If the eyes are the windows to the soul, then the cheeks are the back door. What other part of the body exposes our hidden emotions so easily? Shyness, excitement, joy and desire are all expressed in a passionate way in an instant. It’s no wonder blush has been a staple of the makeup bag for decades: ancient Egyptians used ochre powder to brighten their complexion; Elizabeth I painted her cheeks with red paint and mercury sulphide (the same paint she used to get an ivory colour, a light mixture of vinegar and lead is believed to have caused her blood poisoning); fashionistas applied blush in dramatic circles to achieve a doll-like complexion, even smearing it on their knees to draw attention to the comparisons.
Can such a classic be reinvented? In the latest blushes — seen everywhere from Chanel and Dior’s fall runways to Gigi Hadid and Ayo Edebiri’s red carpet looks — rouge is no longer applied just to the cheeks but widely across the face, even smearing it across your cheeks. The new blushes are dynamic and naturally reject the idea of contouring: You’re not trying to fix your face in 3D, by emphasizing your sphinx-like planes and angles you’re signaling to the world that you’ve made something happen — emotion, effort, or a combination of both.
However, there’s no denying that the line between pinkness and rosacea is very thin, so before I try to recreate these looks, I seek the advice of an expert. “I always use blush as the final step in my beauty routine,” advises Peter Philips, creative and image director of makeup at Christian Dior. “And I like to accumulate gradually so as not to have regrets.” When asked about his inspiration, Philips quite poetically stated, “No matter where they are, men and women are immortalized in the light of greatness”, and inadvertently gave me a guide I’ll use when asking others to take pictures of me throughout my life. With this mantra in mind, I tried my first blush look with Dior Rouge Blush Colour & Glow in Riviera, a light peachy pink shade – it’s feminine and fresh, but not too bold. I added additional layers to create a wider flower, then added a few layers to the chin and forehead. Next, I dared to try Dior’s rosy pink, a colour so exciting I couldn’t find a suitable point of comparison. Peony? Tropical sunset? The colour it reminds me of most is Lil Kim’s iconic pink hair from the 90s. I told myself the blush was bold and then started applying the powder.
My first stop was my living room, where my husband (a fellow Brit) was happily watching England play football while bouncing our eight-month-old son on his lap. It wasn’t until halftime that I turned my face in his direction.
“How do I look?” I asked, turning my cheeks to one side.
“Beautiful!” she said confidently.
“…और?”
He stumbled.
“…Pink?” he ventured.
He’s not wrong, dear, but I’m looking for more concrete verification.
“That’s Kirsten Dunst in Marie Antoinette,” said one friend we met for lunch. Another said, “You look like you’ve just run a marathon.”
For my next try, Guerlain makeup creative director Violette walked me through her process. She recommends sfumato, a technique perfected by Leonardo da Vinci that creates imperceptible transitions between light and dark. “Applying blush where there’s blood flow enhances a healthy, natural look,” she says, as opposed to applying blush only to the cheeks, which can look structured or unnatural. I started with Guerlain’s light nude color Terra Cotta Blush, then applied a darker nude shade from the same collection. Somehow I look like I’ve only slept for 12 hours. I guess blush is rest.
After a few days of mixed makeup (which I also created with Chanel’s Luxury Cream Blush), I switched from powder blush to playful little sister colors, lip gloss, and cheek makeup. There are so many great options in this category: Milk Makeup’s Cooling Water Jelly Tints and Clinique’s Pop Lip + Cheek Oil in Black Honey, but I find myself often returning to Benefit’s Benetint, a cult-favorite deeply-pigmented tint launched in 1976 in a red hue, and the first makeup product I ever bought.
As I applied the familiar solution to my cheeks, I was 13 again, waiting for the sound of skateboard wheels. Because how could I forget? Blushing is youth. It’s also a connection to it and a re-creation of it. But what lies behind our desires for youth, health, passion – all of these things that blushing represents?
The answer became clear to me when my son was born. He was born two months premature and not in good health. The first promising sign of his progress was his cheeks turning from pale to pink. When he finally arrived home, his face glowed like the cherry blossoms that had bloomed on our street. That’s when I knew he was safe.’ Of course, I thought, adding another layer of blush to my already rosy cheeks. No wonder we want more and get as much as we can. Blushing is life.
