mbg Beauty & Wellness Editor
mbg Beauty & Wellness Editor
Jamie Schneider is the Beauty & Wellness Editor at mindbodygreen, covering beauty and wellness. She has a B.A. in Organizational Studies and English from the University of Michigan, and her work has appeared in Coveteur, The Chill Times, and Wyld Skincare.
Image by shumskaya / iStock
December 4, 2022
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For all my contour novices out there: You can totally sculpt your cheekbones using blush. ”Contouring” really just means carving out certain regions of your face, which you can accomplish with a variety of makeup products—including, yes, a deeper shade of rose.
Recently, I watched Youthforia founder Fiona Chan demonstrate her go-to contour method during a Zoom event with the brand, and it has truly changed my everyday makeup routine (so much so that I wrote about it for November’s Talk Of The Team!). It’s so easy (just four strokes, promise) yet makes a huge difference.
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How to contour your face with blush.
First thing’s first: Choose your blush. You’ll want two shades to work with, one a bit deeper than your usual pick. That way, you can create the illusion of shadow while still adding some warmth. I’ve been loving Youthforia’s BYO Blush in the shade “But Tonight” (also what Chan uses for her own routine), a rich terracotta rose, and “Turn Up The Sunshine” (a coral-pink) on the apples of my cheeks, eyelids, and tip of my nose. Of course, you can choose any blush you fancy—find our other favorite picks here, if you’d like to browse more options.
With your blushes at the ready, follow along below:
- Take your deeper shade and apply four strokes: one underneath both cheekbones and two on the right and left side of your hairline (near the temples). This creates the illusion of shadow and definition.
- Buff and blend with a brush that gives you control. I’ve been using the angled Foundation Brush from Rose Inc; it’s not meant for blush, per se, but I find it diffuses the pigment beautifully, especially along my facial contours.
- Next, apply your lighter shade of blush on the apples of your cheeks, eyelids, and tip of your nose. You can just stick to the cheeks if blush isn’t really your thing (personally, it’s my desert island beauty product), but adding some color to the eyes and nose really gives it that flushed, “I’m cold” effect.
- Again, buff to blend. Feel free to add another layer if you’d like a little more contrast. Just start slow—it’s way easier to build up color than take it away.
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The takeaway.
And there you have it: A sculpted bone structure without breaking out the bronzer. Now, will this give you the same razor-sharp cheekbones you might see from a contour stick? Perhaps not, but it’s more of a natural definition that changes the shape of your face without creating sharp angles. And because the Youthforia blushes have a dry oil formula, the product really melts into your complexion so effortlessly—for a look that says, yes, I really did wake up like this.
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