Brushes | Beauty and Fashion Tech

Today as part of our back to basics series, we have a guest writer covering how to apply blush. If you enjoy this, you might also like our previous makeup tip posts on How to Apply Eye Shadow and How to Apply Foundation.

The technique for properly applying blush, fully highlighting or creating the illusion of high cheek bones without drawing too much attention to the color itself, has become one of the most coveted pieces of beauty advice in recent years. The trend has moved away from the one-size-fits-all method of applying a quick flush of posy pink, while contouring has taken center stage. Learning how to apply blush, however, doesn’t have to be intimidating. Just a bit of planning and finesse, along with a little practice, will bring your technique up to par in no time.

Step 1: Prepare the Surface. After cleansing with a product designed for your skin type, dry thoroughly by gently patting the skin with a clean cloth instead of wiping it in order to retain natural moisture. Next apply a toner and moisturizer to smooth the skin and shrink pores to ensure that blush applies evenly. If you’re short on time you might consider using a 3-in-1 product for this step, like Arcona’s Cranberry Toner.

Step 2: Select Between Powder or Cream. Dry skin usually does best with cream, while other skin types can generally handle powder quite well. However, there are powders available now that are non-irritating for those with acne or dry skin problems. For a powder that is all-natural but also has a creamy texture, try Bare Escentuals Bare Minerals blush.

Bare Escentuals Blush

Step 3: Choose Your Color. Blush colors can be categorized by their appropriateness for skin tone, making the selection process much simpler. In general, fair skin tones look best with shades of pink, medium tones with peach or brown, and dark tones with reds and berries. However, that still leaves quite a range of options for each category, so be willing to experiment until you find a few that work best for you. Also, remember that your best colors will likely change with the seasons, so update your shade as your complexion warms with the weather.

Step 4: Select the Proper Tools. If you have chosen a cream blush, try never to apply with the fingertips if possible. Rubbing cream in with the fingers can lead to blemishes and can be rough on delicate facial skin, so use a disposable sponge applicator instead. For powders, use a contoured brush designed specifically for blush rather than a powder brush to get a more natural angled effect. You might try Urban Decay’s Good Kharma Blush Brush. Or, see our previous article on the Best Makeup Brushes.

Urban Decay Good Karma Brush

Step 5: Apply Blush. In Step 4 we discussed getting an angled effect from your blush, which simply means that the face appears slimmer, younger, and more defined due to the visual effect of highlighting the upper cheekbones instead of the fuller section near the nose. Fortunately, a contoured brush does much of this work for you. For creams, an angled sponge does the same. However, in either case the application is important as well. Color should be stronger near the cheekbones, a bit less pronounced beneath, and should continue toward the hairline without reaching it, stopping just outside the eyes. Apply a single layer of blush at a time, adding and blending slowly until the desired color intensity is reached.

While more advanced techniques for applying blush are available, these steps outline the basic foundation to creating a modern look.

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About the Author: Carleen Pruess Coulter

Your makeup is usually only as good as your brush. This is especially true with cheap makeup or drugstore makeup, which isn’t usually very pigmented to begin with, and is often packed with cheap sponge applicators. The good news is that the best brushes need not cost a fortune. There are some excellent pro makeup brushes out there, which tend to be pricier, but there are also some decent inexpensive makeup brushes available at your local drugstore. I received some brush questions recently, so I thought I would do a post on them as part of the Best Makeup series here on the site.

Here are the primary differences between cheap makeup brushes and professional makeup brushes:

Professional makeup bushes are normally made of real animal fibers which hold and apply pigment more evenly for the best look. For liquid makeup and the best eye shadow application, pro makeup brushes are often preferable.
Pro makeup brushes hold up better. They do not lose bristles, which can be rather annoying when applying make up, and they last longer overall.
Inexpensive makeup brushes may lose a few bristles, but often, once they are broken in, they work nearly as well as the pro brushes. Some brands are better than others though. For example, Eco Tools tend to hold up pretty well, but the last Sonia Kashuk makeup brush I had lost bristles constantly, to the point where I considered it unusable.
Price is often the biggest difference. Drugstore brushes are often under $10, while pro brushes are after over $20-40. You will replace even the best drugstore makeup brushes more often though.

Below are a look at some of the best makeup brushes across several price ranges.

The Best Cheap Makeup Brushes

Low on money? One of the top cheap makeup brush brands is Eco Tools. Eco Tools makeup brushes are very affordable, easily found in drugstores and big box retailers, and tend to hold up pretty well. They also are eco friendly, being made of recycled materials with bamboo handles, and are packaged in natural hemp and cotton cases. For a good inexpensive makeup brush set, the Eco Tools 5 piece makeup brush set is a good way to test out the line. I also love the Eco Tools 6 piece eye makeup brush set (pictured above).

Another good inexpensive line, which can be found at CVS, are the Essence of Beauty makeup brushes. I find that those tend to wear out a bit quicker, but they are very affordable and apply makeup rather well for their price.

The Best Professional Makeup Brushes

In the pro makeup brush range, there are numerous excellent choices in brushes. But a couple always stand out. First and foremost are MAC Makeup Brushes. MAC makeup brushes are consistently high quality and often carry a bit lower price than some of the other pro brands. For a particularly good deal, watch for the MAC makeup brush sets that come out around the holidays. They are the same high quality brushes, but with shorter handles in order to fit in a makeup kit. Buying a set can be a great way to get a set of quality makeup brushes and save a good deal of money.

Another professional quality favorite of mine are the makeup brushes from Laura Mercier. You can see some Laura Mercier makeup brush sets (limited edition travel brush set pictured above) along with some other sets at Nordstrom, which also has a pretty nice selection of higher quality items: Shop Nordstrom Makeup Brush Sets. As with the MAC brushes, finding travel sets can be a great way to save money over buying each brush individually. I actually find that I prefer the shorter handles as well.

Shop For Makeup Brushes