Picture this: You’re on vacation or getting ready for an event, and you notice some extra dark circles, dark spots or areas of discoloration that you need to neutralize so it doesn’t keep peeking out behind your foundation. If you don’t have a color corrector with you in your makeup bag, what can you do to get those pesky areas to hide under your foundation for a more seamless makeup look? Well, it’s easier than you think—you can turn to a makeup product you definitely already have with you: blush. Armani beauty and celebrity makeup artist Carolina Gonzalez, who’s worked with stars like Sabrina Carpenter, Gigi Hadid and many more, recently shared that her secret to a brighter, more even skin tone is using the cult-favorite Armani Beauty Luminous Silk Cheek Tint ($40). But how she’s using it may surprise you: Beyond using it to add some color to your cheeks, her go-to hack is using it as a color corrector for a fresh, lit-from-within glow. We asked her about how to apply it, what shades to use and more, so read on for all her tips about using blush as a color corrector.
Choosing the Right Shade
It’s safe to say there are a lot of shades of blush out there, from bubblegum pink to deep purple. If you want to color correct with blush, where do you begin? “If you’re fair, I usually do something cooler and not as pigmented, but it also depends on how much color correcting you need,” says Gonzalez. “So, let’s say you have dark/purple discoloration, then I would probably go with Luminous Silk Cheek Tint in shade 50.5.” It all depends on your skin tone and color correction needs. She prefers using these liquid formulas, though cream blushes also work, but she doesn’t tend to use powder blush for this trick.
While the pink shade is one of her main go-tos for this trick, she also opts for shade 12, which is a warm nude. Using shades like these can help cancel out blue or purple hues under the eyes and around the mouth. This allows for an instantly brighter complexion, ideal for everyday makeup and major glam days on the red carpet or under performance lights.
How to Apply
Once you’ve chosen the shade to use, it’s time to apply the blush. Gonzalez places it anywhere that has discoloration on the face, especially focusing under the eyes, on darkened pimples, recent nicks or recently-healed zits that still have some discoloration. For application, “Normally, I use my fingers when I’m applying it on myself,” she says. “You could also use a sponge, but I like to feel it with my fingers, so I know it’s going on evenly. And then I’ll tap it in with a sponge if needed.”
The blush is buildable, so you can apply more if the dark areas are still peeking through. If the discoloration isn’t very intense, start with “a really thin layer of it,” she says. Then, if needed, “I would add more, let it sit there for a minute, and then work it in.”
After the blush, it’s time to finish the base and set it in place. “I apply Armani’s Luminous Silk Concealer ($42) and Luminous Silk Glow Setting Powder ($69) to complete the complexion,” says Gonzalez.
And that’s it: Simply apply blush, concealer and powder, and your discoloration is hidden away.
Why Use Blush as Color Corrector?
There’s already plenty of color correctors out there—so why use blush? Blush is more pigmented, which helps neutralize and cover. “I find that a lot of color correctors themselves are not pigmented enough to really take care of the problem,” says Gonzalez. “That’s why my go-to is a blush.” She relies on blush for this task so much that she doesn’t even purchase color correctors.
