barneys
WHY THIS:
Cle de Peau’s “price point” is like some kind of surreal performance art, but there’s a reason their 60 DOLLAR cream blush is on this list. First, it will last an entire year. Second, there is some kind of incredible blush technology they use which literally blurs your pores and lines, while giving this gorgeous glow, and that alone justifies the ludicrous price.
HOW TO USE:
Like the Stila blush, you can use the middle/ring finger technique for a mindlessly beautiful result.
ANYTHING ELSE:
Bring your most aggressive friend to keep the salespeople away. Salespeople want to sell you things. Some of them are very seductive and good at it. They don’t have your best interests at heart. They also think about makeup like a hobby that’s fun, that’s art, whereas you do not. You want makeup that just makes you look like yourself but better, and more rested.
3.
3. Tata Harper Lip and Cheek Tint
WHERE:
Sephora
WHY THIS:
Tata Harper is one of the more gorgeous “clean” brands you can find at Sephora, and their blush tints are stunning and easy to use.
HOW TO USE:
Method above. And these are buildable – meaning if you apply your blush in the morning and then find you’re a sallow ghost by the afternoon, you can tap on more color - nothing will look smeary or uneven.
ANYTHING ELSE:
A few other lovely clean beauty brands with gorgeous, easy, cream blushes: RMS, Ilia Beauty, and lilah b.
4.
4. Milk Makeup Glow Oil Lip and Cheek
WHERE:
Sephora
WHY:
At $14 a pop, this blush has a slight sheen that almost doubles as a highlighter (which is another whole kettle of fish) and is ridiculously easy to blend out.
HOW TO USE:
A cream blush in a stick is possibly the easiest formula to use, and you can essentially just dot this on your cheeks, staying on the cheek bone, then using your fingers, blend down toward the center of your cheek, in tapping motions. This blush leaves an ethereal, other-worldly glow.
ANYTHING ELSE:
This formula has shimmer, but Milk Makeup’s other stick blushes are shimmer free.
5.
5. Revlon Insta Blush
WHERE:
Drugstores, Target, Walmart
WHY THIS:
Of all the drugstore stick cream blushes, this one is so sheer that it’s essentially foolproof. Use the dotting/tapping method as described above. Pro tip: The color “nude kiss” is gorj.
ANYTHING ELSE:
At around 4 bucks, you can dip your toe into the stick cream blush waters without fear, and see if the placement method works for you.
And the ugly truth is, (ugh), blush placement can be slightly different for everyone depending on the exact shape of your face. The #1 smartest way to figure out where the hell to put your blush is to find a YouTuber who has a similar face shape as you and watch them. Don’t just find someone you love. Be objective about your face. If you can’t do it, enlist your friends to help. And then go binge watch Katie Jane Hughes’ Instagram stories to reveal a certain kind of blush-magic that the rest of us mere mortals will never fully understand. But it’s fun to dream. Good luck.
Audie Metcalf is the Editor-in-chief of The Candidly, and lives in LA with her family. You can find more of her articles here.
At The Candidly, we try a lot of stuff so you don’t have to. We only recommend things we truly love, and that we think you’ll love, too. All products are chosen independently by our creative team, and all details reflect the price and availability of products at the time of publication. If you buy something we link to, The Candidly may earn a commission.
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