A little stumped about what to write about this week I did a mini survey amongst friends and colleagues regarding makeup. I found that to my surprise about 60% of you were interested and wanted to know about blusher; how to wear it and how not to wear it!

I am super glad that I asked as I would never have thought that blush was something of a problem or a concern to a woman. According to ‘InStyle’ magazine 47% of woman wear blush today as opposed to 66% in 1948! We seem to be either scared of it or overconfident with it landing up looking like one clown short of a circus! If used properly blush can be your secret weapon and make you stand out with a gorgeous and healthy glow amidst a sea of sallow sally’s.

I think that firstly it’s important to realise that your bronzer and your blusher are two different things; they have different functions and should be used accordingly.

A.)Your bronzer is used to darken the skin to give your face/body a beautiful sun kissed glow!  It therefore has a brown base/undertone which can look terrible if piled on in the middle of the cheeks or on the upper part of the cheekbone, as it shades these areas! Remember that anything dark is used to minimize and anything light is used to highlight or emphasize!

B.)Your blusher is used to add colour to the cheeks to give a youthful appearance and help emphasis and highlight the cheekbones. (So NOTE to self: Bronzer is used to minimize and Blush is used to emphasize!)

Secondly you should spend time on finding the right colour and texture for you, there is guideline here but no set rules. Work with your skin tone i.e. yellow or pink undertone and its condition: dry/oily skin.

1.)    Skin tone: Play with some colours and see which ones brighten up your face, try pinks, peaches, roses and plums. It’s often a great idea to mix colours as with choosing foundations it is seldom that you can buy the right colour that’s 100% perfect for you without mixing!
2.)    Yellow undertones would suit warmer colours and pink undertones would suit cooler colours however I must be honest I break this guideline quite often and find that by mixing colors the exact colour is often  found.
3.)    Texture: A cream blush is excellent if your skin is dry or heavily lined. It’s easier to apply as you just use the tips of your fingers and blend into the apples of the cheeks! I must say I do prefer it as it really settles nicely into the skin and looks natural and dewy whereas a powder blush can settle into fine lines and make them more noticeable. A powder blush is still the most common and is great for oily skin and in humid climates. The powder’s formula won’t slip during hot weather and so it is important to consider this when deciding which blush is right for you!
4.)    Another thing you can do is use two colors in order to achieve a shading effect. Here you would remember the shading and highlighting technique, so the darker colour will be used just under the cheekbones where the hollow’s of the cheeks are. The lighter colour would be used on the apples of the cheeks. Always use a soft circular motion and brush the colour away from the nose and outwards towards the ear.
5.)    A useful tip to ensure that your makeup looks natural and fresh is to try and match your blush to your lips so that it seems flushed as opposed to fake. Obviously if you are wearing purple lips this is not advisable…!

Some celebrities with fantastic blush and makeup techniques are: Charlize Theron, Xtina, Kim Kardashian, Cheryl Cole and Scarlet Johansson.

Article By:Chantelle Craig of C3makeup