Be A Blushing Beauty With These Tips From Carmindy

GALTime.com

By Kerri Winick, GalTime.com Beauty Editor

How you dust or dab your blush can make or break your look. Lay it on thick and you risk looking harsh. Too close to the nose and you risk looking like Rudolph. Too dull a hue and your cheeks look, for lack of a better word, dull!

We're craving a glow that's "just right," so we reached out to renowned makeup artist Carmindy (you probably know her best from TLC's What Not To Wear) for the 411 on achieving an angelic flush. Here's her cheeky checklist for becoming a blushing beauty.

Related: How to Solve Makeup Mishaps

Blush Up On The Basics:

  • Remember that highlighter illuminates, bronzer deepens, and blush brightens.

  • Use the two-finger rule to find the best place to apply blush. Lay your index and middle finger side by side vertically next to your nose. You want to leave that much skin free of blush when approaching the nose. Place the same fingers horizontally under your eye. Keep that area clear as well.

  • If you get a blush streak on the cheek, buff the entire area down with a clean non-latex sponge. Then subtly add back the amount of color you want. Don't correct a streak by filling it in with more color; that's a recipe for a rouge riot.

  • For a really long-wearing blush look, try applying self-tanner only across the cheekbones. Most tanners last for about a week. Each morning, all you have to do add is a pop of color on the apples.

Pick The Perfect Color:

  • Light skin looks loveliest with blushes in the peach or pink family.

  • Ladies with medium-toned skin can play up your cheeks with mauve, rose, or terra-cotta blush shades.

  • For gals with chocolaty skin tones, the brighter the blush shade the better.

  • Dark-skinned ladies should avoid dull, brown blush colors: they look muddy. Instead, choose bright bold floral shades and blend on lightly for a fresh look.

Related: Universally Flattering Makeup Shades

Cream, or powder? That is the question!

  • Oily-skinned gals should stick to powder blush to create a smooth finish. Apply on the apples of the cheeks with a large powder brush. Blending is key.

  • Ladies with really dry skin should opt for cream blush for a soft, moisture-enhancing finish. After foundation, apply cream blush by stippling lightly on the apples of the cheeks and along the cheekbones. Blend with a sponge to a natural flush. Follow with a light dusting of translucent powder to set the cream to last all day.

  • Normal-skinned gals should consider switching from powder blush to cream blush in the wintertime. As temperatures drop, your skin needs all the moisture it can get.

  • Cream blush is the best option for mature skin: it restores radiance.


Every week, millions of viewers count on Carmindy to teach them about the latest makeup tips and tricks on TLC's hit show "What Not to Wear." Carmindy's work can be seen on the editorial pages of leading magazines such as Cosmopolitan, Elle, InStyle, O, Essence, Self, Lucky, Seventeen, Marie Claire, and Glamour. Her commercial clients include Maybelline, Sephora, Clairol, Avon, Aveeno, CoverGirl, Almay, Bath and Body Works, Sally Hansen, Crest Whitestrips, Q-tips, and CIBA. She is the author of three fabulous beauty books titled The 5 Minute Face, Get Positively Beautiful, and Crazy Busy Beautiful by Harpers Studio. She has co-created a natural line of cosmetics called Sally Hansen Natural Beauty inspired by Carmindy available in drugstores nationwide.



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