Blush - Which Colors Look Best on Which Skintone

People with very fair skin tend to already have a lot of pink undertones, so they'll want to shy away from too-pink blush. I like a slightly rosy-coral shade like Lancome's Blush Subtil in Shimmer Mandarin Sky ($29.50) because it has a nice balance between the colors that isn't too overpowering, and the touch of shimmer highlights the cheekbones.

Another blush that looks beautiful on fair skin (or really any and all skin tones, actually) is the world-renowned Nars Blush in Orgasm ($25), a sheer, faintly shimmery peachy-pink that flatters just about everyone. It now comes in Super Orgasm, too, which has a higher concentration of gold glitter that's great for nighttime.

A great cream blush option in a tone like Shimmer Mandarin Sky and Orgasm is Philosophy's The Supernatural Lit From Within Healthy Cream Blush in Feel Warm All Over ($22.50) - that's a mouthful, I know. But, it's a pretty sheer peachy-pink with a slight touch of shimmer.

Kate Winslet looks gorgeous no matter what, but I love her soft blush here.

Gwyneth Paltrow wears pretty peachy-pink blush

If you have medium-toned skin, a warm pink with brown undertones is usually a good choice. I really love Lancome's Blush Subtil in Mauve Coquette ($29.50), which has a good balance between pink and brown that flatters just about everyone.

Laura Mercier's Second Skin Cheek Color in Rose Bloom ($24) is another pretty option that is a warm, tawny rose shade. An added bonus - this stuff stays on all day. I tend to find myself touching up later in the day but this blush stays on better than most powder blushes I've used.

Clinique has a great cream blush, also. Their Blushwear Cream Stick in Rosy Blush ($18.50) is an awesome on-the-go twist-up stick that provides a sheer, natural flush that lasts and lasts. All you have to do is stripe your cheek where you want your blush and blend it out with your fingers - simple. And very pretty!

Natalie Portman's glow is natural and fresh, not too done up

Megan Mullally looks beautiful with a soft rosy glow

For very yellow skin tones (most often women of Asian and Middle Eastern nationalities), coral and bronze colors look most flattering. These keep the skin tone warm and glowing without clashing like a pink blush would. Makeup Forever's Powder Blush in Tangerine ($19) is a vibrant, matte orange blush that I would only particularly recommend for very deep yellow-based skintones because it is quite bold, but it looks beautiful on. For lighter yellow-toned skin, I like Cargo's Beachblush in Coral Beach ($13). It has four stripes of color that you can apply individually or blend together to make a fresh, glowing, bronzy look.

Another great choice is Josie Maran's Blush in Blossom ($20) which is a warm coral shade. Another great thing about Josie Maran products is that they are all fragrance-free and don't have any harmful chemicals that can be found in many other cosmetics, plus the packaging is made from biodegradable corn plastic. A great look that's also eco-friendly? I think that's

pretty awesome.

A pretty cream option is Nars The Multiple in Portofino ($37), which is a shimmering coral. It's called 'The Multiple' for a really awesome reason - it can be used as a cheek color, eye color, or lip color. Killing three birds with one stone never sounded so good. Plus, it's cream-to-powder finish stays on until you're ready to wash it off.

Freida Pinto's pale peach blush highlights her delicate bone structure perfectly

What's beautiful about Lucy Liu other than her warm bronzy glow? The fact that she doesn't cover up her freckles like they're a flaw - she flaunts them! Gorgeous!

Deeper skin tones tend to look good with dark reddish or deep pink shades of blush, like Stila's Convertible Color in Fuchsia ($25), which is another cream that can be used as a lipstick.

Makeup Forever's Powder Blush in Dark Raspberry ($19) is another pretty choice for dark skin.

Naomi Campbell looks gorgeous with a pop of berry blush

Everything about Jennifer Hudson's makeup here looks amazing

I hope this post helps take some of the mystery out of what color will look best with your skintone. I'll keep up the theme of blush and make my next one about great brushes for blush and some tips on how to apply cream blushes, too.

Blush - Taking the Guesswork Out of Where to Put It

Every single day (there truly isn't a day that goes by) I see women with their blush applied horrendously. They've either got on entirely too much, so much it looks like stripes on their cheeks, or so little that they look tired and blah. Here are a few examples of how NOT to wear your blush!

Christina Aguilera - LOVE the red lips, HATE that blush! What could possibly be considered flattering about that? If it were about ten shades lighter, she'd look amazing.

Hayden Panettiere - she's so pretty with such a lovely complexion, but those dark cheeks distort her face!

I'm not going to point out everything wrong with Lil Kim's look here (trust me, it's more than just the blush, but that should be obvious), but that blush - really??

I get a lot of ladies asking me where exactly on their face are they supposed to even put their blush. I see women with it on right on the apples of their cheeks 98% of the time, with can work for some face shapes, but not all.

If you have a round shaped face, you want to apply your blush diagonally from the outer corner of your mouth up towards the top of the ear. This will visibly thin the face, making it look a little longer instead of so round. Below are some pictures of good blush application for a round face.

If you have a square-shaped face, you'll want to soften the jawline by starting your blush on the cheekbones at about the center of the eye, and blend back up toward the temples. If you add a little brush of your blush across the forehead and down the chin, very, very softly, it will also round out the jawline a little.

For a rectangular face, you want to put the blush on similar to the square-shaped face, except instead of starting at the center of the eyes, you'll want to start at the outer edge of the eyes and blend back to the temples. This will give the illusion of a slightly wider face.

If you have an oval-shaped face, you're kind of lucky because just about any way you put on your blush (or wear your hair) is going to look pretty good. I'm oval-shaped, and I like to apply my blush similar to the round-shaped face should (from the corner of the mouth, diagonally up towards the top of the ear) but I do something a little different - I apply it just underneath the cheekbone instead of actually on the cheekbones. This gives the illusion of slightly sunken-in cheeks, instantly taking five pounds off my face.

I swear I'm not naked in this picture - I have on a strapless bridesmaid dress.

For a long face, the idea is to try to widen it. Applying the blush on the apples of the cheeks, straight back in a horizontal line to the ear will widen the face perfectly.

And finally, we come to the heart-shaped (if you have a widow's peak) or upside-down triangle-shaped face. Women with this shape seem to have the most difficult time applying their blush. For this shape, you'll want to apply your blush just like the round shape - start at the apples on the cheekbones and apply diagonally back toward the tops of the ears. Then, you'll want to sweep the blush softly up the temples and even slightly over the eyebrows. This sounds nuts, but try it out - it will help balance the wideness of your forehead against your narrow jawline and pointy chin.

If you're really not sure what exactly your face shape is, push your hair back with a headband so you can see the entire outline of your face. Grab a tube of lipstick you don't wear very often, and stand directly in front of the mirror and draw the outline you see reflected. Take a step back - that should give you a better idea as to what face shape you are and help figure out how you need to apply your blush.

I'll make my next post on what colors I recommend for each skin tone, and which ones I really love, so be sure to check back in the next few days for that one!