For this method, New York City-based makeup artist Joseph Carrillo cannot emphasise the importance of blending enough. He likes using two to three shades – a bold blush colour with the other(s) being a softer hue, typically within the same colour family. “The softer shade is to look like a wash of colour on temples, hairline, [and] cheekbones,” he says, while the bolder colour is “buffed out around the temple and on the outer part of the eye and high points of the cheekbone.”
He recommends starting with the deeper shade at the end of the eye socket and buffing the pigment toward the temples and high points on the cheekbones using a dense brush (he likes Charlotte Tilbury’s Powder and Sculpt Brush) and circular motion. Then, with a larger, fluffy brush, work in the second colour right on top and around the edges to ensure the shades flow into each other seamlessly. He loves the six-pan Nars Orgasm on the Beach Palette, especially for warm summer days.
3. Sun-kissed: all-over glow
As far as we’re concerned, a just-back-from-Barbados makeup look is never a bad idea. Just because we know you’d never slack off on using sunscreen doesn’t mean anyone else has to know your faux glow happens to be courtesy of well-placed blush.
According to the pros, this technique works best when applied on top of bronzer; the bronzer acts as a base layer that helps to diffuse the blush’s pigment so it doesn’t look too harsh against the skin. For this, makeup artist Carissa Ferreri loves using Kjaer Weis Cream Blush in Sun Touched or Milk Makeup Lip and Cheek in Perk.
“The trick is to create the right amount of dewy glow and apply the slightest bit to the top of the nose on the bridge — think where your sunglasses would hit,” she explains. “And for more staying power, sweep a powder blush on top of the cream.”
Another great tip is to add a touch of colour to your eyelids, forehead, and chin. Ingeborg says that this helps to give the finished look a truly realistic, spent-the-day-in-the-sun effect, as these are the points of your face that the rays would naturally hit first.
Carillo loves this glowy look with a dewy foundation and some faux freckles courtesy of the TikTok-famous Freck Beauty’s Freckle Pen. He employs two shades of blush (a bright colour and a softer hue in the same colour family) with this method to create the desired dimension. With a stippling brush, he adds the darker colour to the high points of the cheeks and bridge of the nose, and then the softer shade on the apples, chin, and nose.
4. Flushed: intense and low
Sure, no one enjoys being blasted in the face by wind or getting burnt on the slopes; that’s how you end up with a raw, apple-red complexion that requires extra TLC for days. But faking it with blush? Now that can be extremely cute.
Ferreri favours using a gel or cream blush formula for this method, and she prefers either pink or rosy tones for the most natural finish. “I like this look to have no texture so that the colour looks like it’s just coming from within,” she says. “Focus the blush a bit higher on the cheeks, like right under the eyes, and then diffuse any harsh lines.”