Why Use Cream Highlighter & Blush?

Blush and highlighter are two of beauty’s most transformative items.

The right blush and highlighter can completely change the face. They can impart a glow, deliver the illusion of well rest, they can lift the complexion and sculpt the face. 

Choosing the right cheek product is as much about the texture as it is about the colour and this season, we’re reaching for cream blush and bronzer.

Why Cream Blush and Highlighter?

Most of us are taught how to apply our makeup with powder textures- think traditional pressed powder blush with a light-reflecting highlighting powder dusted across the top. It’s these early teachings that render so many of us a little scared of cream blush and highlighter, but they’re surprisingly easy to use (and you only need your fingers!).

We love the way cream blush and highlighter melt into the skin and any base products, like foundation or tinted moisturiser, that you’ve applied underneath it. The texture of cream cheek products is akin to the natural texture of our skin, leaving you with a more natural finish than many powders that often sit on top of the skin. Cream cheek products are also great multitaskers, and their stick form means they can be carried with ease so you can update your look on the go.

We love our new Glow Time Blush and Highlighter Sticks, all of which are rich in skin-loving, natural ingredients like Jojoba Seed Oil to care for the skin while delivering a lit-from-within glow.

How Your Blush Application Can Change Your Look!

Both cream blush and highlighter are best applied using the fingertips, meaning you don’t need to purchase or carry any additional tools or brushes to get the most out of the products. The warmth of your fingertips will warm up the cream itself, making it more malleable and allowing for a smooth, streak-free finish and a really natural look on the skin.

Where you physically apply your blush and highlighter on your face has the ability to completely change your look. If you want to look youthful, fresh and “pretty,” we recommend applying your blush to the apples of your cheeks and blend the colour slightly up towards your temples. To really “lift” the face and sculpt the cheekbones, try applying your blush closer to the temples, almost following the line of your bronzer (which is typically applied along the cheekbones).

To highlight your beautiful bone structure and draw even more attention to those cheekbones, apply your highlighter to the tops of your cheeks, brow bone and cupid’s bow. To give the skin even more of a glow, use your fingertips to gently pat some more highlighter up to the temples, further down onto the cheeks and down the centre of the nose. This will give your skin a really dewy, fresh appearance as the light hits it.

Choosing the Right Blush and Highlight For Your Skin Tone

Glow Time Blush and Highlighter Sticks come in eight buildable, blendable shades (five blushes and three highlighters), all of which are universally flattering- so you really can’t go wrong when it comes to selecting a shade!

We encourage you to experiment with makeup, so our first tip for choosing the right blush and highlight colour for your skin is to reach for whichever colour really catches your eye. If you love wearing it, it’ll show!

If you’d prefer to follow a tried-and-tested colour matching route, the first step is identifying whether your skin undertone is cool, warm or neutral. If your skin appears to throw more yellow, then it’s warm toned, while those with more pink skin are generally cool toned. If your skin sits somewhere in the middle, then it’s neutral. For a failsafe blush and highlighter choice, apply that same principle to your colour options- for example, we love a gold or bronze highlight on warm skin tones, a pearlescent pink on cool skin, and champagne on a neutral complexion!

Here's a cheat sheet based on skin tones (fair, medium, dark):
Aura: guava with gold shimmer, medium to dark skin tones
Enchanted: soft pink brown with gold shimmer, dark to deeper skin tones
Ethereal: peachy pink with gold shimmer, fair to medium skin tones
Glorious: chestnut red with gold shimmer, dark to deeper skin tones
Mist: soft cool pink with subtle shimmer, fair to medium skin tones

Cosmos: pearlescent pink, fair to medium-dark skin tones
Eclipse: golden sheen, fair to deep skin tones
Solstice: iridescent champagne, fair to dark skin tones

View our range of mineral check products here.

Words and images by Gemma Watts @gemkwatts