I never ever used to be a blush girl. When you have rosacea – albeit, mine is very mild – it can feel overwhelmingly unnatural to cover up pinkness with foundation and concealer to just put it back on. But as time went on, I felt like I was missing out and I grew to love how pretty and youthful blush looked on other girls I’d see online. I just didn’t really know where to start.
Bronzer was never a focal point either – with fair skin, most bronzers available don’t cater for my skin tone, and when they do, more often than not the colours are too yellow or too grey. I also struggled a lot with finding formulas that didn’t make my texture look awful. Long story short – I was stuck to know what products to buy, and so I spent time researching, trying and failing, and eventually found the nuggets of gold.
Over the past couple of months I’ve collated the perfect blush, bronze and highlight combination for winter – not only in terms of colours, but formulas that work beautifully together too. The complimentary nature of these three products really enables that smooth, blended, yet natural look we’re all after. Plus, your inner snow queen will be allowed to shine…
BRONZER: CHARLOTTE TILBURY AIRBRUSH BRONZER (‘FAIR’) – £39
If you love natural makeup, or if you’ve got textured skin, the Charlotte Tilbury Airbrush Bronzer is the bronzer for you. With it being so firmly pressed, the powder doesn’t have any fallout whatsoever, and this allows you to build up pigmentation across your cheeks neatly with extreme ease. While this does make the product more sheer than more softly pressed bronzers, the colour can be built up in layers – and no buffing is required, making the Airbrush Bronzers brilliant for preventing the disturbance of any carefully laid foundation and concealer underneath. It really gives your skin the ability to look smooth.
While the shade ‘Fair’ is my colour of choice – there are three deeper shades available too. On a final note, there are a couple of other facets to these bronzers that I love: one, the packaging, and two, the pan size. I’ve mentioned before that I absolutely adore the stunningly shiny, shell-inspired, golden metal cases, and was even more delighted when I saw that the size of the pan the bronzer powder is contained within. From the packaging, to the amount of product given, the formulation to the colours, I truly believe the Airbrush Bronzers are worth every penny.
My favourite brush to apply bronzer is: Fenty Beauty Powder Puff Setting Brush.
BLUSH: PATRICK TA MONOCHROME MOMENT VELVET BLUSH (‘SHE’S SEDUCTIVE’) – £28
I realised quite early on in my quest to become a blush girl that my main problem was abundantly clear: I had absolutely no idea what colours would suit my complexion. While I have fair skin and can pretty much get away with any colours on my eyes, I didn’t know what tones of blush would be flattering on my cheeks.
A few months ago I stumbled across a video on Chloe Morello’s channel on YouTube, featuring the one-and-only Patrick Ta – celebrity makeup artist to the likes of Gigi and Bella Hadid, Kourtney Kardashian and Candice Swanepoel. While I didn’t know much about Patrick before, I clicked on the video – within minutes was left feeling calm from his gentle nature, and mesmerised by his makeup artistry. What’s more, he was displaying his brand new collection: Monochrome Moment, which includes four Velvet Blushes with four corresponding Precision Lip Crayons and four Silky Lip Cremes. While I immediately fell head over heels for the collection’s concept, style and tones, I was particularly enamoured by the blush he used on Chloe – namely, ‘She’s Seductive’, a beautiful nude mauve.
And trust me, I would have never have dreamt that someone with my complexion could pull of a blush with a mauve undertone – never mind factoring in how dark the powder looked in the pan. But when he applied it to Chloe’s skin, I instantly knew I had to try it out for myself.
Patrick explained how all of his blushes – like Charlotte Tilbury’s Airbrush Bronzers – are firmly pressed into the pans, and how this lends the blushes to be sheer, yet buildable, making them great for a whole host of different skin tones. He also demonstrated his preferred mode of application – getting plenty on a fluffy brush (such as his Complexion Brush – which I’m yet to try), gently tapping the bristles on the back of his hand to remove excess powder and disperse the product evenly on the brush, and then lightly pressing the product across the cheeks. Have a look for yourself here (from 16:35 onwards).
While ‘She’s Seductive’ brings a beautiful healthy vibe, it isn’t overpowering. Along with the tone, the fact that the blush has a similar finish to Charlotte Tilbury’s Airbrush Bronzer really helps the two products diffuse effortlessly into one another. As silky as it is smooth, ‘She’s Seductive’ will forever be a winter hit for me.
(By the way, take no notice of how dark the colour looks on Cult Beauty – it’s much lighter in person!)
My favourite brush to apply blush is: Fenty Beauty Powder Puff Setting Brush.
HIGHLIGHTER: HOURGLASS AMBIENT STROBE LIGHTING POWDER (‘INCANDESCENT STROBE LIGHT’) – £38
I love highlighter – slightly obsessed maybe – but I have struggled to find top shelf products. Either they’re too dark, way too light, too powdery or exacerbate texture a tad too much. But I have managed to find a gem. Buying the Hourglass Ambient Strobe Lighting Powder in ‘Incandescent Strobe Light’ was a bit of a stab in the dark – I hadn’t heard anyone talk about the formula, and all I had to go on were a handful of reviews on Cult Beauty, which all gave 5 star reviews. So, why not?! And believe me when I say, I am so, so, SO glad I got it.
While I love a good ol’ golden glow, winter is the time when the pink tones come out in full force. However, pink toned highlighters can be hit-or-miss. Too pink and you can look like barbie, too neutral, then (unsurprisingly) you lose that winter feel that an icy pink highlighter can bring. For me, the perfect undertone for pink highlighters is one that leans towards that of nude mauve – and the icier the shine, the better.
Incandescent Strobe Light (at least, as of this moment) is my dream winter highlighter. With the aforementioned nude mauve undertone coupled with a beautifully icy glow, it compliments Patrick Ta’s ‘She’s Seductive’ blush incredibly well. Fine, silky, smooth – and what’s more it doesn’t exacerbate texture or leave a cast on your cheek when you’re not in direct light. It does have extremely fine shimmer, but it looks stunning on the skin. It’s perfection in my eyes.
My favourite brush to apply powder highlighter is: MAC 137S Long Blending Brush.
What’s your favourite bronzer, blush and/or highlighter? Or are any of your go-to’s the same as mine? Let me know in the comment section below.
As always, love, T x
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