Known as rouge back in the day, blusher was one of the first makeup products to go mainstream and has been an essential for women the world over for years. A sweep of powder blush and boom boom pow! A brighter, healthier and younger face! But over time the humble blusher has evolved and is gradually being replaced with alternative cheek products. Most of us our turning our backs on this classic and are reaching for the newbies. Here we check out the five alternatives to blusher and how to use them.
Continue after the Jump to read about the five alternatives to blusher!
1.Tints/Stains
The concept of a cheek tint is pretty simple: it stains the skin instead of layering on products creating a far more natural looking transparent flush of colour. One of the originals and still the best is Benefit's Benetint, £22.50 which gives you the classic rosey cheeks effect but we prefer their younger Posetint, £22.50 which gives skin a dainty petal-pink colour. The cheaper lookalikes do a good job too but be careful as there is nothing more annoying than a really watery,runny stain! The trick to applying a stain/tint is to dab the smallest of dots on the apples of your cheeks then one on your cheekbone. Take two fingers and gently rub in circular upward motions to your temples - just blend, blend, blend! You can layer if it's too subtle for but the most common mistake is to over-apply resulting in the coco the clown look. If applied with the 'less is more' theory it really can create flushed cheeks that look wonderfully natural.
The one thing that does tend to put people off from using a stain is the fear factor! We are scared silly they're going to leak and leave blood-like stains all over our makeup bag or even worse our handbag! Most bottle tops screw on tight and I'm sure the developers thought about this little problem but if you're still stain-concious then Stila Cherry Crush Stain, £15 comes in a nifty pen. Bloom Cheek Tint, £10.59 also comes in a fool-proof brush form and isn't as greasy as some of the ohers. The Balm also do a great gel stain called Stainiac, £13 which comes in a pocket sized tube so you won't feel like you're lugging around a mini bottle of red wine. It comes in a few wearable shades so if you don't usually blush a vibrant red shade then rosy pink or peach will look far more natural. Stains come in solid forms too, take Brown Pot Rouge for Lips and Cheeks, £16 which has a matte finish and like most stains can be used on lips too.
2.Creams
Ah the good ol' cream blush. Hands up how many of us have perfect skin? Exactly. Cream blush comes in a multitude of different shades, textures and effects but create flawless coverage. Stains look the best worn alone but creams mix really well with foundation. Creamy blushers are perfect if you want a subtle wash of colour because anything too dark can look a bit like face paint. Not good. We like to apply a faint line in a C shape from the apples of the cheek to the temples then take a small foundation sponge and blend in but you can use your fingers too. We like Estée Lauder's Signature Satin Creme Blush, £22 as it's really smooth and feels almost velvety against skin but for a cheaper alternative then Maybelline Dream Mousse Blush, £5 feels equally as soft.
Don't be put off by the block colour in the packaging, take Nars Cream Blush, £18 which looks woah in the compact but once applied provides the sheerest veil of colour. Speaking of sheer, we are loving the new Clinique Blushwear Cream Stick, £18 which can be applied directly onto the skin and once set gives a powder finish.
3.Highlighters
For those who don't want to look like they are permanently blushing then highlighting is the way forward. Essentially developed to make cheekbones more prominent it can create essenital colour but also make your face look more defined. Whereas countouring can make you look a bit dirty a highlighter can look stunning and whether it is in cream or powder form it helps create the illusion of supermodel-esque cheekbones.
For a subtle effect a powder highlighter is perfect, the most impressive is Bobbi Brown Shimmer Brick, £29 for its instant illuminating effect. Grab a slanted, medium-sized contour brush then sweap across all the layers then starting at your temples sweep the brush in a downwards motion right ontop of your cheekbone - don't go to low on your cheekbones, keep it high. The good thing with powder highlighters is that you don't have to go for very expensive products like BB, the cheaper ones will still have that gorgeous shimmer and as long as you apply it correctly then they are pretty much all the same. With think a multi-coloured powder works best to get a multi-tonal effect.
Budget brand MeMeMe do their version of the shimmer brick for £5.99 as does Marks and Spencer but other good powder highlighters include Mac Iridescent Powder, £16.50 which is less sparkly and more pearly. But for a real treat Guerlain Illuminating Perfecting Pressed Powder, £38.16 is just the most prettiest powder and is perfect for fair skins as it creates a gorgeous oyster effect.
For a dewy, more sheeny effect a liquid or cream highlighter will make you glow. It looks amazing with barely-there makeup and is perfect for holidays. Apply in the same areas as a powder but with your fingertips, we love both Benefit Moonbeam and Highbeam, £16.50 which can be used on browbones, cheeks, the sides of your nose and in the insides of eyes to brighten. The highlighter on DuWop Duet Gloss Highlighter, £18.50 is one of the best highlighters we've found and gives delicate fair skin a real pearly sheen. Warm and dark complexions should look out for gold based highlighters and cool tones should be going for more silvery/pearly bases.
4.Bronzers
Probably the most popular alternative to blush! Good bronzer can make you look like a healthy, glowing bronzed goddess. Bad bronzer, two words: Jodie Marsh. Now, as fans of BBC3's Snog, Marry, Avoid? (GENIUS programme) we understand there are many girls (and boys!) who aspire to look like glittery tangerines but most of us sane women want our glow to look natural.There are thousands of bronzers out there -sparkly, matte, sheer, block, cream, powder, mousse to name but a few. But for day matte or pearly bronzers are perfect but really sparkly ones should be saved for nights and holidays.
Use a large powder brush, Kabuki brushes really press the powder into skin we like Too Faced's one. Apply in large fluid motions in the C-shape then lightly sweep along the perimeters of your face - only apply to the nose very lightly but if you need to apply it to the nose because it's the only light part of your face then you know you've gone too far with the bronzer! Bronzer is not about completely changing skin colour, it's about creating a subtle healthy glow.
If you want a more contoured look (good if you want to slim a fuller face or define cheekbones) then use a slanted contour brush, Mac do the best. Suck in your cheeks slightly then lightly apply in upward motions where the skin hollows, just underneath your cheeks and uptowards your cheekbones - making sure you're always slightly underneath. Then take a larger fluffy brush and blend the bronzer, finishing off with a dusting of a slightly lighter shade over your face. Dont forget to lightly dust your neck and décolleté too, slightly sparkly bronzers look fabulous here - we are loving Lancôme Sun Cherub Bronzing Powder, £29 a über-cute cherub-printed bronzing powder.
There are so many bronzers out there but like the usual suspects-Mac, Bobbi Brown, L'Oreal, Benefit but Urban Decay's Baked Bronzer, £14 gives just the most lush pearly finish -not too sparkly, not too matte. Just remember if you tan easily you can go for golden or reddish hues breaking the 'one shade darker' rule but if you are very fair then soft peachy shades will look amazing. If you change colour quite easily or need multiple colours to get the colour just right then go for a multi-coloured bronzer like Lancaster Sun Infinite Bronzer, £26.10.
5.Illuminating Blushers
Go for pasty to pearly in seconds with illuminating blushers. Evolved from the humble blush they are designed to brighten skin and are also subtle enough to wear lightly across your face. Perfect for drab complexions that need a little colour and a lot of luminosity. The best ones out there at the moment are DuWop Blush Booster, £18 and Urban Decay Afterglow, £12 which give a translucent shimmer of colour. They have a combination of gold and peach so suit warm skintones but Mac's Mineralize products are a good alternative for dark skins that need more depth of colour and fair skintones that need pink based colour. Don't be tempted to pile it on though as illuminating blusher is best left sheer for a barely-there glow. Apply with a medium brush onto cheeks upto cheekbones and also on browbones to lightly highlight. The baked formulas are often enriched with skin boosting ingredients like pomegranate so are super moisturising but we find they are actually best suited to those with oily skin as the light reflecting particles compliment shine for a dewy effect. Shiny skin and traditional matte blush can look a bit bizarre! You can even mix an illuminating blusher with a moisturiser for an all-over glow.
And lastly, the original and best. It's what our grandmothers used to do, the fail-safe credit-crunch proof option....pinch your cheeks! Just don't break any capillaries.
