I will never forget my first night out in Barcelona. Not because of our midnight stroll down La Rambla nor because of the unforgettable vibe in the city, but because my best friend decided to diffuse pink blush across the bridge of her nose and temples before we stepped out. The rest of us laughed before eating our words and realising how clever the trick was. It was my first and only important lesson in the power of blush and more so its placement.
That was nine years ago and since then I've vowed to approach blush with playfulness, occasionally throwing out the rule book and understanding that this is a magical tool to be used in many ways. The learning I never leave the house without (thank you best friend) is swiping blush along the bridge of my nose and my commitment to the cause is the reason why I am so excited to try TikTok's newest viral 'cold girl' make-up trend.
Think of it as an update to summer's 'sunburn blush' trend. Cold girl make-up is winter's answer to a look that mimics the effects of being caught in the blistering cold: red nosed, flushed cheeks and slightly glazed eyes thanks to the work of icy winds. #Coldgirlmakeup has currently garnered a whopping 23.6 million views on the app and it's not hard to see why. If you grew up thinking the inhabitants of Whoville were incredibly cute, this trend is a 101 in nailing the look. Cindy Lou Who, who?
There are a host of videos breaking down the best ways to recreate the look, but i've landed on @imjessicazhang's whose tutorial is genius. In her TikTok, which has received 3.6 million views, Jessica details three-steps to cracking the trend, saying 'I am about to show you how to get the cold girl look in three-steps, three-steps, that's all. Base make-up, eye make-up, do them however you like. As long as you do these three things you'll be walking around all winter looking like a whole snow princess angel.'
Step one is blush, where colour and placement is key. For colour, opt for a pigmented cool, bright pink and place it right under your eyes (I wasn't lying when I mentioned throwing out the rule book), then the bridge and tip of the nose, as well as your chin and all over your lips.
Step two sees Jessica swipe a matte pink lipstick on the inner areas of her lips and then her cupids bow and the centre of her lower lip line to mimic a 'cute' chapped lip (stay with us). At this point cold girl mode has been truly activated. But if you want to kick it up a notch, move to step three and highlight.
Choose a bright, radiant highlighter and apply it to the inner corners, lower lash line and tip of the nose. And get really extra by applying glitter to the lower lash line for the ultimate 'I think there's a snowflake in my eye' look. I am sold.
Main image: TikTok @imjessicazhang