This week, our Beauty 101 series is focusing on all things blush. You had questions, and your fellow commenters have the answers:
As always, I’d like to thank everyone who posted their answers in the comments or sent them via email; while I don’t have room to post every reply, I appreciate them all!
And now, a few tips and tricks from your fellow readers:
On Selecting Brushes:
From commenter certainlynotrosemary:
A word about brushes: if you use powder foundation, a blush, and a bronzer, you need a separate brush for each one. The brushes may or may not be identical in shape—that has to do with your taste—but you need separate brushes because otherwise you’ll end up mixing up all the makeups and colors, and being unable to get exactly the same color coverage or type as what you initially bought the makeup for. I know it seems obvious, but I had to learn this the hard way when my powder was suddenly too tan and my bronzer was kind of pink.
From commenter joannabobanna:
Because I lack the skill to apply blush without having it look off, I use a big powder brush. This makes it appear a lot more subtle.
From commenter BrynnTherePlumThat:
Always use a big bushy brush like a kabuki brush because it distributes the blush more evenly across the bristles and therefore across your face. Smaller brushes or tightly packed brushes deliver more concentrated color and this produces that streaky “clown” look. Since most compacts come with the latter, you can pretty much throw out that dinky little brush as soon as you get the blush home. Also, it’s a good rule of thumb to shake/tap your brush a little bit after you put it in the bronzer/blush to get rid of excess makeup. Remember: you can always add more, but once it’s on, it’s a bitch to get off.
From commenter FrederickFronkensteen:
The brush isn’t as important as blending. My method is to draw a line with my blush from my ear to the apple of my cheek, underlining it. Then, just stroke the brush upward in little strokes along the line you’ve drawn. This blends and adds definition to your cheek bones. The trick is to start light and just add more if you think you need to. It’s much easier to make it darker than to make it lighter.
On Gel/Creme Blush:
From Andrea, via email:
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