Blush is a cosmetic many women seem to be afraid of. I blame the
1980s, when the popular look was to paint a hot pink stripe along the
cheekbone and up into the temple. Hey, if that’s your look, and you
rock it, then I say heck yeah, go for it! But for most women, I think
that’s what they think of when they think of blush, and therefore they
tend to avoid it altogether, which is really a shame – it does
wonderful things!
Blush is a vital cosmetic, especially for weddings or other occasions
when you’re going to be photographed. People tend to look
super-washed out in photos. You can combat that with just the right amount of blush, and you don’t look “made up,” just healthy and glowy and not
ghost-like.
In terms of placement, I like to put a pop of color right on the apple
of the cheek. If you’re not sure where that is, smile; and the round,
fleshy area you see there? That’s the apple. Just a soft pop of
color there is gorgeous. Matte colors are great, shimmery is lovely
too, especially for evening – but be careful with shimmer if you’ve
got more mature skin. It can make wrinkles appear deeper.
In terms of color, I like cool colors on paler skin tones (blue-based
pinks, mauves), and then I prefer warmer colors on deeper tones
(corals, reds, plums). The exception is if someone has very pale skin
with a strong red undertone (Irish gals are a good example of this) -
you want to avoid anything pink or red, because it’ll just make the skin
look redder. With this skin tone you would want to go with more of a
brown or coral tone. Just do a sweep of color with a natural hair brush, and if it’s too dark, blend it out until you’ve got the desired intensity. Nothing to fear!
