Even if you have a minimal makeup collection, odds are you at least have a blush and bronzer hiding somewhere in your makeup bag.
While they may not make it into your everyday arsenal, they don’t have to be reserved for more done-up occasions, and can more often than not provide an unnoticeable but flattering difference in brightening up your face.
Whether you’re afraid of looking like an overly-contoured YouTube makeup artist of the early 2010s or a clown with bright pink cheeks, these tips will guide the way so that you’ll never tread the line of “costumey”.
Follow along for a few key pointers, and your makeup will always look natural and fresh like you’ve just stepped off the beach.
Blush
So where do you apply blush to avoid those doll-cheeks? First, give yourself a smile in the mirror to locate the apple of your cheeks: The round, chubby part that we pinch on babies.
Now, starting there, gently pat some blush on but don’t stop there. Unless you’re going for an overt blush look, remember that the goal is to add light to your face as it would naturally — and when have you seen someone with two circular patches on their cheeks?
Rather, try moving outward from your smile, following the line of your cheekbones to lightly dust the areas that are most-likely hit by the sun. If you tend to get a rosy nose in the sun, you could probably even get away with a light dusting on the tip without anyone even noticing.
As you’re working, keep a light hand, and be careful to tap off any excess along the way. That way, you’ll end up with a rosy glow rather than a harsh overdone look.
Bronzer
Now that you’ve mastered the blush, let’s move onto bronzer. Applying this second will allow you to follow the natural line you’ve already created outwards from the apples of your cheeks.
Without overlapping the blush, apply bronzer slightly below the blush line, and work your way outwards to the edge of your face. Keep in mind here, that these are the areas where your face would naturally tan so the forehead and nose shouldn’t be forgotten.
If you want to add an easy extra step for a little more natural dimension, you can even apply some bronzer on your eyelid crease the same way you might apply eyeshadow for a cohesive, natural look.
With bronzer, it’s important to make sure you’re not going too dark for your skin tone, so when choosing between two colours, opt for a light shade instead and build your way up to a natural glow.
Remember, when using blush and bronzer this way, enhancing the features that are already there is key. Taking cues from your natural colouring will help guide you, based on how the sun naturally hits your face.
If you tend to get a lot of freckles on your cheeks, that’s a good indication of where you should be applying blush. Think of blush and bronzer as adding back natural colour that your foundation might have taken out, rather than as extras, and you’ll be mastering the summer glow in no time at all.