Staying Away From the Apples of the Cheeks in Blush Application

One part of make up that i struggle with the most - well, aside from finding the perfect foundation - is applying blush.

I know some people would go, "Whattt? That's like the easiest part of makeup!". Well then good for you, but i unfortunately just lack the expertise in applying blush.

I used to smile really wide, then the blusher goes round and round on the apples. But i find that the blusher would be a lot lower than where i expect them to be, resulting in a sort of saggy cheeks look. Not something that i'm fond of.

Then came one fateful day when i watched a video made by Wayne Goss about applying blush and only then i then understood what has been happening. It's a short but informational 4-minute video, so have a quick peek at it by clicking here: DO NOT APPLY BLUSHER TO THE APPLE OF THE CHEEKS!!!! (note: in case you're wondering, that really is the exact title, all capital letters and complete with four exclamation marks)


Wayne Goss's username on YouTube is gossmakeupartist; unlike most youtube makeup teachers (i'm trying to phase myself out of  using 'guru') out there, he doesn't only do tutorials and reviews, he also offers videos containing singular tips which i find extremely helpful, like the one i mentioned above.

I still like my blush near the apples of my cheeks, but now, instead of smiling like it hurts, i just offer a half-hearted little smile.

Before 'little smile', then after 'little smile'

Apple of the cheeks popping

The arrows are just to show you where the hint of my apples of the cheeks would appear. Instead of applying blush round and round the apples now, i concentrate on the parts above them and along the higher part of my cheekbones, which means i also blend towards the ears.

  

Wayne Goss says smiling really wide would create 'wrinkles', or i guess minuscule folds on the surface of the skin, so blush application wouldn't be as smooth as it could be. So ever since then i started doing my "little smiles". Of course, you can just opt to not smile at all, like how Wayne shows in his video, but my "little smile" helps me decide where i should start and stop my blush.

Happy cheeks =)

Not to say i'm a complete expert in blush application now; there are still times when i'm perfectly happy with how my eyes and lips turn out in a makeup session, but my blush appears meh. Which is exactly why it doesn't hurt to pick up on little tricks from the experts. I'm also now quite stingy with blush, so that if i've made a mistake in applying blush, it wouldn't show too much.

I currently use Real Techniques blush brush, which i absolutely love as it's so soft and blends dreamily but it is a tad too big. When i first started learning about makeup, i used an angled brush from Elianto for applying blush and i used to wear blush more as a contour. Looking at old photos, i remember how happy i was with the way my blush resulted, so whatever i did then was definitely working. It's funny how my technique on blush-applying got progressively worse instead of better. Now i have to re-learn this part of make up again.

Watching Lisa Eldridge's video on her favourite brushes also helped in making me realised that a good blush brush should be relatively small to medium in size, so it can be more "directional". I'm now on the lookout for a good, angled (and affordable!) blush brush. 

Have a good day and happy blushing!

xxoo