Archived Post

How to Pair Blush with Bold Eye Makeup - Tips and Tricks

Makeup & Beauty Tips on How to Pair Blush with Bold Eye Makeup

Share your best tips and tricks for picking the right blush when you’ve gone with bolder eye makeup!  Feel free to share your experiences, how you mastered techniques, or what you struggle with.

My Tips

  1. If the eye makeup is very warm-toned, then something neutral to lightly warm-toned for blush tends to work well.
  2. If the eye makeup is very deep/dark/smoky, then something muted and neutral — like a beige, brown, or pink.
  3. If the eye makeup is very cool-toned, a muted plum.

Thanks to Monica for this week’s topic!

11 Comments

Comments that do not adhere to our comment policy may be removed. Discussion and debate are highly encouraged but we expect community members to participate respectfully. Please keep discussion on-topic, and if you have general feedback, a product review request, an off-topic question, or need technical support, please contact us!

Please help us streamline the comments' section and be more efficient: double-check the post above for more basic information like pricing, availability, and so on to make sure your question wasn't answered already. Comments alerting us to typos or small errors in the post are appreciated (!) but will typically be removed after errors are fixed (unless a response is needed).

We appreciate enthusiasm for new releases but ask readers to please hold questions regarding if/when a review will be posted as we can't commit to or guarantee product reviews. We don't want to set expectations and then disappoint readers as even products that are swatched don't always end up being reviewed due to time constraints and changes in priorities! Thank you for understanding!

Comments on this post are closed.
pockykami Avatar

I liked your tips. I really like having one go to neutral blush that will work with anything. Right now it’s tarte’s exposed, but in the future I’m sure I’ll switch it up. I’m hoping to try mac blushbaby next.

Kate Avatar

One trick that I like to use with smoky eyes, particularly if I’m using warmer greys or deep browns, is to apply a bit of a fairly bold red-based shade (Mac Fever works great) at the centre of my cheeks and blend it so that it’s more like a hint of the original colour. Then I apply a highlighter, something that looks kind of candlelit and neutral-warm (Hourglass Dim light or Luminous Light). This is more of a night out kind of look, but I like it, especially in the Fall.

I think your tips are great for a wide variety of looks. I really like a Nars Nico as a sort of all-purpose neutral and understated cheek shade with bold eyes.

I had a suggestion for a future post- I’d love to see your analysis of the range of shades encompassed by the term “plum” in cosmetics. I see it used for everything from soft browns to very deep purples to saturated reds. I’ve heard people say they find “coral” very difficult to define, but I find “plum” even more confusing!

sabitha Avatar

usually when I wear any cool/warm eye shadow – I do the opposite with my blush and lipstick/gloss…. I learned that from makeup geek. so if I wear a warm tone shadow, I pair it with a cool toned blush and lip gloss and vice versa – it seems to balance out my face. Whatever works, right?!

Leslie Avatar

Great Post! I always have a tough time picking the right shade of blush when doing a dramatic eye. If I use something too pale or toned down I end up looking washed out or too pale. I think I will give the beige a try!

Natalie Avatar

I like using MAC Warm Soul to get a subtle colour on my face so I don’t look washed out after foundation. It never draws too much attention though, and the focus will still be on my lip or eye makeup.

Angelique Avatar

If I am doing a deep brown smokey look then I will usually go for more natural light slightly coral tonned blushes, If I’m doing a heavy black eye then I usually just stick to bronzer to give my face some warmth and colour (I don’t use it as a blush though), and then some highlighting.

We try to approve comments within 24 hours (and reply to them within 72 hours) but can sometimes get behind and appreciate your patience! 🙂 If you have general feedback, product review requests, off-topic questions, or need technical support, please contact us directly. Thank you for your patience!