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I hate blush. Between Sabrina Carpenter’s combo and the countless viral blush trends on TikTok, I thought I was an anomaly until I saw the recent trends on social media about not knowing how much blush to wear. The idea is that people don’t notice that they’re applying way too much blush and only realize later when they look back at old pictures.
Seeing the trend sent shivers down my spine. This was one of my biggest beauty phobias. I think this phobia started when I was a child. To give you context, my mom is an 80s baby who made it through the style and beauty trends of the era with a few battle scars (and embarrassing photos). After seeing the errors of her generation who applied so much color to their faces they could have been a Henri Émile Benoît Matisse painting, she taught me very early on that less is more, especially blush.
“You can’t put too much of that on or you’ll look like a clown,” the makeup-wearers in my life would say as they’d see me eyeing that coveted Claire's palette of bright pink pigmented blush I likely got for a birthday. I wanted to look like a lot of people and things growing up; A puppy at one point, Brittney Spears at another. But one thing I have never wanted to embody in any way was a clown. To my credit, I did give it a go once, as a kid, at a time when I had no concept of product-to-brush ratio. And it showed. I used a brush to swipe way too much of a brightly pigmented pink powder that sat on top of my light-toned skin. The visual of myself with a pink that did nothing for my complexion is seared in my memory.
I never wanted to look like that again. But instead of learning how to apply it (I did learn about the “tap, tap” method for other products eventually) or finding a shade that complimented my skin tone, I avoided it like the plague. I avoided it in middle school, instead opting for the cringe early aughts trend of all-over bronzer and shimmery silver eyeshadow. I didn’t wear it for my prom, and I didn’t want it for my wedding day. After that initial rosy-cheeked mishap as a kid, I did not buy blush or ever apply it on my face in the entire of my life—until recently.
Over the last few months, I started to get blush-curious. After working with my Teen Vogue coworkers who are so talented and knowledgeable about beauty, I felt like this was a good time to try to break my phobia. Armed with a fresh pallet of NARS powder blush in the shade 900 BEHAVE, a matte pink mauve, I committed to wearing blush for 5 days straight to overcome my fear. Here’s how it went:
Day 1: Monday
I decided to start my journey on a work-from-home day so that I could avoid embarrassing myself in public if I recreated the blush mishap from my childhood. I couldn’t believe how foreign it actually felt to add blush as a step in my beauty routine.
I decided that after contouring (which I use my Too Faced Chocolate Soleil bronzer to do), I would use my angled powder brush to apply the blush.
When I tell you how light-handed I tried to be, I am not exaggerating. I heeded the “less is more” mantra here and “tap, tap, tapped” as much as I could. I actually think I accidentally rid the brush of any blush that was on there at all. But it felt safe. I was still terrified of making my face appear more pink than it already was.
I applied the blush to the top of my cheeks in an angled motion, swiping away from my cheek into my hairline area. I did learn from YouTube beauty vloggers that this is the best angle to achieve a lifted face effect. Done. My heart rate increased but I was still standing. I did it! I applied blush. I had no clue if it was noticeable, and I did feel very uncomfortable doing it, but the deed was done.
Day 2: Tuesday
I decided to step outside of my comfort zone on day two and apply a tiny bit more product than I had before. Was it risky? Yes, especially considering I had to go out in public today. But I’m glad I did it.
The color made me look alive and not monotone like I had sort of looked before. I felt very summery. I was starting to shift from not liking blush to understanding it. Was I a convert? Not sure. But I no longer panicked at the thought of pink hue on my cheeks.
Day 3 - Wednesday
I was feeling myself and the blush today. At this point, I fully leaned in and applied the product as if I had been doing this for a long time and it was just another step in my routine. I felt a lot more confident with the application and had a feel for how much was too little or too much. It’s a bit hard to see because of the lighting in the office bathroom, but I was pink-cheeked and proud.
This is when I started to wonder if I should continue wearing blush longer than five days. Even though I still felt a little bit out of my element and wasn’t sure how to really apply it perfectly, I did feel like blush added something to my look.
Day 4: Thursday
On Thursday, I had to attend a work event where there would be lots of photos and videos of me taken, so the fun and games were over. I needed to make sure to do my very best on the blush front. I tapped less product off the brush and applied a bit more powder to my face this time.
I paired it with a red lip using Sephora Collection’s Cream Lip Stain Liquid Lipstick in Red Desert. This is when I started to like the look. The blush didn’t make my skin look too pink in a bad way. Instead, it created dimension and complimented the tone of the red lip. I was getting the hang of this.
Day 5 - Friday
Friday came so quickly! My brother was throwing a housewarming party, and I thought it would make for the perfect blush grand finale. I had only worn blush to work throughout this immersive test and was excited to do a night-out look with the blush. I’m full face here but opted not to do a liner, instead putting focus on my cheeks. I think that I still need help figuring out the best blush placement for my face, and I do want to maybe tolerate more of it, but I felt lively and confident with this makeup, blush included. I felt like a cool girl. Definitely not a millennial with a blush phobia.
Conclusion
I can’t believe it, but the experiment worked! I have a long way to go until I feel truly confident and like I know what I’m doing when it comes to blush. But I’m happy that I can now join the blush club. Not by force but as a willing, and very happy participant. Aw, now, I’m blushing!
