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A great way to make yourself look younger and fresher is to learn to properly apply makeup on your cheeks. Gone are the days when you rubbed color in a diagonal line from your ear to your mouth. That streak of color under your cheekbone is no loner the thing to do. Instead, take color on your brush and rub a circular motion on the apple of your cheek, and then go up around the hairline to your temples. Blush is meant to give your cheeks a subtle glow. If you are looking to contour your cheekbones, it’s better to use products specifically made for that purpose rather than risk your blush looking like spray paint. There is also a big difference between blush and bronzer. Blush is what you think of as blush in the traditional sense but bronzer is meant to give you a look as if you’ve been in the sun without the spray tan look or the pesky cancerous growths. Use both sparingly. The focus should be on your eyes or your lips. Sometimes I don’t even use any blush, contours or bronzer at all.

Here are some of the products I have used.

Bare Escentuals bareMinerals Blush, $18.00

Discover fabulous, good-for-you cheek color. These creamy, 100 percent pure bareMinerals Blushes give you a beautiful, healthy tone that looks natural, because it is. Create a soft, radiant glow that’s ideal for all skin types, including sensitive and problem-prone skin.

These are the best products for any area of your face but right now we’re talking about blush. The pigments are so strong that barely touching the brush to the powder is enough. You don’t want to look like a hooker. For fair complected ladies, I suggest soft pinks that compliment your skin tone. Then get darker as your skin gets darker and keep in mind as to whether you are a warm tone, cool tone or neutral tone, because that determines the color of blush you choose. You never want to deviate too far from the color your skin naturally turns when you blush for real. Keep the center on the apple of your cheeks.

Perfekt Beauty Cheek Perfection Gel, $28.00

A tinted cheek perfector that instantly ‘per-fekts’ and enhances the appearance of the cheeks offering an alternative to traditional cream or powder blushes, bronzer, and cheek stains. This multitasking formula glides on effortlessly to instantly per-fekt and enhance the appearance of the cheeks. Smart Color Technology™ assures a perfect color match for every skintone. This gel leaves a hint of natural color, sculpting and highlighting the cheekbones.

I thought this was going to look like paint on my cheeks because I’ve never tried liquid blush before. I was very pleased with it though. You squirt a dab on your fingertip and rub it into the apple of your cheek in a circular motion. Then you rub out the edges just to be certain that you don’t have a big red circle on your cheek. Once you blend it out properly, it stays put for a long time and doesn’t fade. It’s waterproof and lightweight as well.

NARS Blush – Super Orgasm, $27.00

A sheer-pressed powder blush with golden speckles. NARS amps up their legendary NARS Orgasm to bring you Super Orgasm – the universally flattering shimmering peachy pink blush with an extra dose of golden sparkle. The super sexy pink flush gives the effect of an ultimate super,uh hum, afterglow. The blush contains a universally flattering peachy-pink undertone and can be worn alone or layered together for more depth.

These orgasm blushes from NARS are kind of famous or infamous because they are suitable for virtually any skin tone. It’s a universal line of blushes. I find them to be beautiful and easy to apply. I don’t use this blush very often because it is expensive but they add a little extra glimmer to cheeks.

Urban Decay Baked Bronzer, $26.00

A bronzer for the face and body that delivers a streak-free finish. This super fine powder is baked on a terra cotta disc for 24 hours and then hand-finished by a factory full of motherly Italian women who are concerned with the safety of your skin. Because it is cooked rather than pressed, it will even regain its micro-fine texture if you’ve applied it wet for a more dramatically bronzed look. The new packaging with a Moroccan-inspired moon-and-stars motif contains the same formula Urban Decay has built this product’s following on. Selecting the shade you want is now even easier–variations in the color of the compact match the color inside. Tips: Apply Baked Bronzer to your face or body. Try using a small wet brush to deliver rich, concentrated color to eyes and lips too.

Bronzer is not something I use very often but when I do, I avoid heavy shades that make me look fake baked. This one looks pretty natural as long as it’s used in moderation. No bronzer should be used with blush though, in my opinion. Choose one or the other. Your complexion should come through in a natural way no matter what makeup you use.

Sedona Lace Contour and Blush Palette, $17.95

This 2 in 1 palette contains 6 large pans for contouring, shading and blush. All 6 colors are matte and come in a durable packaged case to make it very convenient to use and travel with.

Contouring is something that not a lot of people do in their makeup routine, except with professional makeup artists. This palette is designed to help you bring out the natural bone structure of your face and give your look more depth in photographs. These contour shades keep you from looking washed out and two dimensional. Accent the deeper curves of your face with the darker shades and the parts of your face that catch the light the most should be accented with the lighter shades. Be careful of overdoing it though. My suggestion is to contour in natural light as opposed to the weird light in your bathrooms.

Tomorrow we will discuss hair products, bath products and fragrances.