Do my cheeks look big?

Flushed pinkish fuchsia blush applied in a circular manner over the cheeks; thin, defined brows; pinkie-brown lips -- a remnant of the 90s makeup fashion that remained with us through to the mid naughties, and  the style of makeup that still persists within the 35-45 age bracket today. The blush  is placed over the entire "apple of the cheeks" (that's the front and circular protruding section of the cheeks) to give a flushed look of exertion.  While the bone depressions and the cheek muscles that lead into the temples are completely ignored. This look became so mainstream that makeup companies  released blunt cut circular ferrule blush brushes instructing customers to apply their  blush in a circular, flat motion.  Cheeks were not encouraged to be sculptured. The blush hues pushed towards the cool side of the colour spectrum which helped counteract some of the synthetic exaggeration for most caucasian women). Regardless, this makeup trend rounds up the face and sets eyes closer together.  The excessive center facial focus it creates translates to loss of definition and dimension, imparting a sfake, doll like look.  The immaturity it created did, however, fit extremely well with the accompanying clothing and accessories fashions of  the times.

However, by the mid naughties this blush application was not melding well into incoming and  opposing fashion trends.  The 90s  "little girl",  pre-pubescent inspired fashion started to wane by the early naughties. Small, center parted hair; drop waist cothing; kitten heeled mary-janes evolved into "I am a Woman and I Ovulate" so I can wear my hair big; with low cut cleavage shoes and uber heels; and cinched in  high waisted silhouettes.

Similarly, big, pink, cooled toned cheeks, thick brows, bronzer and oily lips clashed with each other,  rendering the wearer cheesy to garish. Extremly noticeable in high fashion hubs such as southern Europe cities where trends are layered on top of one another with no fear over kill, as there are no self imposed outdated  and misapplied Chanel restrains that seemingly rule the American style culture.  The thick brow trend meant the viewer's eye was already being pushed upward and centered to the middle upper face region and eyes, the addition of  Chitty Chitty Bang Bang wind-up doll cheeks was causing major imbalance and overload to the face.

The solution came  in various stages and has completely reshaped blush application. The first change the fashion world saw was the position in which blush was applied.  As can be seen on the model to the left, the blush continues towards the ears, softening the face with a hint of  continuity, and  creating a subtle sculptured feel that looks less harsh and more natural. The end result is sleeker, elongated cheeks, with the illusion of the apples of the cheeks being placed lower and further apart on the face, connecting out and up to the cheek bones, dragging the cheeks upward and out. For reasons of geometry the viewers gaze feels more at ease with this type of blush application.

This second change came by way of default through  the bronzer come-back. This time round, though, cosmetic companies are now saturated with makeup artists who over the past ten years have altered makeup counters to include professional makeup, tools and/or techniques. In using artists to push bronzer has meant that it's peddled as a low-lighter, thus educating customers to utilise it  as a pseudo facial cheek contour.  Bronzer application has evolved so much that it is becoming rarer to see it merchandised with foundations and pressed powders.  More likely to find it categorised with blushers, and marketed as a cheek contour or for adding warmth and depth to the face.

The third change came through the addition of cheek high-lighting using a shimmery or pearlescent highlighter, so to enhance  the contouring  creatd by a deep blush shade or a realistic contour shade.  The combination of the shades together creates the maximum three dimensional cheek effect . Contouring is the new facial accessory and it's very likely here to stay with us for most of this decade.

The three dimensional cheek trend of the 10s  has been such a  marketable success that many cosmetic companies often package  blushes with a contour and/or a highlighter. Two examples can be seen below: Nars Blush Highlighting/Bronzer Duo (left) a high-end option and Milani Sunset Duos Blush and Bronzer (right) a low-end option.

The last fashion change in blush has been the colour changes.  Gone are the  olive skinned inspired  cool  toned colours. The blush colours are now softer and warmer  including hues such as apricot, tan, tawny, peach, mandarin, beige, and soft coral.  All colours are either neutral or lean towards the neutrals colour family due to their high yellow content.

The combination of all these changes has seen cheek accentuation become one of the primary fashion focuses. A little blush, when pressed for time, like mascara, is the only other makeup accessory that can be worn alone. Complex, three dimensional cheeks with enhanced zygomatic bones may be considered high-fashion,  but  sweeping, on toned blush is still  beautiful, and very much an on trend alterantive (as can be seen worn by the model above).  There is no need to feel overwhelmed by techique and choice, tailor the choices to your preferences and enjoy the warmth and youth that is exuded by blush.

Safari Sophistication

In the 2009 spring/summer we saw subtle hints of the 80s English country and safari fashions sprinkled into various runway collections.  This style of sportswear has reoccurred in all seasonal collections since then, its echos rippling across  with the "country" fashion trend popularised by Ralph Lauren in the 80s. Country and safari are the grandparents of the American prep style, so it is a natural progression that the more current runways have also served us with a generous serve of American prep, as this was the next  logical step. Another relative belonging to this style of fashion is the military/utilitarian style, which is  also thriving in current street-wear. The combination of all these styles has resulted in an abundance of  linen, seersucker, gigham, canvas, tweeds, bouclé, gabardine, corduroy, suede, knee and thigh high boots,  pockets upon pockets, messenger bags and other across the shoulder bags,  more neutral shades than the Sahara desert, wavy or frizzy tied-back hair with bushy brows and the mono/duo-lid shaded eyes. Casual, presentable elegance with traditional and conservative  fundamentals.  It's a youthful style that demands a clean, tidy face, disciplined embellishments, no excessive shine, and  plenty of neutrals.  It's all about comfort and utility while still remaining presentable in non-formal social setting. 

These fashion trends have forced a drastic restyling of the 90s  and 00s makeup fashions.  Namely, lots of natural and naked eyelid, dark, unkempt brows, velvety skins, matte and deep lips, lack of brow bone highlighting,  broad and dark upper eyelid shading which has increased spatially to hit just under, or colliding directly into the brows, and natural matte wahes of eyeshadow. A number of these very trends are being worn by the model on the left where one would be forgiven in thinking that this is shot taken back in the mid 80s.

The signature marks that distinguishes this style of eye makeup are the lack of brow bone highlighting, and the use of one or two shadows only. The shadows tend to belong to the neutral colour family, of a matte texture, and applied softly.  Eyeshadow colours  utilised are khaki, peach, taupe, tawny, camel, amber and tan. A wash of colour is applied to the entire eyelid melding into, and framed by barely groomed, thick  brows, and natural looking eyelashes lined softly mostly to enhance the lashes rather than to restyle or enhance the eye shape. A look which sultry-fies the eyes with a subtle hint of depth, while retaining an essence of purity due to its uncomplicated application and appearance. Youthful, elegant and clean.

This eye makeup direction has steadily appeared in fashion magazines, mostly showcased on thick brow models. The 2009  summer/spring runways steered towards a mono-eyeshadow of camels and sands, but the avant-guarde spin on this style was marked by a bright yellow shadow using a vibrant matte lipstick to counteract its unnatural brilliance,  but also to add more facial balance. Although I often shy away from  brightly coloured eyeshadow, I have to admit that the yellow and red combination made me melt at my knees - it's not easy to achieve an overly trendy look that manages to retain a chic integrity. Currently, the yellow is being  used even  now after  its overuse  during spring and summer  2009  by catwalks, glossies and even ads (French  Connection, Guess, Bebe, Marc Jacob, etc).  To freshen this overexposed look,  makeup artists have started to substitute the yellow eyeshadow with corals, roses and peaches.

In the autumn/winter 2009 runways makeup artists became  so accustomed to the mono-lid trend  they took it a step further  by utilising richer and deeper colours such as copper, bronze and moth brown. Any possibility of a vamp look, which this style of makeup is predisposed to as soon as the colour is deepened,  is eliminated by selecting shimmery textures and avoiding shades beyond a medium intensity.  Eyebrows tended to be darkened a maximum of one shade darker than the hair colour, and eye lining  was kept to a minimum, using richly pigmented shadows (over liquids) for  a softer finish due  its blending ability so to enhance the depth of the eyelashes only.

At present the nude eye shadow in neutral shades is considered one of the major trends for spring/summer 2010. The models for Chanel's last spring/summer 2010 collection sported just such a look as seen on the right. The models' eyes were made up with just two matte colours with no brow bone highlighting and a light wash of  mascara and soft, well blended lining.  The light mascara and natural eye definition is a foreseeable future trend for 2011.