I really like satiny finishes more than shimmer/frost/metallic shades. I also tend to prefer more forgiving blushes re: pigmentation – either that I can use a lighter hand to get less coverage or it is buildable.
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I’ve always loved blush and have always worn various finishes. For the longest time I was obsessed with peachy pink blushes. Now my favorite is nude-ish blush like Tarte Exposed or Lancome Blush Subtil in Miel Glace. I do love soft pinks, nudes, mauves and peachy pink blushes most of all!
Mine literally went from nearly *always* wearing one shade almost nonstop to getting into using many different shades, even straight up purple! 5 years ago, I owned around 4 or 5 shades, but usually just stick with using Nyx Pinched. So, yeah, in my 50’s I returned to experimenting with various shades! I do still prefer at least a satin or luminous finish, but have some lovely mattes I enjoy using as well now, ie; UD Bittersweet, MAC Burnt Pepper.
Burnt pepper is another awesome one that I would not have found without this blog. Christine is invaluable that way and in many others.
For most of my makeup wearing life I pretty much stuck with pink blushes. Over the past several years my blush collection has grown and I find that I enjoy quite a few different shades and finishes. Right now I am loving the Ciate Glow to Luminizing blushes. I have picked up two of the shades and will probably end up with all of them eventually. I never wore “orange” blushes and still don’t but I have Becca Tigerlily which is about as close as I get to an orange blush. With deeply pigmented blushes like Becca’s and Marc Jacobs, I like to swirl off some of the product on my inner wrist before going to the cheek as I am very fair and super pigmented blushes look a bit crazy at full strength. Another change for me is the mixing of blushes. I like to pair blushes to get different shades or finishes. If I am not using a luminous blush then I like adding a highlighter under the blush to give it a more luminous finish. In general, I have found that as I have aged I have felt freer to try different techniques, shades etc. than I did when I was younger.
No. I still wear satin finishes more than anything else. The only thing that has changed is that I do reach for cream blushes occasionally.
I used to prefer matte finishes but now, I love something with a sheen – the MAC Mineralize blushes, because they buff to a sheen (rather than a shine) are among my faves and the new Extra Dimension blushes are ones I also love. Colour-wise, I am trying to make a point of remembering to use shades like TheBalm’s Bahama Mama or other slightly peachy blushes in summer, when they look a bit less unnatural on me but it’s only because I have these shades (they came in palettes or were freebies/GWPs) that I go out of my way to use them.
I found hourglass dim light to be the same way. Only in summer. In the peach/coral family, the more orange toned ones look far better than the pink ones. Don’t really understand it, under/overtones, etc.
I tend less towards traditional blush and blush colours (pinks, corals, peaches) and love highlighter/blush hybrids for their subtlety. I like muted rose, plum, nude blushes in semi-sheer formulations that can be layered to provide a bit of definition and do not compete with either eyes or lips. I don’t want my cheeks to be a noticeable colour, just shaped
I like satin or matte blushes more than other types because to me they are the easiest to work with.
Cheek color wise, I’ve moved on to add more shades to my collection as well as expanding from the medium & darker shades to a few light-medium shades that have worked on me without being chalky on the cheeks.
Five years ago, I only wore very light, natural looking peach and pink blushes (aside from a lavender trio from Covergirl). I’m so pale that I was afraid of wearing brighter shades for fear of looking like a clown, which had been my experience in the 80s and 90s. I almost exclusively wore bareMinerals Rose Radiance for a blush for a decade. Temptalia and it’s readers actually encouraged me to spread my horizons, and let me know what formulas sheered out better. Now I really like bright corals, hot pinks, and even bright, plummy shades such as Clinique Cola Pop or Sleek Pomegranite. I now own and love a few bright purples and oranges, as well. The formulas that have come out in the last five years are amazing and only getting better.
I used to like really matte blushes, and now I prefer satins (still don’t like shimmery/frosted/metallic ones though). I also used to prefer powders and now I reach for creams and liquids more often (my faves are the ColourPop Super Shocks and Glossier Cloud Paints). Lastly, I tend to use blush to sculpt my cheeks (which I found out about two weeks ago is called “draping”), instead of putting it on the apples of my cheeks.
I’ve always loved blushes and I own more blushes (and brushes) than any other category of products. I need the color on my blah-fair skin. Because I’ve gotten much drier in the past five years, I now prefer a satin powder formula. They don’t look flat on my skin and are much easier to blend out. If I do wear one of my older mattes, which isn’t that often anymore, I always layer it with a topper. I’ve invested in a few cream blushes, and am always looking for a hot pink one (more red-based than blue-based). Does it even exist? If so, I can’t seem to find it. One of these days it’ll show up. Or, may not —
Pinks, pink corals haven’t been my thing in ~30 years. But have gotten ‘back into pink’ with mauves. Frosts and overtly metallics are a no. Refined metallics can go lightly. Prob like satin finish best, as matte can draw up oil and look more splotchy over time. Red browns are always a big fave. Using darker, grayed tones, lightly, in the draped fashion a fair amount. For brighter shades, often place them in the 1920s style, high and out. Since I was brought up in the matchy matchy 1950s, yeah, the blush matches the lips. Dated! Who cares?
My cheek changes occurred over the past week! I switched from 10+ years of NARS Orgasm to Clinique powder blush in Cupid. The color suits me so much better.
I wear blush now, as apposed to five years ago LOL!
And when I did start wearing blush, I only wore light, cool, bubble gum pink blushes that did NOT suit my then nc30 skin LOL.
now I like shimmery warm medium pinks, nneutrals, and plums/purples!
I completely stopped wearing blush a little over four years ago.
I used to have a plum Clinique blush that I wore all through my thirties and forties (if I wore blush at all-I didn’t even purchase a blush brush until my late forties.) Now my favorite is a nude-rose-beige in a natural to satin finish. I admit to have gotten carried away with that shade (Exposed, Madly, Jersey etc.) and know that I went overboard buying the same color but from different brands until my blush drawer really did overflow!
I’ve always gravitated towards peachy shades and tended to only buy DS brands for blush – which were pretty terrible. Now, whilst I still love that shade, I will buy better quality blushes that have a mosaic pattern that deliver depth and hue to my face.
I used to use a lot more vibrant colors! Now I stick to neutral, rosy, or pink shades! I don’t go to far out with neon blushes like I used to! 🙂
Hmmm….I’ve gone from bolder shades to mostly nude.
I used to not wear eyeshadow much, just a wing and maybe some false eyelashes. Now I’m really getting into bolder eye looks with eyeshadows so I stick to nude-ish shades like Covergirl Soft Mink, Lancome Miel Grace, Mood Exposure, Too Faced Baby Love, and Essnce Silky Touch & Satin blushes
Was always a Nars Blush girl, now I have expanded my selection to UD, Mac, Marc Jacobs and Benefit. I also use cream blushes here and there. i always use a light hand and now use a little highlighter and contour and use Wayne Goss methodology for application of blush, highlighter and contour for mature women I saw and it works nicely to “lift” the face. I really don’t use bright colors I think it draws the eye away from the entire look.
i’ve only recently started to think much about it. For many years I had one cool toned pink blush that a sales person picked out for me and used it so lightly you couldn’t see it anyway because I was afraid to look clownish; I’m more ‘afraid’ of blush than any other product category for sure. As I pay attention i’ve gotten confused because I’m a slightly cool undertone, but I have hated cool toned blush (and any lip color that has much purple to it, as a matter of fact) almost as a rule and prefer a peachy pink or coral. But actual peach looks orange in a bad way, and yet a light application of a red (like Tarte natural beauty, for example) seems to look pretty good? I’m trying to figure out what looks most “nude” on me.