4 Tricks to Put on Your Blush Perfectly

By Cristina Mueller, REDBOOK

Sure, you slap some on every morning. But if you apply it right, blush can make you look slimmer, younger, and glowier. Here's how.

1. Find Your Prettiest Color

The right blush shade gives you the same superfresh glow that you rolled out of bed with when you were 18. "It's the quintessential antiaging makeup," says celebrity makeup artist Molly Stern. "When your cheeks have healthy color, your complexion looks more radiant." Which shade will work magic on you? For olive skin, think warm-peach and copper-or bright, such as Elizabeth Arden Color Intrigue Cheekcolor in Pink Glow (shown, top), $22. If you're fair, your best bets are natural pinks ranging from pale to a rosy hue, like Mally Beauty Blush Single in Mally's Baby (shown, middle), $18. And plum, cognac, and berry tones-like Mary Kay Cream Blush in Cranberry (shown, bottom), $13-look gorgeous on dark skin. Whichever color you choose, make sure it's shimmer-free; you didn't have naturally sparkly cheeks as a teen, and you shouldn't have 'em now, either.

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2. Get the Right Formula

Can't decide between cream or powder? Both have plenty going for them. Powders (such as Smashbox Girls on Film Blush Rush in Silhouette, $24) tend to stay on the skin longer and are better if you're oily or breakout-prone. (Creams, which add a sheen, can highlight zits.) Powders also tend to have more pigment, so they're great in the winter for an extra boost of color. Creams are more translucent and give a natural, lit-from-within flush; also, they won't settle into fine lines.

3. Try a Smaller Brush

If your blush barely registers on your skin, check your brush size. If it's big and fluffy, it's designed to diffuse face powder, so it can make blush go on too sheer. The ideal brush, says makeup artist Brigitte Reiss-Andersen, is domed with densely packed bristles "and has a head no wider than a two-liter bottle cap." Try Nars Blush Brush, $46.

4. Perfect Your Placement

Whichever blush texture you use, start by swirling it on the apples of your cheeks (those spheres that pop out when you smile). Then, for a bonus youth-ifying effect, blend it back along your cheeks toward your temples, fading it into your skin about an inch from your hairline. And keep in mind: "As we get older, our faces lose some of their fullness," says Tim Quinn, celebrity makeup artist for Giorgio Armani Beauty. "When this happens, women often start applying their blush too low, so it's right under the cheekbones, which can be aging." His advice is to place your blush a notch higher than you think it should go, so it runs across the tops of your cheekbones. "Not only does this make your cheeks seem more defined, but it also helps deflect from dark under-eye circles and brightens your entire face," he says.

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