Okay, so we absolutely love this fresh faced winter look (think J Crew catalog) but it’s a little bit scary attempting it on our own… One wrong move can leave us looking like Toddlers in Tiaras, and we’d prefer to keep our beauty pageant looks in the back of mom’s closet where they belong. Enter the experts: we met up with pro makeup artist Nisa Nicole at ROAR Salon to learn how to achieve those elusive winter cheeks. “The key to pulling off this look is to balance your face by keeping all other features toned down,” says Nisa. That means only mascara on the eyes and just a dab of color on the lips. Nisa had her friend (and fellow makeup artist) Avery Allen model for the look, and we’re obsessed with how it turned out. Read on to discover Nisa’s process for the perfectly flushed winter cheeks:
DIRECTIONS:
- Find the apple of your cheek (the fleshiest part) by smiling. Tip: Use a cream blush for the most natural “flush.”
- Using a blush brush, stipple the blush onto the apple of your cheek.
- Start by using the brush to blend the blush into a circle shape.
- Without adding any more product to your brush, blend the brush gently towards your nose.
- Again, without adding any more product to the brush, blend the circle towards your ear. Aim for the top of the ear (creating a slight angle) to follow your cheek bone.
- Repeat steps 1-5 on the other cheek.
- Add a SMALL amount of color to the tip of your nose. The key is not too much here!
- With your pinky, dot some product on your lips starting in the middle.
Nisa’s Extra Tip: If you have fair skin, it will tend to turn pink in the area where you are working. Wait a few minutes for the skin to calm, after applying the blush, to see what it will really look like. Then, you may want to add a little more color.
How cute is Avery? Straight out of the pages of J Crew, if we don’t say so ourselves.
photographed by kristen kilpatrick
