Blush scares me. A pretty pink glow always seems to work well for my caucasian friends, but whenever I’ve tried to apply cheek stain to myself or had it applied by a makeup artist, I didn’t like how it over-accented my round “Grell” cheeks. (It’s definitely a family trait.) I see blush as a dangerous cosmetic. It’s way too easy to overdo. 
When you do, everyone laughs at you because you look like you were shot with Homer Simpson’s makeup gun.
I knew a woman who put on blush – excuse me, rouge – much like Lil Kim has here. Like she’s daubing on war paint. To quote an old Trinidadian saying my mother uses often, she looks like a JuJu warrior.
(The expression is typically used for a woman who has left the house looking unkempt or crazy, in terms of hairstyle or makeup. Trust me, you know a JuJu warrior when you see one).
Despite my fear, recently I’ve been hankering to give my cheekbones a bit more color. Iman’s book, The Beauty of Color, gives specific advice to black women who want to give blush a try. She says: “Women with skin of color come in a zillion shades, but here’s one constant: Any blush with a bit of gold shimmer looks fabulous on you. It instantly brightens your face, and makes you look like you’ve just returned from Ibiza.”
For dark women, she recommends adding “a deep flush to your skin with shimmery cinnamons, bronzes, or even true Crayola orange. Believe it or not, it’s so beautiful – when applied to the apples of the cheeks, it gives a gorgeous flush.”
I don’t know about any Crayola orange, Iman. Sorry.
The colors she advises for very dark women sound delicious: “deep berries, velvety crimsons, and gold-infused plums.” The book says that oil-free, water-based stains work best on oily skin, so I’m either planning to buy one of those, or a cream blush for “working a steamy, dewy, Rita Moreno-in-West-Side-Story moment.” That sounds right up my alley.
I first read about Tarte Cheek Stain on Beauty Addict back in 2005, and I’ve been planning to try it out the next time I’m wandering wisftully around Sephora.
Love, love the colors of the Stila Gel Cheek Color. And the price is getting closer to my range.
But I’m most likely going to head to the CVS down the street and get the L’Oreal HIP High Intensity Pigments Blendable Blushing Creme. I already have their Brilliant Shine Lip Gloss and I love the richness of the color. It works great over my regular slick gloss. (Yes, I layer lip glosses. Don’t you?)
What kind of blush do you use?
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