The simple burst of colour - well blended, of course - that a little rouge offers can brighten up and highlight your whole complexion, giving your skin more definition and a more youthful, healthy glow. Our top 10 recommended list shows that drugstore brands such as NYX and Makeup Revolution can give some of the top-name brands like MAC and Benefit a run for their money. We have scoured the internet for the best blushes money can buy.
We have considered cream blushers, liquid blushers, blusher palettes and sets. We also offer tips on application as well as choosing the right blush for you, whether for pale skin, fair skin, olive skin or for mature skin. All of these are available from Amazon, John Lewis and Boots. Moreover, we have partnered with Makeup Artist Marie Dancer for reviewing and fact-checking the article so that we can deliver the best information to our users.
Quick List - Top Blushers
Charlotte Tilbury
Compact With Two Easy-To-Apply Shades to Provide a Youthful, Radiant Glow
Daniel Sandler
A Natural-Looking, Lightweight Blusher That Won’t Clog Your Pores
As a professional make-up artist of ten years, Marie's job has taken her all over the UK working at top events, on TV shows and making up beautiful brides. For all her clients she loves emphasising their natural beauty by creating a flawless base that still looks like skin.
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As a professional makeup artist of ten years, Marie's job has taken her all over the UK, working at top events, on TV shows and making up beautiful brides. For all of her clients, she loves emphasising their natural beauty by creating a flawless base that still looks like skin.
Find out more about Marie and what are her favourite makeup products are through her Instagram! She even shares some industry tips on makeup application too. And if you're interested in getting your makeup done by Marie, you can contact her via her email found at the top of her page.
First, consider your skin type when selecting the blush formulation. While personal preference does, of course, matter a great deal, choosing the right format depending on your skin does make a big difference to your end results. From liquids, creams and gels to powders and solid stick blushers, there is something out there for everyone.
To help you create more depth and dimension, check out our best bronzers for pale skin!
Mineral blushers offer a range of benefits by harnessing the power of natural ingredients. They are suitable for most skin types as they do not clog pores and usually contain few to no potential irritants such as perfumes and fillers that might cause breakouts.
This means that mineral blushers are great for those with sensitive skin as well as those who prefer more natural ingredients in their makeup. Many specialist mineral makeup brands also take pride in their preservative-free, cruelty-free, environmentally-friendly credentials.
If you’re lucky enough to have a suits-all skin type and tone, or just fancy experimenting a little, then investing in a palette is a great way to start introducing more colour than just a natural, pink blush.
Many palettes include a range of shades and finishes, so you can layer a shimmer with a matte and create a totally customised look for any occasion. Powder blushers are also perfect to use as eyeshadow to lift and brighten up the eyes and complete the look.
Looking for a palette complete with a bronzer, blush and highlighter? Discover our favourite face palettes here!
Whilst it's important to have a staple pink blush in your collection, a few colour options mean you are ready for every season and occasion. Some tones suit better than others so think about what your undertone is and follow that as a guide for your blusher. Warmer skin tones suit warmer blush, cooler skin tones suit cooler shades of blush, but feel free to experiment and find your ultimate look!
Pale-skinned girls don’t need to worry about sticking to pastel pinks anymore as there are so many more options for you. For a softer, more natural look, try peachy or soft rosy shades, or, for a more bold and dramatic look, pick a soft coral or plum in a sheer finish.
Neutral to cool blushers look the most flattering on fair skin, ppt for a glowy finish you're on the drier side. Warm-toned blushers can appear too strong or orange, you can mix warm and cool-toned blushers together to create a custom shade.
If you have middle-of-the-range skin, most shades and textures will suit your skin tone. However, if you have olive skin tones, some blush shades can leave you looking sallow, so choosing orange-based peaches or more vibrant rosy shades for a more stand-out look will complement your colouring better. You may also want to try a palette that includes a range of shades and even finishes so you can mix up your look.
For deeper skin tones, the shades that work best are rich, bronzed sienna, fruity browns or brick reds. These will offer a gorgeous pop of colour that will really stand out. On the other hand, darker Asian skin looks amazing when complemented with dark neutral pinks, warm reds and hot coral hues.
Here are our favourite bronzers for dark skin!
Products | Image | Click to purchase | Key features | |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | NARS Blush | ![]() | Best-Selling, Natural Blusher That Suits Everyone Available in Three Finishes | |
2 | Charlotte Tilbury Cheek to Chic Blusher | ![]() | Compact With Two Easy-To-Apply Shades to Provide a Youthful, Radiant Glow | |
3 | MAC Powder Blush | ![]() | Long-Lasting, High-Impact, High-Quality Blusher Available in 20 Shades | |
4 | Daniel Sandler Watercolour Fluid Blusher | ![]() | A Natural-Looking, Lightweight Blusher That Won’t Clog Your Pores | |
5 | Milk Makeup Lip and Cheek Stick | ![]() | The High-Impact Blusher, Packed Full of Nourishing and Hydrating Ingredients | |
6 | Makeup Revolution Ultra Blush Palette | ![]() | A Star-Studded Palette for Customised Looks to Suit a Range of Skin Tones | |
7 | bareMinerals GEN NUDE™ Powder Blush | ![]() | A Mineral Formula to Provide a Soft-Focus Effect and Radiant Looking Skin | |
8 | Florence By Mills Cheek Me Later Cream Blush | ![]() | Cruelty-Free and Vegan Formula for a Sheer Finish That’ll Make You Glow | |
9 | Benefit Dandelion Blusher | ![]() | A Shimmery Blusher That Offers Instant Radiance for Paler Complexions | |
10 | NYX Professional Makeup Sweet Cheeks Creamy Powder Blush | ![]() | Highly-Pigmented, High-Definition Blush to Add a Healthy Colour to Your Complexion |
This blush is a cult classic and is arguably the best-selling blush around. Formulated with super fine micronised powder pigments, it is highly blendable and buildable, giving you as much or as little natural-looking colour as you want.
Available in three finishes - matte, satin and shimmer - and 27 shades, there’s a shade to suit almost every skin tone! You have everything from bold and beautiful colours to a soft and natural glow.
Designed to give you a youthful “love glow”, this blush contains not just one, but two shades in each compact. Each shade offers high colour payout and a creamy texture that will give your skin a radiant finish, thanks to the crushed pearls used in this formulation.
This blush is super easy to apply and can be applied in your bathroom mirror or on the go in the back of a taxi. The Cheek to Chic Blusher suits most skin types and is sure to perk up your complexion with just a quick swish of your brush!
As you might expect from this trusted makeup brand, the MAC powder blush offers a quality product that gives fantastic colour payout. Apply with a brush or fingers to easily achieve a natural healthy glow that keeps on keeping on, all day long.
This blusher comes in a sheer matte finish that suits most skin types and it comes in 20 different shades, which is something for every skin tone and any occassion from a natural day-time glow to a bright pop of colour for a night on the town.
This gorgeous, sheer, lightweight blusher is super buildable, allowing you to add as much or as little as you like to develop a completely customised look without weighing down your skin. It is long-lasting, thanks to the silicone, oil-free formula, but doesn’t clog pores.
It comes in a range of colours to suit multiple skin tones and it is also suitable for any skin type. If you're looking for a natural makeup, no makeup look and a youthful and radiant glow, this could be the one for you.
This clever little stick is both blusher and lip tint in one, offering high-impact, buildable colour. Containing mango butter, peach nectar and avocado oil, the Lip & Cheek Stick is super hydrating and gives you gorgeous, sheer colour for a dewy, soft-focus finish.
Perfect for anyone with dry or mature skin, this blusher protects and hydrates. It's also easy to apply either with a brush or just your fingers, perfect for those who have to apply their makeup on the go.
These palettes each feature eight highly-pigmented blushers. Each shade can be used both by itself or it can be mixed with the other colours to create your own unique effects and shades, giving this product a lot of versatility.
With shades to suit a wide range of skin tones, there are six palette combinations available, making this palette incredibly affordable! Some shades can also be used for contouring as well as a blush. However, the big palette will be a little bulky for taking on the go.
Offering a natural flushed look through the power of mineral pearl complex, which gives a soft-focus effect while brightening the skin, this blusher is suitable for all but the driest of skins.
Offering buildable coverage and 12 gorgeous shades, it contains no parabens or phthalates and is cruelty-free. However, it is very sheer and can be difficult to build up colour if you prefer a very vibrant look.
A brand created by Millie Bobby Brown (hey Stranger Things fans), that offers a gorgeous healthy glow across a range of skin tones with its sheer, buildable finish. Designed to be easy to apply this blusher applies like a cream but dries down as a powder finish.
Although you can use this blush to build up the colour coverage that you want from sheer to lovely rosy cheeks, if you accidentally apply too much, you might end up spending a lot of time blending it out. While it contains Candelilla wax that locks in moisture, we would recommend this product for the oilier folk as it contains Kaolin clay and dries to a powder.
This shimmery, ballerina-pink blusher offers instant radiance and buildable colour in one handy package. Best suited to pale to medium skin tones, this product comes with a soft brush included.
This is probably not the best blush for those with dry or mature skin as powder blushers can further dry out these skin types. The lack of shades available also bumps it down to the lower end of our ranking.
This highly-pigmented blush has a silky, lightweight formulation that gives a high-definition radiance to your skin. It is easy to blend and delivers a healthy colour to your cheeks, helping you give a nice pop of colour to your complexion.
Although it is easy to apply and to wear, it doesn’t last as long as some of the other blushers. However, it does come in 12 shades, so it's quite possible to find something for everyone, whether it be a subtle hint or a bright pop of colour.
Blusher is always the first to fade on the skin so you may want to apply a bit more than usual to ensure the colour stays all day. Decide what lipstick you're wearing and match your blusher accordingly, waiting until you've finished your make-up to apply the blusher based on how heavy the rest of the make-up is.
Written and Researched by Sonata Winchester
No. 1: NARS|Blush
No. 2: Charlotte Tilbury|Cheek to Chic Blusher
No. 3: MAC|Powder Blush
No. 4: Daniel Sandler|Watercolour Fluid Blusher
No. 5: Milk Makeup|Lip and Cheek Stick
View Full RankingThe descriptions of each product are referenced from content available on manufacturer, brand, and e-commerce sites.
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