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Blushing Beauty
Blusher has a reputation for being difficult
to apply but, once you know what you’re doing, it can make
you look your best in seconds. |
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The Right Blusher For You
 Powder
blusher is easier to control and blend, which is why
it’s the most popular choice of all. You’ll also
find the widest choice of shades comes in powder form. It
should be applied over foundation - and under face powder
- not on bare skin; applying powder blush to clean, fresh
skin gives you too bright a flash of colour. At the very least,
you should wear a veil of translucent powder underneath. It
will also stay put longest if ‘sandwiched’ between
foundation and powder. Make-up artists always use powder blusher.
Cream blusher is good for dry or
sun-damaged skin; it slides easily over the surface and won’t
settle in wrinkles. To avoid a clown effect, always put cream
or liquid blusher into the palm of your hand first, then apply
it to your cheek. It should be tapped on lightly with the
finger and blended immediately.
Gel blusher offers the sheerest
form of colour, and is great for giving a natural-looking
glow to bare skin on outdoorsy weekends. Because gel blushers
are transparent, they’re perfect for summer. Gel should
always be applied over moisturiser (not foundation), which
makes it glide on more smoothly and avoids a ‘polka-dot’
effect (the stain ‘takes’ very fast when it hits
the skin). Do always remember to wash your hands immediately
after applying them, as the pigments can stain fingers.
Bronzing powder can be substituted
for blush in summer. It’s also great dusted around the
hairline, on the nose and chin, as well as across the cheekbones,
for giving you a truly healthy-looking tan.
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Mary Greenwell: ‘Blush is the one piece of make-up that
you’ll never have to change. Stick with a blush that adds
the right healthy glow and change the colour of eyes and lips.’
• Top American make-up artist
Rex advises using a blusher brush with white bristles, to help
you tell if you’re overdoing the colour: ‘If your
brush suddenly looks too pink, your cheeks will, too.’
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Colour Choices
Don’t go too bright or too dark. Aim for a natural, soft,
healthy glow. Bobbi Brown says: ‘The right blusher for
you is the same colour your cheeks are naturally when you’re
really healthy.’
Fair-skinned women should look
for beige, tawny and pink tones.
Olive/yellow-toned skins will
find warm brown, almond and copper shades most flattering.
Dark-skinned women can use
plum, fuchsia, auburn and deep bronze shades.
Redheads look best in orange,
apricot, peach and coral shades. These also look good on anyone
with a tan.
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TIPS FROM THE TOP
When Collier Strong makes up Melanie Griffith’s face
for photo shoots, he brushes on Coppertone blush by M.A.C.
if she has a tan, or Rose Quartz by Chanel if she doesn’t,
on top of foundation. ‘The blush really brings her to
life. She’s such a beautiful woman - I love putting blush
on her.’
Sharon Stone uses a M.A.C. eyeshadow - in Soft Brown - as
a blush.
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The Contour Controversy
Should you shape your face using darker powder to disguise
chubby cheeks or double chins? Opinions vary. Bobbi Brown
thinks it’s better to play up your good points rather
than try to cover up your flaws. But Maggie Hunt, who every
year teaches hundreds of women how to make the most of their
looks, does believe in contouring: ‘I use a face shaper
- a matte brown one - to help minimise double chins, chubby
cheeks and high and narrow foreheads. Choose a shade of powder
that’s just a darker version of your own skin tone and
brush it onto the heavy areas. If your forehead is too high,
put a soft brown powder around the hairline.’
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Blusher Tips From the Pros
• ‘Invest in a proper
blusher brush,’ advises Bobbi Brown. ‘The teeny
ones you find in compacts just aren’t up to the job,
and will give visible brush strokes.’
• Don’t use blusher to
give yourself instant cheekbones. The most flattering way
to apply it is on the ‘apples’ of the cheeks. Locate
yours by drawing an imaginary line down from your pupil to
the centre of your cheek. Then lightly stroke outwards, towards
the top of the ear, covering the entire cheekbone area in
soft, sweeping strokes.
• Kevyn Aucoin sometimes applies
blusher to the cleavage and along the hairline, too. ‘It
adds warmth to powder and foundation, making the whole look
more realistic and healthy-looking.’
• Carol Shaw advises applying
blush when you’re smiling: ‘Add a little blush in
that ball of your cheek and bring it back a little towards
the bone.’
• ‘You want to look like
the noon sun has hit you on - not under - your cheekbones,’
believes Mary Greenwell.
• Like many make-up artists,
Maggie Hunt likes to ‘double-blush’, first applying
one layer of blush, then powder, then blushing again: ‘It
helps the colour stay put.’
• Shu Uemura’s resident
make-up artist Andrea says that in summer, older women should
avoid powder blusher: ‘It can look dusty. Instead, try
rubbing some lipstick into your cheeks, which gives a much
more natural result.’
• Says Kevyn Aucoin: ‘Over-blushing
can always be corrected by blending in a little powder.’
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