Want to look youthful? Well rested? Glowing with good health?

It doesn’t matter if you’ve been drinking green juice and bending into yoga, or drinking Jagger bombs and um, just bending… blush is the great equaliser.

Think about it – there is nothing like a natural, yet artificially enhanced flush to the cheeks that can help blend the sinners and angels among us quicker than a black and white ball.

Traditionally dabbed lightly for a dash of innocence, David Bowie and Grace Jones brought this staple into a more theatrical arena.

Since I favour that healthy, yet high fashion look, blush has long been my secret weapon to add life and radiance to underslept models.

And with a trend for extreme blush exceeding contouring WAY out of the water, it was only fair that I give you a round-up of my favourite blushes.

Sweep on the apples of your cheeks in big round movements and don’t be shy. Think broad, purposeful strokes. Cover more of your face that usual to show your personality.

For a look that is traditionally demure, this is anything but.

Read on!

Makeup forever blush 306

This radiant apricot blush with a delicate gold flicker is my current go-to peachy blush of goodness. It brushes on like a dream and brings fair-to-medium skin to life and brightens dull skin or dark circles.

Fenty Beauty Match Stix Shimmer Skinstick in Yacht Lyfe

You can swipe this creamy, peachy-pink highlighting blush stick right across your cheekbones and be done with it after a little blending with your fingertips. In fact, that is actually the best way to apply this, in my experience, making it super easy. It’s also just the prettiest of colours ever and works on every skin tone.

Anastasia Beverly Hills Blush Trio in Peachy Love.

Why have one peach shade when you can have 3? With two shades being more on the nude side of peach and a more striking apricot shade to brighten the dullest of skins, this palette is perfect for fair to medium skin tones.

Aveda Petal Essence 181 Apricot Whisper

I love layering this trio together on olive and darker skin tones. Apply the rose blush goes through your contours like you would a bronzer to add rosy depth and place the peach high on the apples of the cheeks for a pop of magnetic colour.  The gold highlighter shade works beautifully on deeper skin tones bring shape to the skin and a youthful light, and brighten skin and eyes.

Armani fluid sheer #5

This bold terracotta red shade liquid luminizer looks intimidating in the bottle… but give it a chance. On olive through dark skin tones, a dot or two blended on each cheek adds the perfect pop of colour! And on light skin tones, layer it under your foundation ( I learnt this doing a VS show) for a flush that looks as close to the real thing as you’ll ever get.

Hourglass Cosmetics Ambient Lighting Blush in Iridescent Flash

Looking at this blush makes me think of these amazing white chocolate and raspberry muffins I ate once from this cake store in Soho. Although I hate muffins, this thing was more like a piece of chunky delicious cake. Well, this magenta berry blush goes on a lot lighter thanks to all those swirls of creamy swirls of highlighter. This blush is one of those shades that work on all skin tones and works smashingly with a red or plum lip. YUM!

NARS Blush in Exhibit A

You may look at this colour and think ‘there’s no way I’d be able to wear it’, but I promise this shade will be your new go-to for spring and summer! Use a larger powder brush to help diffuse the product with a wash of colour (a little bit goes a long way) to add warmth to your cheeks, complement a power lip or get a more youthful pink to your cheeks. 

CREDITS

Words: Alina B | Makeup and Reviews: Max May