This Surprising Blush Shade Is A+ For An Effortless Glow & It Flatters Everyone

Imagine: You burst into a holiday gathering, your complexion exuding a rosy flush half from the brutal winds and half from rushing onto the scene (fashionably) late. It’s a special sort of glow, one that makeup lovers attempt to emulate just right with blush. With a concentrated pot of pigment, you can hold onto your rosy tint no matter the season—and without the wind burn. 

As for the best blush to top your cheekbones, well, that’s up to you to discover The One. But this year, a slew of beauty fans have uncovered the secret to that effortless, windswept glow: a majestic purple. Plum, lilac, violet, berry—the people are turning towards the color family for a cool, wintertime beat. Dare we call it a royal flush?

Like most beauty trends of late, purple blush recently swelled on TikTok—particularly this viral video of makeup artist Alessandro reviewing Rare Beauty’s Soft Pinch Liquid Blush (it’s racked up four million views and counting). “This is looking way more natural than I expected,” he notes, blending the violet hue until his cheekbones appear rosy.  

He’s not the only one to find the color family intimidating at first glance. “People don’t ‘blush’ and turn purple when their crush walks by,” says makeup artist Alexandra Compton, product development manager at Credo. “It’s usually a soft pink or red tone, which are tones we gravitate towards in makeup.” So you might brush off a pan of royal purple, leaving it to the more avant-garde consumers to create intricate, editorial works of art.   

But make no mistake: Purple blush is very wearable—even more so than a pink hue, some go as far to declare. Particularly for darker skin tones, a warm purple hue fuses to the skin and leaves a rosy finish, whereas a soft pink can often fall short. On that note: Makeup lovers have been swearing by berry tones for years; it’s not a “new” trend in the slightest, but you can play around with different purple shades to give it a cool, wintertime spin. 

For example: “Some [purple blushes] have a lot of pink or red tones, giving them a pink blush-like appearance,” says makeup artist Naseeha Khan, co-founder of CTZN Cosmetics. These are your magentas and violets, and they work best on those with warm and olive undertones. For those with fair skin with cooler undertones, a lilac or lavender is your best blusher—a warmer shade can make your complexion appear a bit ruddy. Cooler purples can also flatter deeper skin tones with yellow or olive undertones, says Compton, but there’s a fine line here; if your purple leans way too cool, you might wind up with a gray-looking finish. Not all purples are created equal—know and love your undertones, folks. 

It might take a few rounds of color theory testing to find your go-to hue (allow me to emphasize the shade matches above), so celebrity makeup artist Dillon Peña advises taking it slow. “I would opt for a sheer blush and build,” he says. Khan concurs, especially if you’re working with liquid blush stains: “Apply a small amount at a time, because it's difficult to blend out once it sets into the skin,” she explains. 

As for the actual application, apply the blush as you would any other pigment: A C-shape from the temples inward for lift, a dab on the apples (directly under the pupils) to create a youthful fullness, on the eyelids for a monochromatic moment…blush techniques run the gamut. To blend, Compton recommends opting for a flatter buffing brush to soften the concentration of color and slowly build, especially if your purple is much more pigmented than blushes you’re used to. She then suggests topping your blush with a sheer purple highlighter, like Olio E Osso’s Tinted Balm in No. 7, to give the look an icy, holographic glow—it practically sings winter glam, in my humble opinion. 

A final caveat: If you have cool undertones and are dealing with dark circles, Peña actually recommends staying away from a cool purple blush. “If you're putting a blue or purple tint next to a [dark] under-eye, then it's going to enhance that a little bit,” he says. A hit of concealer can quickly make this a non-issue, but just something to note in case your makeup look is more of a blush-and-go (as someone who considers blush her desert island makeup grab, I appreciate the flag). 

Regardless, purple is arguably the most versatile blush product out there: Name another pigment that can nail a natural-looking flush, a vampy, moody vibe, and a cool, jewel-toned beat. All are divine for the wintertime; these picks below will surely make an impact at your holiday soiree.