Keep It Lifted: The Best Way To Apply Blush For Rosy, Sculpted Cheekbones

The solution? Tweak your blusher technique. According to makeup artists, the key is to move inward, never downward. 

Don't tap the apples; tap the cheekbones: "The goal is to add color but not drag the cheek downward," makeup artist Jaleesa Jaikaran once told mbg. So you'll still achieve that famed rosy glow, all while highlighting your cheekbones and keeping them lifted, as if your natural flush just so happens to simultaneously sculpt your face.

Another way you can do this? Start from the bottom where your blush ends and blend outward toward the temples. This way, you choose exactly where you want your color to stop and won't run the risk of dragging it down. Alexandra Compton, makeup artist and product development manager at clean beauty retailer Credo, recommends focusing the product "directly underneath the pupil of your eye" before blending up. "This will create a lifted effect," she says. Imagine a C-shape from the temples, inward. 

The final result looks different on everyone (read: Everyone's cheekbones rest in slightly different spots) but the general idea is the same: By pulling your blush inward—not downward—you can lift the cheeks for a youthful-looking glow.