Very seldom does a beauty trend that was once hot and absolutely everywhere stay in the past. It might take years, if not decades, but nearly everything comes back eventually. (Except, maybe, stick-thin eyebrows. Those can stay in the '90s.) It's fun to see makeup-lovers on TikTok breathe new life into old trends, including the latest: 1980s-inspired blush contouring.
I stumbled across a video on TikTok that went viral by Alena Giuliani [1] (@alenaavictoriaa) where she was showing viewers how to contour with blush. The technique she demonstrated involves strategically applying blush [2] to different areas of your face to make it appear leaner and your cheekbones higher. It's similar to contouring with a bronzer [3], except you apply it differently. The makeup technique isn't far off from blush draping [4], which was popular in the '80s and involved applying blush with a heavy hand to your temples and tops of your cheekbones, as opposed to just the apples like we do now.
Using a fluffy blush brush, I put the powder on the high points of my cheekbones and carried it up to my temples. One application on each side was hardly noticeable, so I went in for a second — we're going for high impact here but not quite dancing disco queen. Then I applied my highlighter, Charlotte Tilbury Filmster Bronze & Glow [6], on top.
The difference is subtle, but you can definitely see it — my face looked more elongated, and my cheekbones appeared higher. Think of it as an instant facelift but with blush.