People are scared of liquid blushes, and it’s easy to see why: anything you can’t easily apply with a brush can be intimidating, because you constantly run the risk of applying way too much, not blending it evenly, or having the colour end up on the wrong part of the face. It’s dangerously easy to get blush wrong– no one likes to be that girl on the MRT who’s dangerously bordering on clownish territory; and so, we play safe, and stick to the tried-and-tested powder formulas that we religiously blend onto our cheekbones the same way all day every day.
But then, Glossier debuted their Cloud Paint gel-cream blushes, and oh boy, we fell instantly in love. By cleverly letting the biggest celebrities attending the recent Oscars be the first to wear the four different shades, the world got to see how gorgeous it looked, exactly like the natural flush all blushes are supposed to help you achieve (but don’t always).
Their brilliant marketing for the Cloud Paint has almost completely changed our minds about liquid blushes, making us want to pick them up and try to blend it onto our skin as beautifully as they have with these models. While all 4 shades of the Cloud Paint is currently at the top of our makeup wishlists (yes really, all 4 shades), Glossier still doesn’t ship internationally, so it’s high time we start sourcing out locally-available alternatives.
But before we all start collecting them all – so how does one properly apply a liquid blush? Ditch all your preexisting notions about brushes being the only way to go, because in this case, you’ll want to utilise the 10 “brushes” you were born with: your humble fingers.
Follow these tips, and you’ll find that liquid blushes aren’t that difficult to pull off after all:
- Always dispense a small amount of product to begin with; colour payoff is usually a lot greater than powder blushes, so a little bit will truly go a much longer way than you think.
- Lightly tap the colour into the skin, to create a “blotted effect” that looks natural. Smearing it on might cause the colour to go on too harshly.
- Apply it starting from the apples of the cheeks, moving up towards the temples. This will create a dark-to-light gradient that helps with the whole “looking natural” thing.
- Skip out on the mattifying powder if you’re wearing a liquid blush; the texture gives it the ability to add a flattering sheen to the skin, so don’t hide that by piling on the powder. Do keep the excess shine away from the rest of your face, though – you don’t want that competing for attention with the nice sheen from the blush.
So while you wait for your friend to come back from the US with your Cloud Paint in tow, we sourced out the other liquid blush alternatives out there. There really are quite a few options out there, just that we’ve all probably missed them previously due to our aversion to liquid cheek colours. But now that the Cloud Paint has proven that they can look good, go ahead and dip your fingers into these – and remember, they can be used as lip stains and even eyeshadows too. Suddenly, liquid blushes might seem like the most important thing of your makeup arsenal.
From left to right: Benefit Posietint, $54; Yves Saint Laurent Beaute Kiss & Blush in 02 Rose Frivole; NYX Whipped Lip and Cheek Souffle in Molten Love, $13; 3CE Cream Blusher in Coral Coral, $22; Perfekt Beauty Cheek Perfection Gel in Blushed, $41 (available at Sephora).
Main image: Instagram @glossier
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