Blushing Bronzer Elf - Our favorite blush brush!

Our favorite blush brush.

• We love flat top brushes for applying blush exactly where it belongs. The hairs are soft but the density produces a firm flat top without being "hard."
• It allows blush to be dusted along the cheek bones in a just right swath of color without error.
• It prevents you from brushing to far down your cheek, or leaving irregular circles of color, making you look more clown-like than sophisticated.
• Often used for foundations, especially pressed formats.

Use with blush or bronzer to contour and slim face with a barely there shadow along the sides of the face.

• Minimize the size of your nose with a quick shadow along the sides of the nostrils. Blend shadow into foundation with your kabuki so that the contouring is effective but not noticeable.
• Useful for pressed foundations.

Basic blush application.

Half of all women do not apply blush but it is one of the most useful cosmetics for a healthy looking flush and facial contouring. The trick is to avoid intense coloration that gives clown cheeks. The steps below took longer to write and for you tread than it will to obtain a flattering glow, but stay with me on this. The number one rule is to keep color light and natural looking.

1. Choose the proper color. The idea is to emulate the natural flush of your skin as if you were out in the cold or after exercising. You can be Victorian and pinch your cheeks to see what this looks like. Or you can match your lip color. In general, recommended shades by skin tone: Fair skin: Neutral, peach, sheer plum, or pink shades. Medium skin: Apricot, mauve, rose. Olive skin: Orangey peach, bronze, rose. Dark skin: Raisin, brick, deep rose, tangerine. All skin tones: Bronzer for natural contours. Tired, dull, stressed skin: Use a dusty pink to perk up your appearance.

2. Choose format. In general: Combo, balanced, oily skin: powder, baked minerals, stain (work quickly w/ stains as they dry fast; more unforgiving but extremely long lasting) Very dry skin: baked minerals, cream; powders followed by setting mist All skin: Use combination of formats for increased luminosity. All skin: Experiment using lipstick as a cream blush.

3. Apply blush after foundation, before finishing powder. Caveat: Makeup artists often recommend blush after eye color and lipstick and some apply blush BEFORE foundation as they say it gives a more natural look. Directions that follow presume foundation has been applied.

4. Use a full size blush brush or flat top bronzer (not your foundation brush). Use a light amount of color on tips (tap brush head on tissue to evenly distribute color and prevent over-application of color).

5. Start at hairline, moving along cheekbone with light downward strokes, leaving a barely there contour of color. This gives structure to your face. Starting at hairline is insurance in case you have too much color on your brush as it is easier to correct at the far edge rather than the middle of your face.

6. Smile into mirror. Find the apples of your cheeks and using same color, or a little more vibrant one, dust lightly for a healthy flush. Use your foundation or finishing powder kabuki, without additional powder, added to lightly dust in a downward motion to feather color into skin for most natural coloration. If too much powder has been applied, use the kabuki with finishing powder added to lessen intensity. If using a cream format, dab color on with fingertip and blend with clean fingers to pick up excess color. Keep it light, regardless of depth of color used. Even deep tone blush should be applied with a light hand. When using a powder brush, no swirling. Keep strokes in same direction. For nude or most natural color, use bronzer with a light hand.

7. For a little extra evening glamour, add a little glimmer dust at the corner of the cheek and alongside the outside of the eye.

European super capra (ultimate goat), wood handle.