If you’re stuck on how to apply bronzer and blush, our beauty team is here to share the four different placements and layering methods that we prefer and that suit our face shapes best.
When it comes to applying our best foundations and mascaras, we all have our preferred techniques, but overall, they both feel quite straightforward. However, when you stray into the bronzer and blush steps, things can start to feel a little more complicated. After all, as with eyeshadow, bronzer and blush placements can really impact the look and feel of your overall makeup. Where you should apply them can also really vary from just your personal preference to the shape of your face.
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Four ways our team apply bronzer and blush
1. Aleesha’s sculpting method
(Image credit: Future)
“I don’t love my slightly round face shape with the little pockets of fat here and there, so for me, blush and bronzer placement is all about creating a sculpted and lifted look,” explains Digital Beauty eCom & Shopping Editor, Aleesha Badkar.
“I start with a not-too-warm bronzer on the corners underneath my cheekbones, sides of my chin, and sides of my nose to contour those areas and create shadows for a more sculpted look. For a flattering tanned look, I also add a touch of bronze to the points where the sun would hit, like the top of my forehead and the bridge of my nose.
“I then lightly brush a warm but subtle mauve on the very high points of my cheekbones, followed by a dab of more-pigmented (but similar colour) cream blush for a more impactful and longer-lasting look. After a dab of blush on the tip of the nose to add a bit more depth to the look, I blend it with a firm brush, and I’m ready to go!”
Westman Atelier
Face Trace Contour Stick
RRP: £44
Available in eight shades, this contour stick from Westman Atelier is designed to subtly sculpt and define your features. The formula is creamy, buildable and lightweight, and wears beautifully over and under other cream products.
Westman Atelier
The Powder Duos
RRP: £69
Infused with phytosqualane, pomegranate extract, rose flower and volcanic rock, this powder bronzer and blush duo helps to restore the skin’s suppleness, absorbing excess oil and affording a soft and streak-free matte finish. You can wear it alone, for an easy touch of warmth and blush-y colour, or use it to set your cream bronzer and blush.
rhode
Pocket Blush Buildable Hydrating Cream Blush
RRP: £25
Available in ten flattering shades, the rhode Pocket Blush is creamy and offers both pigment and a dewy, healthy gleam to the skin. It’s easy to apply (you can blend it with your finger just as easily as you can with a brush), and again, it layers very well over other cream formulas.
2. Fiona’s low-maintenance, one-product method
(Image credit: Future)
“My makeup routine is largely efficiency-based. But, unusually, I do have a bit of a process when it comes to my cheeks,” says Digital Beauty Editor, Fiona McKim. “First, I smoosh a bit of cream or liquid blush on my hand and start to pick it up bit by bit using, not a blusher brush, but a dense foundation one – they just seem to work better with creams.
I then pull one of those ‘duck face’ type pinched smiles we see a lot of on social media, so the chubbiest bit of my cheeks and cheekbones reveal themselves, and start lightly stippling away, finishing with a bit of ring-finger blending. Placement-wise, experts sometimes advise keeping blush high up, but I love bringing it right down to the apples of my cheeks – it’s a nice, rosy, outdoorsy vibe.
“If you’ve noted the absence of bronzer, that’s because I don’t really use it (see: efficiency), but I’ve been wearing this 2-in-1 Bareminerals Complexion Rescue Blonzer a fair bit lately, and enjoying its healthy, glowing warmth.”
ZOEVA
103 Detail Foundation Brush
RRP: £22.50
Instead of a blush brush, Fiona actually uses a dense foundation brush to apply her ‘blonzer’, namely this one from ZOEVA (the handles are different, but the brush head is the same).
bareMinerals
Complexion Rescue Blonzer
RRP: £25.50
This gel-cream formula is a hybrid between a bronzer and a blush and offers a warm, rosy tint to your cheeks, to leave them looking perfectly sun-kissed and radiant (as modelled by Fiona above). It’s available in five shades and is so easy to blend.
3. Naomi’s pale skin & subtle definition method
(Image credit: Future)
“Except in the summer months, when I break out my trusty Chanel Les Beige bronzer, I actually don’t wear bronzer day to day,” notes Digital Beauty Writer Naomi Jamieson. “Instead, I use a cream contour stick, as I find most bronzers look too warm and a bit orangey on my pale skin. Westman Atelier’s Face Trace Stick in the shade biscuit is my favourite, as the soft, taupey shade offers just the right amount of sculpting and definition, without looking obvious. I use it as sort of a cross between a bronzer and contour, as I apply it under my cheekbones, along my nosebridge, jaw and forehead, for a subtle sculpt, but I really diffuse it – rather than keeping the blending very precise and sharp.
“Blush placement-wise, I apply my Violette_Fr’s Bisou blush stick in Maryam (yes, you’re right, I do love a makeup stick), right onto the apples of my cheeks, but I blend it upwards along my cheekbone and over my initial contouring. This ensures a very seamless finish and gives the illusion that I have naturally more defined cheekbones and just generally gives a bit more dimension to my more oval face. I also apply a dot of blush across the bridge of my nose, to achieve a subtle ‘sun-kissed’ sort of finish.”
Westman Atelier
Face Trace Contour Stick
RRP: £44
Another shout-out for Westman Atelier’s Face Trace Stick. Naomi is also a fan and uses it’s creamy and buildable formula to sculpt and define her face.
RRP: £37
Inspired by the ‘sfumato’ painting technique, this marbled blush offers a multi-dimensional pop of colour to your cheeks. It offers great pigment but also diffuses and blends beautifully (and even comes with a built-in brush).
4. Sennen’s seamless ‘Blonzer’ method
(Image credit: Future)
“For my cheek makeup, I typically opt to apply my cream blush and bronzer formulas on the higher points of the face,” say Digital Beauty Writer, Sennen Prickett. “For example, I begin by applying bronzer slightly higher than the hollows of my cheeks, then I place my blush directly on top of my cheekbones before blending downwards into my bronzer for a seamless ‘blonzer’ finish.
“This placement and blending together of the two formulas not only helps to prevent an unblended appearance but also delivers the complexion with a lifted effect.”
Charlotte Tilbury
Beautiful Skin Sun-Kissed Glow Bronzer
RRP: £45
Available in four shades and infused with nourishing ingredients like hyaluronic acid and sunshine provitamin D3, this powdery cream bronzer delivers an instant beachy, sunkissed radiance to your complexion.
RRP: £40
Featuring a blend of natural oils, this RMS blush and lip hybrid offers a healthy-looking tint to your skin. It’s available in a range of flattering shades, though Sennen loves ‘Beloved’ best.
