Sun-flushed blush is the make-up look you need to know about this spring. It involves faking a post-holiday glow, the sort of healthy, joyous pink cheek-ness that screams 'did I mention I've just been on holiday?'. Forget painting by numbers and daubing the apples of each cheek with a brush-load of the same powder you've been using for the last decade (if you're in need of a new one check out our run down of the best blushers), sun flushed blush requires you to rethink placement and product. Buckle up.
Take your cues from Dua Lipa (reportedly engaged), whose latest influx of Instagram Stories pictured her her pairing a primrose yellow laced blouse with a pair of Daisy Dukes and one of the best examples of sun-flushed blush we could have wished for. Lipa wears a wash of warm colour across the tops of her cheeks and the bridge of her nose, some of the highest points of the face and the areas that tend to catch the most sun.
I'm a big fan of this look. Bringing the bridge of your nose into the blush equation lends the overall effect authenticity. 'Have you spent minutes in front of the mirror doing your make-up or are you fresh from the arrivals gate at Heathrow?' admiring onlookers will ask. Probably.
For a really believable finish I make sure to muddle my blusher with my bronzer. For a long time I associated bronzer with contouring and contouring only. But the reality is that bronzers can add warmth to your face and décolletage, not shadow. And if I spend a day in the sun (albeit adequately protected by my trusty SPF50) the sun-kissed look I walk away with is as much rosy as it is bronzed. So it stands to reason that, to fake it, I need to blend the two together. And that's exactly what I do.
I'm a cream bronzer and blusher devotee, but you can make this work with powder iterations too. I start with bronzer, blending it across my face from one cheek, up and over the bridge of my nose to my other cheek. I do the same with my favourite cream blush stick on top. If I think the colour is looking a bit too intense after all that, I reach for my foundation brush. Using only the residue from my last foundation application I lightly tap it over the top of my 'flush' to temper it. And as for my go-to kit? Scroll on down.
Shop: The Sun Blush 'It' Kit
Annie Vischerwww.selfridges.com
A creamy blush stick with serious pigment pay off. I've been using mine since it launched and find less is more. I scrawl a little onto the top of my hand (a professional make-up artist's trick I've seen in action more times than I can count) then use a fluffy brush brush to pick it up and tap it across my cheeks and the bridge of my nose.
Pros
- Great pigment payoff
- Shade range from rosy to corals
- Luxe packaging
Cons
- Expensive for a blush stick
Violette_Frwww.violettefr.com
Visually this thing is a treat - a stick of deep caramel-toned bronze swirled with shimmer. Although, worth noting, this doesn't apply shimmery. I apply the same way as I apply my cream blush (I actually apply the bronzer first) and conveniently there's an in-built brush.
Pros
- In-built brush.
- Great staying power.
- Beautiful to look at.
Cons
- Expensive for a cream bronzer.
Annie Vischer is beauty director at Grazia. Annie was previously beauty editor across a number of lifestyle titles at TI Media (now Future Plc) including Woman & Home magazine and Feel Good You. Annie has over a decade-worth of experience as a beauty journalist under her belt and is an established authority in the beauty industry, known for covering skincare, make-up, hair care, body care, treatments and wellness in print, online and across social media.