The Dos and Don’ts of Wearing Blush
Makeup artist tips and tricks.
Summer Fridays
If you wear blusher, you probably have a tried-and-tested favourite product and shade, as well as a technique for applying it. But as with all makeup, there are trends and advances in formulations.
At its most basic, blush adds a natural-looking flush to your cheeks and some dimension—particularly if you’ve covered natural pink tones with foundation. “You’ve become two-dimensional once you put foundation, concealer, and no blush on,” says makeup artist Sandra Yang. “But as soon as you put that blush on, it is now a three-dimensional person.”
Makeup artist Andrea Claire says that on spring/summer 2026 runways, there was barely any blush but rather a focus on the eyes. The red carpet was a different story. “A great example is Margot Robbie right now. Her makeup is very blush-focused,” Claire says, referring to Robbie’s appearances to promote Wuthering Heights where she has a romantic, flushed look, with no bronzer or highlighter. For this, the blusher is applied around two finger-widths from the nose, below the centre of the pupil, a little higher than the apples of the cheeks. “I always like to either put the blush underneath the foundation so you kind of get that glow of colour that comes through. If you’re putting it on top of your foundation, use your foundation brush afterwards, just to kind of feather out the edge a little bit, so you don’t see the start and stop of your blush.”
Yang says she’s seeing a soft, cloud-like finish for blush that’s influenced by Korean beauty trends. “It’s placed right under the eye but very, very soft and diffused, with maybe a tiny bit on the nose bridge,” she says. “It’s soft and light, but it’s present. I think it’s beautiful, because they’re also matching the lips.” She says a good way to apply this is to use a cream-to-powder product and tap it into the skin with the fingertips. “The warmth of your hands will help diffuse the product onto your skin. And don’t put powder on it,” she says.
There are many blush formulations. Powder, applied with a brush, is buildable and lasts a long time, but it can sometimes look cakey or cling to dry patches. Creams can either deliver a dewy finish or blend like cream but be dry like powder and come in compacts or sticks. You can apply them with fingers or a brush, and use them in combination if you like: first cream, and then powder.
Liquids often come in a tube with an applicator used to dot blush onto the cheeks and blend with fingertips. They’re typically very pigmented and can dry quickly, so they should be blended quickly, but Yang points out that you can always add a little moisturizer if they’ve set and you need more time. The latest formulations on the market have good-for-skin ingredients like hyaluronic acid and antioxidants, and interesting textures (jelly, gel-cream, or water colour).
You can play around with the shade of blusher depending on the look you’re going for—match it to your lip colour or choose a statement-making shade like orange. The most natural shade is the colour of your cheeks when you blush. “Everyone looks good in a pink,” Yang says—typically a cool-toned pink such as rose or berry suits cool-toned skin and a warm-toned one such as coral or peach is best for warm-toned skin. “Darker skin can go with a bolder colour because it shows up differently.”
How much blusher is a matter of preference. To get your makeup just how you want it, Claire suggests standing in front of a window to get front-facing light and then checking your appearance in different lighting, including outdoors. She says ring lights aren’t ideal for makeup application because they can wash you out so you add more colour than you might want.
If you do look in the mirror and feel you’re more flushed than you’d like to be, Yang recommends using a little concealer to tone things down. “If you have too much pink, go for a cooler tone to bring that down,” she says. “Or use a bronzer. Bronze up everything. Or diffuse things with a nude powder—just make sure it doesn’t make your skin look too grey.”
Looking for a new blush? Here are seven to try, whatever texture or finish you like.
Chanel Rouge Noir Confidence Eyeshadow and Blush Palette
This palette has four powders: magenta, sienna red with shimmer, mauve pink, and a rosy highlighter. All can be used in combination on cheeks and eyes, depending on skin tone and preference.
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Charlotte Tilbury Cheek to Chic Pillow Talk Original
The compact contains two powders, a darker one around the perimeter and a lighter one in the centre. Use the darker one to structure and sculpt and apply the lighter one to the apples of the cheeks. Highly pigmented, long-lasting, and not cakey or drying, the blush comes in nine shades from peach to deep berry rose.
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Makeup by Mario Jelly Jar Lip & Cheek Balm
Designed for both lips and cheeks, this has a bouncy jelly-like texture and contains antioxidant vitamin E and moisturizing hyaluronic acid and castor oil. Apply with finger tips—it melts right into the skin. It comes in five shades that look intense in the pot but are subtle and buildable on the skin.
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Rare Beauty Soft Pinch Liquid Blush
Highly pigmented (you just need a single dot), this comes in both radiant and matte finishes, and in 14 shades from mauve to chestnut. Apply directly to the skin using the doe-foot applicator and use your fingers to blend. Mix it with liquid highlighter for a glowier look.
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Summer Fridays Blush Butter Balm
This cream blush contains shea, mango seed, and illipe butters, hyaluronic acid, and ceramides to moisturize skin and restore the barrier layer. It creates a sheer, dewy flush and is easy to blend in with a brush, sponge, or fingers. There are six shades, including three pinks: warm, cool, and neutral.
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19/99 Beauty Water Colour Tint
This sheer but pigmented balm can be used on lips or cheeks, layered to make it more intense or kept subtle. It comes in six shades from shimmering brown-beige to deep burgundy. The brand is Canadian brand, headquartered in Toronto.
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Maybelline Cloudtopia Cheek & Lip Mousse Blush
Create a soft, diffused look with this mousse, which comes in 10 colours including crimson and pink. It has a matte finish and is transfer- and sweat-resistant—the brand says it can last up to 14 hours.
