The Biggest Blush Mistakes
The Biggest Blush Mistakes — and How to Avoid Them
A celebrity makeup artist shares his tips for using blush flawlessly. Here, get the dos and don'ts of applying blush.
By Dr. Jessica Wu
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My friend Scott Barnes, a celebrity makeup artist, always gives me advice about how I should wear my makeup, my hair, my clothes — and after all, he works with the most beautiful women in the world, so I trust his taste. When he told me I needed to update my blush technique, I listened, and all of a sudden I started to get compliments. According to Scott, these are the three most common blush mistakes, along with his advice on how to avoid them:
Wrong amount. Use too much blush and you’ll look as if you belong in the circus — or like Bette Davis in What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? Instead, remember the original intent of blush — to make you look aroused (as if you’re ready to have sex or you just had sex). The goal should be to look naturally and gently flushed, not painted.
Wrong color. The wrong blush color can make your complexion muddy. Choose the right one and your skin will instantly look brighter. If you have fair, rosy skin, choose cool, blue-toned pinks. You can even get away with slightly frosted pink blush. If you have olive skin with golden undertones, skip the cool pinks, which will look gray or muddy on your skin. Stick to warm honey or peach tones to complement your coloring. If your skin is darker, choose richer, deeper wines and burgundies.
Wrong placement. Don’t use blush under your cheekbones to contour. Instead, put it on the apples of your cheeks. To find your apples, smile big; they're the rounded part of your cheeks that lift when you smile. If you don’t have much in the cheekbone department, you can place the blush a bit higher, along the line of the cheekbones.
