HOW TO APPLY BRONZER AND BLUSH

But these products aren’t just used to warm up the complexion; bronzer and blush placement can help soften or sharpen the angles of your face shape, too.

Below, we’ll guide you through where to put bronzer and blush to flatter your natural face shape and add subtle dimension to your features.

Applying both bronzer and blush in your routine

Whether you are choosing to contour your face or simply accentuate your high points and more prominent features, bronzer and blush can be used together to achieve a more natural finish – instead of applying each on their own.

We reached out to Lancôme Australia’s Director of Beauty, Lara Srokowski, for her advice on using both products for dimension:

“The success of a perfect bronzer and blush combination is in proper placement. For contouring, bronzer can be used as your base by adding shadow to the hollows of your cheeks, sides of your nose and along your jawline,” Lara explains. “Blush is then applied to the apples of your cheeks and swept lightly upward towards the sides of your eyes to create a natural-looking flush.”

Choosing your blush and bronzer formulas

Before we dive into bronzer and blush placement, it’s worth considering what type of formula and finish you want for your skin – liquid, cream, or powder.

Liquid

A liquid blush or bronzer has a fluid texture that melts seamlessly into the skin for a dewy, radiant finish. These types of products are available in matte or dewy finishes with a fluid consistency that makes them easy to blend and build up pigment for high-impact finishes.

For your liquid blush needs, we recommend the Skin Idôle Juicy Blush, which provides a soft matte finish that enhances your skin’s natural flush. Enriched with an 85% skincare base of niacinamide, vitamin E, and vitamin B5, this formula offers a moisturised feel alongside a plumped-up effect.

Cream

Similarly to a liquid product, a cream blush or bronzer can help you achieve a dewy, hydrated, and glowy look. These types of products won’t cling to dry, rough, or uneven patches, which makes them ideal for dry skin types.

Powder

This type of blush and bronzer is suitable for all skin types but is especially helpful for combination or oily skin. Powder blushes and bronzers generally come in two different finishes – matte and shimmer – which offer different tones and results.

If your preference lies with powder textures, we suggest a combination of the Blush Subtil and the Teint Idôle Ultra Wear C.E Skin Transforming Bronzer to awaken the skin with sun-kissed warmth.

Where do you put blush and bronzer? Applying blush and bronzer by face shape

Once you have your formula of choice, it’s time to perfect your bronzer and blush placement.

The first step here is to identify your face shape: oval, round, square, oblong, or heart. These shapes are characterised by the length of your face and the width of your cheekbones, forehead, and jawline. From there, you can learn how to apply bronzer and blush to balance out your facial features and create a subtle lifted effect.

Read on for our expert bronzer and blush placement tips for each face shape.

Bronzer and blush placement for an oval face

Oval-shaped faces are balanced, with soft angles around the chin and forehead. Since the face is slightly longer than it is wide, you can focus on blush placement on the apples of the cheeks for a slight widening effect.

You’ll only need a light touch for your bronzer – just a dusting along the hairline and temples to subtly ‘shorten’ the appearance of the face for more balance.

Bronzer and blush placement for a round face

The aim for round faces is to add visual length, so you can sweep your bronzer along the jaw to create a more sculpted look. Then, sharpen and define the angles of your face by applying bronzer along the cheekbones and blending outwards to the ears.

For your blush placement, blend outwards and upwards towards the temples while avoiding the apples of the cheeks (the roundest points of the face).

Bronzer and blush placement for a square face

Square-shaped faces are defined by sharp bone structure, where the forehead, cheekbones, and jawline are almost equal in width. A square face will often have well-defined cheekbones and a prominent jawline, so bronzer and blush placement is used to soften features and create the appearance of roundness in the face.

Apply your blush to the apples of the cheeks – in line with the centre of your undereye – for a more rounded look; use bronzer along the jawline and forehead to help soften the ‘angled’ corners of the face.

Bronzer and blush placement for an oblong face

Also known as a rectangle-shaped face, oblong faces are an elongated version of an oval face shape. In terms of how to use bronzer and blush, the goal is to ‘widen’ the face and de-emphasise length.

For that wider look, blush can be blended outwards from the apples of the cheeks towards the ears; while bronzer can be diffused along the top of the hairline, forehead, and jaw to visibly ‘shorten’ face length.

Bronzer and blush placement for a heart-shaped face

Heart-shaped faces are characterised by a pointed chin, wide forehead, and a widow’s peak at the hairline. The goal for bronzer and blush placement is to balance out the angled jaw and pointed chin.

You can achieve this visual balance by applying bronzer at either temple to ‘shrink’ the width of the forehead. Blush can be applied in a ‘C’ shape, starting at the tops of the cheekbones and blending outwards and upwards towards the tail of your eyebrows.

Once you’ve mastered this blush and bronzer tutorial, it’s time to perfect the rest of your base makeup. Discover our expert tips on how to apply foundation, next