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How To Pick the Right Blush Color In 2022
When you find a cheek color that you love, it can be hard to try something new. However, if you’re still holding on to the same pink blush you’ve been using since high school, it’s time for a change.
Today’s best blush colors are available in an array of peachy pinks, mauves, taupes, and even plums. No matter what your skin tone or look, it’s easy to create a healthy, natural looking glow. You don’t need to be a makeup artist to get it right, but we consulted with our favorites at RMS Beauty to get the tips and tricks you need to ace your application.
We’ll cover everything you need to know about blush, what’s available, and how to pick the right blush color. We’ll also talk about how to use it to create a look you’ll love.
What Blush Does
For a simple cheek color, blush has a big job. It adds color to your face that creates a look of health and wellness. Using the correct blush color can create a youthful glow, add lift and volume to your skin, and compliment your lip color and eyeshadow.
The right blush can also be a great addition to your skin care routine. RMS Beauty’s Pressed Blush is packed with wildcrafted buriti oil and vegetable squalane to keep your skin hydrated and nourished. Even if you have oily skin, our pressed blush helps deliver moisture without shine.
Types of Blush
If you’re a fingertip application pro, a cheek stain or cream blush could be the perfect product for you. If you’re more comfortable with a blush brush, a powder blush is the solution. No matter what, you’ve got options.
Keep in mind that one type of blush might work best for a bare-faced look, while another might be the better solution for a night out.
Cream Blush
Cream-based blushes are best for a normal to dry skin type. They go on easily and are usually foolproof when it comes to blending. Look for cream blushes that are buildable, with natural, plant-based ingredients that benefit your skin. Avoid ingredients like petroleum or parabens, which can irritate your skin and clog your pores.
Powder Blush
Powder blush is the true blush standard, and probably what you started out with when you first began wearing makeup. Available in palettes that offer numerous pigments, you can easily blend powder blush colors together to create a custom color that is uniquely yours.
Powder blush takes a little more skill to master, but as long as you start with a high-quality product, use the right brush, and stick to a few application techniques, it’s easy to get a natural, radiant look.
When choosing a pressed, powder blush, look for natural ingredients that are safe for your skin. Iron oxides are natural minerals that create beautiful pigments of red, bricks, and browns. These are naturally light-reflective, which make them perfect for powdered blush and allow you to add a hint of luminescent color to your skin.
Titanium dioxide is also a type of naturally occurring mineral that is safe in cosmetic powders. This is used to help scatter light and add natural reflectiveness, which creates blushes that give your skin an unmistakable glow.
Both of these minerals are rated a 2 by the Environmental Working Group. Ingredients rated 1-3 by the EWG are considered incredibly safe for cosmetic use.
Cheek Stain or Tint
One of the easiest ways to create a natural look is with a cheek stain or tint. These require a bit of know-how, but they are usually long lasting and give your skin a youthful glow that is easily mistaken as your own natural skin coloration.
Cheek stains and tints usually provide a matte finish. If you prefer a dewier look, you can always apply a luminizer on top of a matte cheek stain to create a little more reflection.
These are different from liquid blush, which is closer in composition to a cream blush but in a tube. RMS Beauty’s Lip2Cheek gives you the natural color of a cheek stain with the ease of application of a cream blush. Use it with a brush or your fingertips to create buildable color on your cheeks and lips.
Blush, Highlighter, or Bronzer?
It’s easy to be confused by blush, highlighter, and bronzer; they all see your cheeks as prime real estate. However, these three products are incredibly different, and it’s important to use them properly. You’ll never apply a blush in the same way you’d apply a highlighter or bronzer.
Highlighter
A highlighter uses compounds and particles to create light on your skin. These particles are usually reflective and can create a certain amount of dewy shimmer that makes your skin appear luminous.
The luminescence in your highlighter should be provided by natural, sustainably sourced minerals, like mica. Mica is considered safe in cosmetics and is incredibly light reflective. You’ll find it in our luminizers and our pressed blush colors.
You can use our luminizers over your blush on the cheekbones, and also on your eyelids, bridge of your nose, and even on your collarbones.
Bronzer
A bronzer looks similar to a blush, but it’s ruddier in color. It’s used to give your skin a sun-kissed look without the damaging UV rays. Bronzers should be applied anywhere the sun would naturally give your skin color, like the apples of your cheeks, your nose, and even on your eyelids.
Finding Your Perfect Blush for 2022
This year, the most perfect colors center around creating natural, believable looks. In order to find your perfect color, you need to understand your skin tone.
Skin Tones and Undertones
Your skin tone is the color you see when you look at your skin. Think of it like your skin as a whole. Undertones, however, are the different variations in color you can see under your skin. They make up your skin tone, but are only a part of the whole.
If you aren’t sure what your skin undertone is, you can learn how to find it here.
Fair skin tones will naturally gravitate toward classic pinks and mauves, medium skin tones look perfect with peach shades, and dark skin tones can always pull off deep berry colors, bricks, and terracotta.
Don’t limit yourself to one color; every skin tone looks good in a variety of blush shades. Also, try not to worry too much about what color blush might be popular for everyone else. Even the trendiest, most famous shades don’t work for absolutely everyone.
Matching to Makeup
Whether you’re attempting to match your cheek color to your lip gloss or your eyeshadow, remember that the goal is to make your skin look naturally alive and radiant.
However, if you’re using a colored mascara or brightly colored eyeliner, opt for a softer shade of blush.
If you’re using a standard brownish-black color, you can play up your cheek color more. Creating balance is the key to perfecting any look.
How To Apply Your Blush Like a Pro
Applying blush properly takes a little practice, but once you master your technique, you can create radiance in a few easy brush strokes or finger sweeps.
After you have cleansed your skin and used a moisturizer, prep your skin with any foundation or concealer products you normally use. Next, lift a small amount of product with your brush or fingertip.
Blush should be applied in two places: either the apples of the cheeks blending upward, or slightly higher on the cheekbones for a more lifted look.
Mistakes to Avoid
Avoid carrying your blush onto your temples, on your forehead, your nose, or chin. Although you may want natural color in these areas, blush isn’t quite the right product for the job. Instead, opt for a luminizer or bronzer in these areas and keep the blush on your cheeks — if you really can’t resist, there is a trend where you lightly brush blush across the tops of your cheekbones and your nose that will give you a whimsical, slightly sunkissed look.
You’ll also want to make sure you use a small, dedicated blush brush for application. Using a large brush will cause you to apply blush in a much larger, circular area, instead of directly on your cheeks where it belongs.
Lastly, make sure to blend, blend, blend! Nothing looks more unfortunate than a rectangular patch of color angled onto your cheeks. If you’ve applied too much blush, use a powder brush with a little translucent powder to tone down the color and blend out the edges of the product to make it look natural.
The Best Blush with RMS Beauty
At RMS Beauty, we’re as obsessive about what goes into our products as what we keep out. We believe your blush should create beauty, but also be nourishing to your skin. Every cheek color we make is packed with plant-based ingredients to keep your skin hydrated and nourished from the inside out.
It’s 2022, if you haven’t ventured out and tried a new blush color, now is the time. Trust RMS Beauty to deliver the most sought after colors with the safest, cleanest ingredients.
Sources:
EWG Skin Deep® | What is IRON OXIDES
