Anuoluwapo Adebayo: Getting Your Blush Application Right

Applying your blush is often but not compulsorily the last step in your makeup application; its relatively easy however a lot of people seem to get it wrong especially when choosing the colour of blush and what part of their cheeks to place it.

Choose your blush type based on your skin texture and complexion- Blushes come in Powder, gel and cream form. If your skin is oily, it is advisable to use powder blushes while dry skin can use cream blushes.

You are permitted to use more than one colour of blush; you don’t have to restrict yourself to just one particular shade of blush every day. You can alternate shades that match your natural colouring and accent your facial features yet won’t stand out too much which can make you look like a clown or like you were punched in the face.

See chart below

Round: Apply blush slightly under the apple of your cheeks and towards your ears. Square: Apply blush in slow circular motions on the apple of your cheeks to soften your face. Heart: Dust blush on the lower part of the cheeks; apply in a back and forth motion on the cheekbones. Long/ Oblong: Start applying blush from the apple of your cheeks and blend towards your ears giving an illusion of a wider or shorter face. Oval: Apply blush on the apple of your cheeks and blend gently upwards towards your temples.

Always use a good quality blush brush; using your fingers (except when using a cream or gel based blush), cotton wool or small poor quality brush can result in ‘dirty looking’ application. You need to be able to properly control the products, whether cream, powder or gel, blush needs to be worn on the right part of your cheeks to ensure it stays on for long and doesn’t spoil your overall looks.

The wrong shade of blush drains colour from your face while the right one gives you a healthy glow.
Blush shouldn’t be applied too close to your mouth, nose and shouldn’t be too far ‘away’ from your face either. Besides knowing where and how to apply blush for your face shape, another way to achieve a suitable point on your face is by placing two fingers to the side of your mouth (along laugh lines) and begin your blush application from where your fingers ends.
Blush shouldn’t be an obvious colour clash or separation that happened somewhere during your makeup; it should be slightly seen in the middle of your face, between your forehead to the top of your ear and from your ear to chin.
Blush can be applied in a back and forth movement as well as up and down motion across your cheekbones. You can also highlight the area above your cheekbones and contour the area below; this technique emphasizes the facial bone structure.
Don’t try to find your cheekbones by smiling, that way after you apply your blush and stop smiling, it looks like the product has ‘dropped’ from where you placed it. You can simply find your cheekbones if they are not very obvious by sucking in your cheeks slightly (also called fish face)
Avoid overloading the brush with product; it’s better to build up that trying to reduce excess.
Don’t fret when it seems like your blush is too much, simply reduce the effect by using a big powder brush and translucent powder to dust off any extra blush.
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