Techniques: Blush for your face shape

I'm an absolute blusher addict, I've even been nicknamed the 'patron saint of blush'. I want to show you how to apply your blush to suit your face shape and make you look your most beautiful, by softening angular faces and lengthening rounder ones.

Start by identifying your face shape. Oval faces are often considered the ideal face shape, with prominent cheekbones and a forehead that is slightly wider than the chin. Heart shaped faces have a wide forehead and high cheekbones, and the face tapers to a narrow chin. Square faces have a forehead that is roughly the same width as the cheekbones and chin, while round faces are as wide as they are long.

How to apply your blusher:

Oval faces - sweep your blush over your cheekbones. You can easily find your cheekbone with your fingers - aim to place the colour just above the bone rather than towards the hollow beneath it to help raise the height of your cheekbone.
Heart shaped faces - because your face can appear pointy, we need to soften the edges so it appears more like an oval. Apply blush to the outer corner of your cheekbone, starting by your ear and ending at a point below the outer corner of your eye. Also add a touch of colour by your temples, towards the centre of your forehead, to help balance the width of your forehead with your chin.
Square faces - your cheekbones are the same width as your chin, so to help define them apply your blush slightly below the cheekbone. Blush in the hairline will help soften the edges of your face.
Round faces - try not to use pearlised or highly reflective blushers as these reflect the light well and make a surface appear more round, which we want to avoid - matte blushers would be best for you. Sweep your blush from the ear down the cheekbone towards the mouth. Add a little touch of blush to the chin and blend it well to make your face appear longer.

Blush For Your Face Shapes

faceshape!

Blush For Your Face Shapes 

Most people can apply blush to the apples of the cheeks (that's the bit that sticks out when you smile).

Applying blush to the apples does work for most face shapes but for some of us we need to adapt the application to suit our face shape.

Let's take a look....

Long/Thin Face 

Long faces are narrow so to create an oval we need to broaden the face. This can be done by applying blush to the apples and blending it out towards the ear. 

Careful not to blend upwards, we need to create an almost horizontal line across the face.

This technique will work on any face that wants to be broader.

Round/Square/Full Face

Round face shape or any face that is on the full side will want to use this type of application to lift the face. 

Don't apply the blush too close to the nose and sweep upwards, avoiding the apple of the cheeks as this can make the face fuller. 

By sweeping upward you create a lift that thins the face. 

Doing the "duck face" helps!

Heart/Inverted triangle/High Cheekbones

These shapes all have great cheekbones, for that reason you want to avoid applying blush too high and instead apply it slightly lower than the cheekbones.

You can apply a small amount on the apple and blend it out but remember to leave a gap at the cheekbones.

HOW TO APPLY BLUSH BASED ON FACE SHAPE

 

Blush application is the easiest way to add dimension back to your face after you applied foundation. If done correctly, you can create much needed depth and even sculpt your face. Applied incorrectly, you can easily add 10 lbs to your face in seconds.  Let’s breakdown application by face type:

Round Face

 

 

If your face is round, more than likely you will want a more sculpted look. If you add blush to the apples (the highest point) of your cheeks, you will instantly add more weight to your face. Why? The color will create a “shadow” effect, creating more dimension on the widest part of your face…which is the total OPPOSITE of what you want. Instead of the apples of your cheeks, apply the blush following your cheek bones, in a 45 degree angle.
 

 

 

 



 

Oval Face

 

 

This is the most ideal face type due to its symmetrical nature. To get the most flattering look from your blush, you will need to use our cheekbones as a guide for product placement. Use your fingers to feel around your cheek until you have found the most prominent part of your cheekbone. Usually, this will be slightly below the apples of your cheek, about half an inch away from your nose. Apply the blush from that point in an arc, or crescent moon shape up towards your hairline.

Long Face

 

 

Someone with a long face wants to add or create the illusion of width. To achieve this, apply blush directly to the apples of the cheeks and extend the blush outward towards your ears. Next, sweep your blush across the middle of your forehead and along your chin line. This effect will shorten your long face.

Square Face

 

Soften the angles of your cheeks by applying the brighter color blush on the apples of the cheeks then sweep the blush towards your temples. This causes the eye to look up, taking away from the sharp angles of a square face shape. You can also contour to round your jaw line, by lightly dusting some blush from your chin to just below your ears.

How to Apply Liquid Foundation

By konjo doll

Liquid foundation is one of the ficklest products to apply. Ever. Not only is its basic application a chore, but even after you feel like you have a routine down, the smallest hiccup — anything from product buildup on your brush to a stray brush stroke — can throw off your entire look for the rest of the day.
But after years (literally, it has been that long) of trying different methods, brushes, and foundations, I think I finally have it down to a handful of simple steps that can make all the difference in the world.

1. Grab your favorite liquid foundation

Grab your favorite liquid foundation. Now, I almost always choose a full coverage one, as this method will sheer it down a bit, making it suitable for most skin types and needs. Pour or pump an amount about the size of a nickel or quarter (this will vary depending on the condition of your skin) onto the back of your hand or a palette.

2. Take a dense, flat-top brush

Take a dense, flat top brush (my favorite is the Sigma F80), and dip it into the foundation. Dot this onto your nose, the cheeks, around the borders of your face, and your chin (one “dip” should pick up enough product to lightly dot around all of these areas).

3. Starting at the nose…

Starting at the nose, stipple in small, tight areas, moving to the cheeks and the borders of the face, stippling product inward towards the center. Repeat this process for your chin.

4. With what is left on the brush…

With what is left on the brush, stipple over the area above your lips and below your mouth. Avoid the area where you get smile lines for now (this will look weird, but we’ll correct this malfeasance later.

5. If you regularly use foundation under your eyes…

This next step is only if you regularly use foundation under your eyes, rather than or in conjunction with concealer. If you don’t, skip to the next step. Take a bit of foundation on the outer edge of your brush, and dot lightly under the eyes, concentrating the product at the lower inner corners where your undereyes are darkest. Stipple lightly over this area, taking the foundation applied under the eyes up and onto the eyelid and browbone.

6. Stipple across your forehead and into the hairline

You should have about 1/3 of the product left. Take some on your brush, and stipple it across your forehead and into the hairline (almost as bad as the jawline is a blatant change in color at your hairline, which many people tend to neglect). Your entire face should now be covered (except for the small area around your smile lines).

7. Dot under your jawline

Take the remainder of the product on your brush, and dot it under your jawline. Stipple this upwards to “connect” with the product on your face, and downwards slightly to fade it into your neck. Stipple lightly where your ears connect to your face.

8. Stipple all over your face

Stipple all over your face, using any excess product to deal with problem areas. This distributes the foundation evenly. You may now go over your smile line area, which will only be covered with a small amount of product, greatly reducing the chance of creasing.

9. Buff in a circular motion

After you have stippled all over your entire face once, lightly buff in small circular motions using the same brush. This blurs imperfections and removes any excess product, and melds the product with your skin, giving it a natural skin-like texture. Make sure to buff under your eyes, over your eyelids, and around your hairline to blend the product into the tight borders surrounding these areas. Keep buffing until the foundation starts to feel a bit tacky (it usually takes 2-3 passes over my entire face and under my jaw to get to this point).

10. Apply any cream face products now

Apply any cream face products (blush, highlighter, contour, etc.)

11. Let your foundation set

This step is crucial. Let the foundation set for 3-5 minutes. Take a tissue, and blot all over your face, avoiding the nose if you have large pores. Pay special attention to the eyelids, lines under the eyes, and the corners of the eyes (where excess product will definitely have creased and collected). If your foundation tends to set into your smile lines, you may wish to buff very lightly over this area once more using the same brush as before.

12. Apply loose powder with a puff

Apply loose powder with a puff, rolling and pushing it into the skin.

13. Finish with any other powders and blend

Apply any other powder products (blush, bronzer, contour, etc.), and blend well.
This may seem a tad complicated, but ignoring the setting times, this whole thing takes 5-7 minutes at most, and results in smooth, even, porcelain skin.
If you wish to sheer down this application even further, dampen your brush slightly before application to prevent excess product from being absorbed by the bristles. Make sure to always use a (relatively) clean brush for application (I tend to wash mine every 3-4 days) to avoid caking. And never forget to set and blot!
With this quick tutorial under your belt, you’ll always be able to put your best face forward.

The Right Foundation for your Skin Tone

Use the chart below to view example of different skin complexions and Tones 

                                                      Cool                        Neutral                          Warm        

Skin Tone Test

• If you tan easily and do not burn, your skin's natural melanin (the pigment that gives skin its color) level is higher, and you most likely have a yellow-to-olive undertone.
• Those who burn and either tan minimally or not at all have significantly less melanin, which results in a pink, bluish-red, or ruddy skin tone. In addition, look for telltale signs: a ruddy skin tone has obvious signs of redness or is one that tends to flush easily. Some neutral skin tones fall into this category, particularly if rosacea is a factor.
• If a yellow (usually referred to as "sallow") tone is predominant, you'll notice that a foundation, concealer, or powders with too much yellow will make skin look worse, not better.
• Olive skin tones tend to look somewhat ashen or gray, from the combination of the natural yellow undertone everyone has and the greenish hue that’s unique to olive skin of any depth.
• Neutral skin tones are those with no obvious overtones of olive, sallow, or pink.

These categories hold true for all women, including women of color; your underlying skin color will always relate to one of these skin tones. You may have been told that you are a particular “season” and your wardrobe and makeup colors should be a specific undertone, either cool (blue or pink tones) or warm (yellow or sallow/olive tones). Unfortunately, the rampant misinformation surrounding skin tone can be misleading when it comes to choosing your most flattering makeup shades.

Shopping for Foundation

When you’re testing foundation shades, it is critical to identify your overall underlying skin tone and find a foundation that matches it. This can be tricky because your underlying skin color but that may not be what you see on the surface. For example, you may have a ruddy (red) or ashen (gray) skin tone on the surface but your underlying skin tone is actually slightly yellow to beige. You want to neutralize whatever overtones are present with a neutral- to slightly yellow-toned foundation, thus matching the skin’s natural undertone.
Why a slightly yellow undertone? Because skin color, more often than not, always has a yellow undertone: that’s just what the natural color of melanin tends to be. For the most part, regardless of your race, nationality, or age, your foundation should be some shade of neutral ivory, neutral beige, tan, dark brown, bronze brown, or ebony, with a slight undertone of yellow but without any obvious orange, pink, rose, green, ash, or blue. Adding those shades to a foundation is never flattering and can look obvious and contrived.
There are a few exceptions to this guideline: Native North American or South American women, a tiny percentage of African-American women, and some Polynesian women do indeed have a red cast to their skin. In those instances the information about neutral foundations should be ignored. Because their skin has a slightly reddish cast, they need to look for foundations that have a slightly reddish cast to them—but that’s only a hint of brownish red, and not copper, orange, or peach.

Regardless of which of these categories you fall into, trying foundation on and making it sure it matches your skin exactly (especially in daylight) is the best way to get a color that looks natural, not like you’re wearing foundation or, even worse, a mask.

Choosing Makeup Colors

Flipping through the pages of a fashion magazine is great way to determine which colors work best with your skin tone.

• Redheads with fair to medium skin tones like Susan Sarandon, Nicole Kidman, and Julianne Moore tend to wear corals, salmon, browns, ambers, bronze, and other earth tones.
• Blondes with fair skin to medium skin tones like Gwyneth Paltrow, Paris Hilton, and Kirsten Dunst favor a range of pink shades.
• Brunettes with fair to medium skin tones like Julia Roberts and Jennifer Garner are often seen in light rose and soft red shades.
• Women with dark brown hair and fair to medium skin tones like Demi Moore, Sandra Bullock, and Penelope Cruz wear more vivid shades of rose and cherry.
• Black hair and deeper skin tones such as Halle Berry and Angela Bassett wear soft natural tones such as nude pinks, soft browns, and pale corals.

It is also easy to see that there are exceptions to the rule and as a change of pace all kinds of color combinations (not to mention changes in hair color) are typical. In other words, choosing color can be as diverse and versatile as changing your clothes. To be safe, stay with the basics listed above, but in truth, anything goes as long as it is worn in balance and the colors work together.

FOUNDATION FINISHES

Sheer, Dewy or Matte: learn what’s what and find your preference!

Sheer: Let the true you shine through! This softer finish is perfect for those who'd rather go bare. Works for normal and combination skin types.

Dewy: This fresh finish loves the outdoors and looks radiant and natural when hiking trails or setting sails, especially for dry and normal types. .

Matte: Matte is flat, but never boring. Try Clean Makeup, Oil Control for a sophisticated no-shine look that’s perfect for oily and combination types. Need to morph from dewy to matte in a flash? Powder your entire face with Clean Pressed Powder, Oil Control.

FOUNDATION MAKEUP TIPS AND TRICKS

SEASONAL UPDATE
Don’t wear the same foundation with a summer tan as you would in the winter. Skin color changes with the seasons, so your foundation should change, too.

TO BE PRECISE
For the most professional application, use your fingertips or a triangle sponge to apply foundation. Natural sea sponges don't cover evenly—save them for your bath. Instead, try foam wedges—the smooth surface strokes on evenly, the tapered edge blends make-up into tough to reach spots like corners between the eye and nose.

BRIGHT-EYED TIP
Use foundation on your eyelids even if you never wear shadow. It evens out the lid’s tone and instantly brightens.

THE BLEND TREND
Be sure to double-check your neck when applying foundation. To avoid a severe line where your makeup stops and your neck begins, start at the center of the face and blend outward, gradually applying with a lighter touch as you approach your neck and hairline.

SHAKE THINGS UP
If you are using a liquid foundation, always shake the bottle vigorously before applying.

FINE LINE TAMER
To smooth fine lines, normal to dry skin types should prime their skin with a primer like COVERGIRL and Olay Simply Ageless Primer. Primers moisturize and even skin tone for a smoother makeup application.