CHEEKBONES VERSUS APPLES
The big beauty conundrum: Blusher on cheekbones or apples of your cheeks?
Do a cursory Google search on “how to wear blusher” and you’ll find any number of experts extolling the virtues of applying it to the apples. But is this “correct” – or are you making a complete cosmetics clown of yourself?
(Quick aside for beauty beginners: The “apples” refer to the roundest and plumpest points that “pop” when you smile; you ought to be able to locate the beaming bulges just under the centre of each eye.)
Here’s the thing. The apple application is fine and dandy if you’re a dewy-faced damsel with cutie-pie cheeks … but not so great if your formerly firm face is starting to slacken. I mean, why draw attention to signs of sagging and bagging, right?
Then there’s your individual facial configurations to consider. Or, as inimitable makeup artist Larry Yeo puts it so piquantly: “If you have a fat face, blusher on your apples will make you look like a mooncake; on the other hand, if you’re gaunt to begin with, shading in your cheekbones will make you look skeletal, and not in a good way, too.” Ouch.
HOW TO APPLY
APPLES: Right, then. If you’re pert and pubescent, play up your youth by picking the apple route. Here’s how. Looking straight ahead in a mirror, smile slightly so said apples pop out, then hold the smile while buffing in your blush along the upper half of the apples. Steer clear of your nose – we want to avoid a Rudolph the ruddy reindeer situation – and keep the hue high up on the cheeks.
CHEEKBONES: Want a smaller mien via makeup magic? Suck in your cheeks, then use tapping motions to apply a creamy blush starting from under the centre of your pupils and swirling up into your temples. This V-shaped wedge of colour along the top of your cheekbones will lend a subtly lifted, superbly slenderising effect.
Top tip applicable to both methods: To make your blush nigh indetectable, brush it on under your go-to BB cushion or dewy-finish foundie, so the rosiness peeks through your skin like a bona fide flush.
Key takeaway? If you’re chubby, cheekbone contouring can reduce the rotundness. If you’re angular like Angelina Jolie, swirling on a little blusher on the apples will soften any sharp edges. Makes sense, yes? Good luck!