Almay Smart Shade Powder Blush in Pink

I'm calling it right now, blush is going to be the next big trend in the beauty world. Marc Jacobs recently launched his new blushes and his makeup artists talked about contouring, but with blush! It's only a matter of time before everyone else is doing it and the summer is the perfect time to try it out. It takes less products (because you're not using bronzer to contour your face) and it looks more natural because you spend a lot of your time in the summer.

Growing up, blush was really something that was in the background of makeup. Something that if you use it, you do so sparingly, unless you want to look like you're from the '80s. And I was taught that you apply blush to the apples of your cheeks and sweep it back.

My approach to blush as changed and you're should too. Instead of applying directly on the apples of my cheeks, I know apply my blush as I would a contour. The only difference being that I apply it on top of my cheekbones, not below it. By starting from the hairline and stopping just before the apples of your cheeks, you create a slimmer face.

I love this look because it looks like you've been in the sun all day even when you haven't. It gives you a sun kissed glow without any of the damage. I love Almay's blush for it because you can use the lighter shades for a lighter flush, or the deeper pink tones for a more cute sun burn blush. Or you can swirl your brush around the whole thing and create your own custom shade which is what I usually do.

The blush comes in three shades: Pink, Nude, and Coral. At $11.99 a pop it's a bit expensive for a drugstore blush, but considering all the different shades you get, I think it's worth it.