We Tried Sun-Kissed Blush... Should You?

by BR Kellie

I'm a sucker for a blush hack. Heck, I'm a sucker for blusher. I own far too many. I need about ten more pairs of cheeks if I hope to make a dent in my collection anytime this century. Due to owning more blush products than one could ever get through, I'm more than happy to try a TikTok Trend if it means a blush product gets an extra use, which is why when I saw the sun-kissed trend, I had to give it a go.

So what is the sun-kissed blush trend? How'd you do it? And is it any good? I found out...

What is the sun-kissed blush trend?

Popularised by beauty influencer Kim Lloyd, the sun-kissed blush trend is exactly what is sounds like - you apply blush in a way that makes it look like you've had a touch of sun. The goal is to look softly, naturally glowing.

How does it differ from the sunburn blush trend?

I would say that the sunburnt blush trend is more subtle that the sun-kissed blush trend. While you just needed to rouge your cheeks and the bridge of your nose with the sunburnt blush trend, the sun-kissed blush trend has got you placing blush all around the upper half of your face, which offers up the potential for mega-radiance.

How does one create sun-kissed blush?

Like all good hacks, it's super simple. Take a cream stick blush (or bronzer), apply it upon your cheekbones, the bridge of your nose, and around the perimeter of your forehead. Kim Lloyd likens it to painting a raccoon shape on your face. Once the blush is on, blend it out with a brush. Easy peasy.... right?

Here's my attempt:

(Trust me when I say that the irony of attempting to look sun-kissed whilst wearing a woolly jumper and working in front of a heater is not lost on me.)

In the interest of giving this trend a good and proper go, I used a shimmery coral shade of blush on one side, and a reddy-pink shade of blush on the other (in order to make it look like I'd actually been out in the sun.)

The result? The coral shade blended away to almost nothing, but left a gentle radiance on my face. It was very natural, which I liked. The reddy-pink shade? Well, in the photo I feel it looks like a nice flush, but in real life I didn't look sun-kissed so much as sunburnt. Perhaps with less product, the result would've been nicer. I do like how it looks in the photo, however. I feel my face looks more lifted.

Is this a trend worth trying?

Absolutely! What's the worst that can happen? If it's not your cup of tea, you can wash it off! If it is your cup of tea, you've got a new look to add to your arsenal. Want to give it a go? You can check out a tutorial with the Tiktokker who's helped make the look go viral here.

At the end of the day, if you like that sun-kissed look, using makeup to get it, no matter how you apply it, is better than heading out into the sun and purposefully giving yourself a dose of harmful UV rays. For me... it's a yes-ish. I just need to work on how much blush is the right amount of blush, and I can see it being something I do on the regular - best of all, it'll help whittle down my cream blush collection far faster than it's being whittled right now.

So, will you be trying the sun-kissed blush look? Or is this another TikTok hack you're happy to skip? Get chatting below!