The Blush Effect

For years, the choice was fairly straightforward: powder for staying power and cream for a fresher finish. Powder could look dry or sit too visibly on the skin. Cream could look beautiful and natural, then seemingly disappear as soon as you walk outside.

Blush has gotten significantly better, but cream and liquid blush have been around much longer than their current popularity might suggest. Cream rouge was widely used in the early 20th century, and Benefit’s Benetint dates back to the 1970s. Powder blush dominated for years, but creams and liquids were never exactly newcomers.

My own first version of layering started in college with Benetint (a true cheek stain). I would blend a light stain onto my cheeks and then add the smallest amount of powder over it, partly because of high humidity levels here in Charleston. The formulas are simply better now. They blend more easily, last longer and give you much more control over the finish. Cream and powder are also being paired together more deliberately now, whether layered separately or combined in a single compact.

The traditional method is cream first, powder second. A thin layer gives you that soft, skin-like color, then a light dusting of powder helps it last without taking away the finish underneath.

Patrick Ta notably reversed the order with his Major Headlines Double-Take Crème & Powder Blush Duo. Powder goes on first, then cream is pressed over it. The powder establishes the color and gives it hold, while the cream brings moisture and dimension back to the surface. His Dual-Ended Blush Brush is made for this technique. The fluffy end diffuses the powder, and the denser end presses the crème over it without disturbing what's underneath. The key here is quickly blending a little bit of the powder to build a soft base, then gently pressing the cream on top in light tapping motions.

The current duos are talc-free. Without some of the dry slip you get from talc, I find it helps to blend a little as you go rather than putting on a lot of color at once. You have more control over the pigment to keep the edges soft.

Cream-to-powder formulas have given us another option. They go on easily, then set to a softer, drier finish that tends to stay put. Sarah Creal’s Coming In Hot Mousse Blush has an oil-powder formula that feels creamy going on and settles into a soft-focus finish. Violette_FR Plume Blush gives you that same kind of blurred color without looking dry on the skin. That particular version is currently en route to me as we speak.

Rhode Pocket Blush and Merit Flush Balm are easy, buildable, and hard to mess up. A few taps on the high cheeks, blended outward is enough to wake up the face. They blend into what you already have on and are simple to touch up later without adding another obvious layer of makeup.

Jones Road Miracle Balm is different. It’s much sheerer and leaves more luminosity on the skin. I usually throw on Miracle Balm in Flush over sunscreen and call it a day. That's pretty much my daily summer face with a little mascara, lip, and brow gel. I'll put it on my cheeks, lips, and lids, and it gives me just enough color to look alive.

Liquids have improved too. Rare Beauty Soft Pinch Liquid Blush has serious pigment, so you need only a dot. I usually put liquid blush on the back of my hand first, then pick up a little at a time with my brush before applying it to the face. It gives me much more control over the color. Hourglass Unreal Liquid Blush is softer and more diffused, so you can build it gradually.

That’s what I like about the newer formulas. They blend easily, you can touch them up, and the finish still looks like skin. Dewy doesn’t have to mean sticky anymore, and matte doesn’t have to mean dry.

We used to rely on technique to make blush do what the formula couldn’t. We layered it to make it last, set it so it wouldn’t disappear, and tried to make powder look less like powder. Now there are better options.

The point is to look alive and radiant. Some days that means layering two formulas and making blush part of the look. Other days it’s Miracle Balm over sunscreen and out the door.

The real improvement isn’t another rule; it's better blush.