The first time I used blush I was about 15. I had no idea how to use it so I just happily swept away and once done I looked like a clown with two bright pink spots on my cheeks! It took me a few good years (blush application is tricky and very easy to get wrong) to finally master the technique, but every now and then, I still overapply.
This usually happens when I buy a new pigmented blush. With my pale skin, I have to be extra careful cos overdoing blush is even easier. But anyone can make this mistake and when you do, there is no need to reach for your makeup remover. That’ll only mean that you’ll have to reapply all your makeup (foundation, concealer etc) again. Instead, try these tips below:
1. Translucent powder is your ally
If you used too much blush and now look clownish, simply swirl your brush into your translucent powder and tap off any excess. Now that you only have a hint of powder on your brush, buff it onto your overapplied blush. It will tone it down to give a more natural look.
2. Translucent powder works even better with a cotton ball
For years, I used the translucent powder tip above until recently I came across Renee’s post on how to fix overdone blush where she suggests using a cotton ball first. Basically, all you need to do is to lightly sweep a cotton pad over the blush in a circular motion. This will pick up some of the color from your cheeks. Next, using your blush or kabuki brush, apply some translucent powder on top of it and blend well to soften any harsh lines. The translucent powder trick always worked well for me but now that I use it together with a cotton ball, I noticed correcting mistakes is a lot easier and the result more natural. Thanks Renee!
3. Fix cream blush with foundation
The tricks above work very well with powder blushes but when I overapply cream ones I fix them in a different way. What I do is put a small drop of foundation on my hand, gently dip a duo fibre brush like the MAC 187 in it, go over the blush with it and blend well. Not only it will make the blush look more natural, the makeup also won’t look cakey!
What do you do when you overload on blush?
{ 12 comments… read them below or add one }
Thanks for sharing these tips. The blushes which I use normally are moderately pigmented, hence I rarely encounter ‘overdoing’ problem.
But one of my favorite blushes, I Nuovi D36 in Lollipop is quite pigmented and the very first time I used it, I did look like a clown. Fortunately, I had D36 in Lumina which is a white-beige, more of a highlighter than a blush. And I applied it over the overdone Lollipop to tone it down.
With MAC Ripe Peach, though quite pigmented, I didn’t have any problem with overdoing it as yet. Guess with lots of practice, I have become more careful with blushes and always use a light hand and slowly layer it.
.-= Vonvon´s last blog ..Review: Tsuya-Tsuya Angel Eyes Lash & Brow Intense Growth Serum =-.
Good ideas all around. I think my problem is I have too light a hand when applying blush. I throw it on and five minutes later I can’t even tell it’s there.
.-= Trisha´s last blog ..10 Days to Ultimate Beauty Starting Tomorrow =-.
I use the foundation cover-up tip just a little even with blushes that aren’t cream! And I agree that translucent powder helps. However, my problem is usually that I don’t apply enough blush XD
.-= Simone´s last blog ..I got a bad reputation from being hot stuff… =-.
I usually fix my heavy blush with loose powder to set my foundation… hehe~
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if i overdose on cream blush, i will usually use tissue to lightly press on the cheeks to soak the blush away
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My method is somewhat similar to your foundation tip. I’ll take whatever brush I applied my foundation with, and use that to buff the blush on my cheeks. It usually works pretty well!
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Vonvon, you’re welcome and I’m glad you don’t have this problem often. I usually tend to buy sheer blushes so that they won’t look overdone but some of the pigmented ones are too pretty to pass on lol.
I think using a light hand and layering is the key to applying pigmented blushes and I’m glad you mastered this technique. I guess sometimes I get too confident and that’s when I make a mistake. I have a very pigmented reddish pink blush from Barry M and the first few times I used it, I was very careful and applied it with a light hand so it looked very natural. Then, one day, I was so sure that I had learnd how to apply it well, that I wasn’t as careful as usual and my cheeks had two really bright red spots lol. Luckily, a lot of translucent powder did the trick and toned it down.
Trisha, that’s good as you can always layer it. Blush application can be tricky and I think less is more. And if it is not noticeable, you can add another layer without ruining your makeup
Simone, I’ve never tried foundation ove powder blushes as I always feared it would make the makeup look cakey. But if you say it works, I’ll give it a try next time I overapply. Applying just a little is good, you can always layer it without looking bad.
Ahleessa, I like that. It fixes blush and sets the makeup at the same time, very handy
prettybeautiful, thanks for the tip. I’ll try it next time I overdo cream blushes
Mika chan, that’s very ingenious! Thanks for sharing the tip, I’ll give it a go.