How to Find the Best Blush for Your Skin Tone, According to Makeup Artists (2024)

If you’ve scrolled through TikTok recently, chances are you’ve come across someone comparing their skin with a bunch of different color swatches. What gives? Color analysis is a tool that helps individuals find what hues look best on them, and though the practice has been around for a long time, it’s recently spiked in popularity.

Color analysis spans much further than the clothes you wear, though. It also applies to makeup—especially blush. “Choosing the right blush can make you look more awake, healthier and youthful,” says professional makeup artist Tomy Rivero.

It’s true that experimentation lies at the heart of makeup, and while there are no hard and fast rules when it comes to blush selection and application, there are some helpful tricks to follow to ensure you choose a blush shade that will brighten up your complexion and enhance your natural beauty. The most important aspect to consider? Your undertones.

Featured Experts

• Tomy Rivero is a professional makeup artist
• Lori Taylor Davis is the global pro lead artist at Smashbox Cosmetics
• Sarah Novio is a color analysis and beauty expert
• Melissa Silveris a professional makeup artist

Should I Look for Blush with Cool Undertones or Warm Undertones?

Simply put, this depends on your own skin’s undertones. Once you determine whether you have cool, warm or neutral undertones, it’s best to select a blush that corresponds with them. In plain terms, you’ll want to match cool with cool, and vice versa, warm with warm. As for neutral, you can dabble with both. “Blush with matching undertones enhances your natural complexion, making your skin look more radiant and naturally flushed,” explains Lori Taylor Davis, global pro lead artist at Smashbox Cosmetics. “Using the wrong undertone can make your skin look washed out, or overly flushed and sometimes muddy.”

To find a blush to match your undertones, you’ll first need to determine what your undertones are, which color analysis and beauty expert Sarah Novio says is relatively easy and can be done in seconds.

The most foolproof way to discover your undertones is with the jewelry test. “If you look better in gold jewelry rather than silver jewelry, you have warm undertones,” Novio explains. “On the flip side, if silver jewelry compliments you better, I’d consider you to have a cool undertone.” As for those who look good in both gold and silver? Well, that’s a telltale sign you have neutral undertones.

After you figure out your undertones, you can narrow down your search even further because certain colors almost always fall on either the warm or cool spectrum. For example, Novio says that any blush that looks coral, peach or orange (all of which are inherently warm hues) will look incredible on people with warm undertones. While “blushes that are more pink, cherry red or berry tones will look the most natural on cooler undertone,” she adds.

If you still need a bit more guidance, we broke down the best blushes for each skin tone (and undertone!) with the help of our experts. With any of the below picks, you’ll achieve the prettiest flush for summer and beyond.

Best Blush for Fair Skin Tones

Best Blush for Light Skin Tones

Best Blush for Medium Skin Tones

Best Blush for Olive Skin Tones

Best Blush for Dark Skin Tones

Best Blush for Deep Skin Tones