WHERE TO PUT YOUR BLUSH: BLUSH PLACEMENT TIPS FOR EVERY FACE SHAPE

Understanding face shapes – and why blush placement matters

Determining where to place your blush starts with identifying your face shape. The shape of your face is determined by the width of your forehead, cheekbones, and jawline, along with your face length.

There are six primary face shapes:

• Round
• Oval
• Square
• Oblong
• Heart
• Diamond

Blush placement can have a direct impact on your face shape, potentially sharpening or elongating angles. The goal of blush is to subtly ‘lift’ the cheekbones and warm up the skin, mimicking your complexion’s natural flush. Place your blush too low and it can have the adverse effect – ‘dragging’ the face down. Apply too much blush and your complexion can look ruddy, or even cakey.

Where to apply blush for your face shape

When applied strategically for your face shape, blush can create balance between your features: adding fullness where desired and slimming, lifting, and softening your angles.

With a few simple changes to your blush application, you can easily flatter the natural contours of your face shape. In this guide, we’ll unveil our techniques on how to use blush on round, oval, square, oblong, heart, and diamond-shaped faces.

Blush placement for round face

Round faces have softer angles overall, with wider cheeks and a rounded jawline. Applying blush placement for round faces can add subtle definition to cheeks and create the illusion of a more angular shape.

You’ll want to apply pigment higher on the cheekbones, sweeping past the outer corners of your eyes and diffusing upwards and outwards towards the temples. This is going to help elongate the face and add structure.

We love working with a powder blush and a small blush brush to carve out these angles on the cheekbones. Take a dusting of the Luminous Silk Glow Blush in ‘61 Desire’ and apply to the highpoints of your cheeks. This slightly darker shade can also produce a subtle contour effect that’s perfect for creating dimension on round faces.

Blush placement for oval face

Oval faces are generally quite balanced, with a softly rounded chin and forehead. Since oval-shaped faces are longer than they are wide, blush placement for oval faces can help subtly widen features.

When applying blush, oval-faced beauties can focus on the apples of the cheeks – this will give a more rounded appearance. To amplify your rosy glow, we recommend the Luminous Silk Cheek Tint Shine in ‘42S Sunlit Sienna’, a warm-toned shade that gives the skin a radiant, sun-kissed finish.

Blush placement for square face

Where round and oval-shaped faces are characterised by soft angles, square faces have a more angular appearance – with a sharp bone structure and jawline.

Since square faces are as wide as they are long, blush placement for square faces is used to help soften the sharper angles of the jaw, temples, and cheekbones.

Take a few dots of the Luminous Silk Cheek Tint Liquid Blush and concentrate your blush application to the apples of your cheeks – the softest, roundest part of the cheek below the undereye area. Use a dedicated brush or your fingertips to gently blend outwards towards the ears to softly diffuse the colour.

Blush placement for oblong face

Due to their slightly elongated features, an oblong face shape tends to be mistaken for an oval face shape. However, an oblong-shaped face has a more rectangular appearance, with the jawline, forehead, and cheekbones being similar in width.

Blush placement on an oblong face can help widen the appearance of narrow cheeks. Take your Luminous Silk Glow Blush and apply to the apples of the cheeks, blending horizontally outwards for a widening effect. You can also strategically apply the Luminous Silk Summer Glow Bronzer along the forehead and under the chin to visibly ‘shorten’ an oblong face.

Blush placement for heart-shaped face

Prominent cheekbones, a tapered jawline and a noticeable ‘point’ at the hairline gives this face shape its trademark heart silhouette.

As the lower half of the face is narrower, blush placement for heart-shaped faces addresses this ‘imbalance’. You’ll want to avoid placing blush too high on the cheeks, as this can make your face shape more top heavy.

Instead, distribute your blush onto the lower part of the apples of the cheeks, curving into a slight u-shape under the eyes. We recommend a liquid blush like the Luminous Silk Cheek Tint Liquid Blush, since the applicator tip will enable more precise application.

Blush placement for diamond face

In this unique face structure, wider cheeks, a slim forehead and a pointed chin create a striking, diamond-shaped profile. But you can also experiment with blush placement for diamond faces to rebalance the sharper features of this face shape.

We suggest applying a few dots of the Luminous Silk Cheek Tint Shine on the higher points of the cheekbones, then blending outwards towards your ears. This highlights your already-prominent cheekbones, while softening sharper angles.

Now that you know where to apply blush, it’s time to master the other steps in your makeup routine. Next, explore our guide on how to apply concealer.