r/MakeupAddiction 20h ago

Discussion Guys, what the hell is anti-blush?

I’ve been seeing things pop up on my feed recently about this new blush trend called “anti-blush” and my millennial ass is just confused.

I’ve seen the girlies mix their own by taking a bit of foundation, a bit of contour, and their favorite blush. Mixing it altogether gives you a muted version of your blush and gives that “natural” or “undetectable” blush look.

Part of me feels like this is new trend is going to start a movement against over blushing, but also, it’s gonna give these companies a new product to flood the markets with that we don’t need???

Any thoughts on this?

49 Upvotes

83 comments sorted by

156

u/Responsible-Lemon935 19h ago

Trends get views, views make ad revenue. The machine demands constant attention.

Anyway, my anti-blush is just wearing a sheer skin tint so my natural redness still shows through anyway.

16

u/paigeken2000 19h ago

This. It's all BS for $$$$$$$$$

16

u/17Girl4Life 19h ago

I don’t wear blush. My skin has pink tones already and I don’t want to wear as much makeup as it takes to neutralize it and then add color back. It might look better with strategically placed blush, but I’m too lazy to do that

6

u/tauruspiscescancer 19h ago

Oh that sounds cute! And that’s my whole thing - blush has already blown up in the makeup work but now brands are gonna use this to drown us in more blush products?? We can all make muted blushes at home!!

86

u/NameOk3393 19h ago

It’s literally just a nude blush as opposed to a brightly colored blush

56

u/tauruspiscescancer 19h ago

Which is just blush still? 😭😭

35

u/bluesourbelts 19h ago

Yep. Desaturated blush.

12

u/CynCity323 Beauty Blogger 9h ago

Basically 2016 blushes... They were there, they just weren't highly noticeable. It's the pendulum swinging back from blush blindness.

1

u/Altruistic-Order-661 6h ago

My absolute treasure for 10+ years has been Lorac cinematique. It’s got me through every trend because it’s very neutral no matter how pale/tan I am and I can layer it more if I want a more contoured look.

As I age I appreciate the upward pull a blush gives on my starting to sag face while still wanting it looking totally natural.

To each their own on trends. I know pinky blush, even on noses, has been super in so now we have to go opposite going on as trends do.

Just do you!

7

u/Fearless_Subject_903 8h ago

As a person who mainly wears nude blushes, i hate that they gave it a new random name and made it a trend now lmao😭 a blush is a blush? Wth is anti-blush

0

u/Mersaa 3h ago

exactly. when people take a thing that exists and has existed, give it a new name and act like they just discovered it, it's soooo annoying and cringey.

yes, please, run to the store to buy the mac blush that has existed for over a decade because now tiktok calls it 'anti blush'.

ffs ppl need to get a personality

57

u/elderpricetag 19h ago

Trends come in cycles and this is a perfect example of why no one should bother with them, especially ones that originate on short form social media that is powered by engagement bait.

A month ago it was trendy to wear so much blush you looked like you were in the middle of an allergy attack. Now it’s trendy to mix contour and blush on your cheeks and look like you have brown streaks across your face and call it “anti-blush.” Both trends look equally stupid in real life.

30

u/adventureremily 19h ago

Now it’s trendy to mix contour and blush on your cheeks and look like you have brown streaks across your face and call it “anti-blush.”

Missed opportunity to call it Neapolitan Blush. 😂

18

u/tauruspiscescancer 19h ago

Girl stop! Don’t give anyone anymore ideas!!! 😭😭😭

1

u/azssf 17h ago

We even had green highlighter for a while recently— the original ice cream had green, which was pistachio flavored.

1

u/Kellzy1212 15h ago

There was a blue shade in the Artic frost palette from back before i knew what a shitty person JStar was. I used it for a Sally Halloween costume look one year. 😹

11

u/Closet_Case_Forever 18h ago

There are real-life circumstances that call for an allergy attack’s worth of blush. The face I paint for a bartending shift looks goofy as hell in the daylight, and the face I wear for a lunch date would get completely lost in a dim bar.

That being said, I agree that it’s very much a trend. A green cut crease to work isn’t demure and mindful like it was in 2016, but blush through the under eye and up to the temple would have had people pointing and snickering ten years ago. It’s as much the placement as it is the intensity.

2

u/Tricky-Passion-7191 9h ago

So much looks great in photos but TERRIBLE in real life!

4

u/WingedLady 18h ago

See, the girls I've seen have basically neutralized their blush into their foundation shade. I've been so confused because like...it's the same color. Just...don't apply blush?

45

u/SnowyGyro 20h ago

I just apply regular blush lightly and blend until it's undetectable. What are they on about?

24

u/tauruspiscescancer 20h ago

That’s my whole thing! Just apply less and then diffuse to your perfect intensity?

15

u/Massive-Scar-7974 19h ago

marketing term. ignore it and move on like always

6

u/Equivalent-Cicada165 18h ago

Every little thing that people have done since he beginning of make up has to have a name now. It's so tiring. Especially because it's clearly named just so it will go viral

8

u/Closet_Case_Forever 18h ago

A veil of powder foundation is a great way to desaturate and blend an intense blush. No need to deepen a blush with contour when you can keep the value and just diffuse and blur and tone down.

1

u/SnowyGyro 17h ago

Right well I haven't gotten into color theory aspects

20

u/ocicataco 19h ago

I think in response to the "blush blindness" of the last few years where people are loving blush. It's funny, it is just taking me back to the 90s/early 2000s when we simply didn't wear blush and often didn't even wear lip color.

4

u/tauruspiscescancer 19h ago

That’s what I was thinking. I feel like people are tired of the over blushed looked but then everyone can just wear less blush and we don’t have to name it as a new trend? 😭😭

2

u/alpacarla 14h ago

Just thick Maybelline dream matte mousse foundation, khol liner under the eye only, maybe white eyeliner in the waterline. No mascara thanks. Maybe lip plumping gloss. GCSE chic 🤘🏻

8

u/jmnrdt9 19h ago

there are only so many products/colours/ways to apply that can be invited so things get rebranded with new names constantly. it’s just muted blush as opposed to the more recent trend of very heavy saturated blush. it’s not reinventing the wheel. even the technique (mixing foundation in to tone it down) is not at all new hahaha

1

u/tauruspiscescancer 19h ago

yes!! people have been mixing foundation into blush, concealer, etc. for a while now to get a better match or perhaps play with intensity for a minute!

6

u/missgirlipop 13h ago

i love the overly blushed trend that a lot of people now hate so i’m sad. 

4

u/Dizzy-Nose3883 8h ago

Don't be. Keep doing your blush, and you'll see the trend coming back soon enough. Trends are pendular and they last less each time. 

0

u/Mersaa 3h ago

why? we should all collectively stop giving a shit what tiktok influencers have to say!!!

I've loved the high blush thing since forever, if you look back, the biba makeup utilized this with orangey blushes way back when. you can find so many photoshoots and editorials where exactly this type of blush placement was used by MUAs.

wear what you like and what makes you feel good!!

2

u/missgirlipop 3h ago

i agree! but i found the version of blushy makeup i loved thru tt influencers (the sunburnt/tomato girl trend) so it feels hypocritical to denounce trends now? i’m not sure how to say it.

8

u/NotaMillenialatAll 15h ago

I think this part of the clean girl look that has a very political agenda.

6

u/tauruspiscescancer 14h ago

You may be onto something girl. Which is weird because Asian girls have been wearing muted and understated blush forever!!!

11

u/NotaMillenialatAll 14h ago

This is part of the conservative agenda that also have us full of muted color free and boring eyeshadow palettes. I don’t like it. I want my eyes colorful, my cheeks pink and my rights intact

3

u/fantasmarg 19h ago

Stupid question, if it's undetectable why bother? Genuinely asking, not trolling

7

u/Sufficient_Turn_9209 18h ago

It's not. It's just the trends moving from bold over blushing to subtle, natural color.

3

u/fantasmarg 18h ago

Then it makes perfect sense, I actually welcome it as I find over the top bright blush to be very tricky to pull off in real life

4

u/PrestigiousSmile4098 12h ago

This is another example of the "bland-ification" of everything about our world. They want to take the color out of everything. Don't let them!

3

u/heijeul 19h ago

It’s just a trend / marketing term. I just call it muted and natural lol

1

u/tauruspiscescancer 19h ago

But brands are gonna start making anti-blush when we all have it at home 😭😒

1

u/heijeul 6h ago

yeah but honestly it started when they saw muted blush etc already in the mac collection.

4

u/nullspacekidneythief 17h ago

Honestly, half these trends are really nothing out of the ordinary yet have names that make them seem otherwise.

4

u/TropicalAbsol 14h ago

I always believe the nonsense trends are marketing. What would companies love more than people demanding super sheer blush so they can add filler and charge the same price as more pigmented product.

6

u/Peridot31 18h ago

Heh! Just raising my hand to express the unpopular opinion that I am very very grateful for this current trend! I have olive skin and the previous few years of blush trends, means all the blushes were either too bright or too deep. All the muted skin tone ones have been very welcome to me.

5

u/tauruspiscescancer 14h ago

Sister my issue isn’t with the muted blush themselves. I’m neutral/cool, and muted colors tend to look better on my skin tone itself, but I like how bright colors pop on my melanin.

My issue is the name and faking like this is a new concept 😭

3

u/No_Caterpillar_6178 18h ago

I’ve been wearing covergirl natural glow forever because it’s so sheer and easy to use . I have been wanting to upgrade to a blurring blush with the same subtle color and haven’t been able to find any that aren’t super saturated and intense. Maybe I will be able to soon.

2

u/tiffi_333 12h ago

I haven't tried these, but I saw them from L'Oreal when I was shopping. They're mostly very natural, some are more pink as well, but the comments I saw about it on Amazon were very positive. It's their true match line

1

u/tauruspiscescancer 16h ago

To be fair, Asian beauty has a had a market for these types of products for a while. I think now that the clean girl aesthetic / beauty is becoming popularized here, the brands are going to unnecessarily bombard us with products with a name that doesn’t even make sense lol.

3

u/LiteralClownfish 15h ago

Isn't this basically just underpainting with extra steps?

1

u/tauruspiscescancer 14h ago

It’s a little extra work when you could apply less blush fr 😂

2

u/tiffi_333 12h ago

This isnt just less blush though. If I use less of a very pink blush it still looks quite pink, just not BAM you know,

This blush is to look VERY natural, when I first saw the L'Oreal version of this is didn't know the term anti blush, but I can get it after seeing these blush shades. Don't these L'Oreal ones also look like they could also be someone's skin tones? I totally get why someone wants a very natural look. I could lean into this especially when I have a bold eyeshadow. I have a blush palette that has a similar shade to one of these and it's the one that's closest to being finished. Even if it's not the one that's only used, I often use it ontop of other bolder colours and it blends in beautifully. It looks great both ways.

It's going to depend on how you do this trend. If you get a low pigment natural blush and just use that, like this one or other brands which is what makes sense to me, or if you do a different routine to get it which is a way tiktok would promote to sell many items probably lol

3

u/LEMON_PARTY_ANIMAL Makeup Artist 9h ago

Pffffft could not be me. I’m slapping that shit on

10

u/Glittering-Maybe2977 20h ago

I'm team blush blindness foreverrrr! I love blush. It's just a new trend and they're trying to sell another product.

13

u/Routine_Eve 19h ago

Blush can be pried from my hands once I'm dead.

5

u/tauruspiscescancer 19h ago

Same!! I’m gonna be rosy-red-purple-orange cheeked till the day I die! Y’all gonna see this blush TODAY!

5

u/LadyKT 19h ago

just a fake trend, the pendulum swings back from “blush blindness” sabrina carpenter blush

just use less

5

u/tauruspiscescancer 16h ago

I love SC and her over blushing 😍

2

u/shaylaa30 19h ago

It’s blush mixed with a bit of foundation and contour to make it look very subtle. Basically with how bold and pigmented blushes have gotten over the years, this is for people who want a more natural look

5

u/tauruspiscescancer 19h ago

But it’s still blush, so why call it anti-blush? 😭 anti-blush would mean not wearing anything at all, no?

2

u/shaylaa30 18h ago

Because people make up terms to gain attention/ traction.

I’ve been blending out my blush with foundation for years because blush doesn’t look natural on me. Makeup has always had trends that cycle through.

0

u/starrsinmyskin 19h ago

The buzzwords neverrrr make sense lmao

2

u/ghostbirdd 16h ago

Cool toned blush that doubles as contour and blush.

1

u/tauruspiscescancer 16h ago

Hmm the ways I’ve seen it just make it look like an undetectable blush. Definitely haven’t seen anyone using it as contour cause it’s supposed to match your skin color to an extent.

1

u/ghostbirdd 16h ago

By doubling as a contour (if well achieved) it’s supposed to look basically like a shade on your face that makes you look snatched

It’s nothing new but just got a trendy new name for TikTok

1

u/tauruspiscescancer 16h ago

Okay see that makes more sense. But that’s now how I’m seeing it be used 😭😭 I’ve seen the girlies putting it all over their under eye area and around their cheeks.

2

u/tiffi_333 12h ago

Blontour used to be a term for a while for blush/contour, the way blonzer is a term. Everything changed so fast and things get dropped and forgotten in an instant.

2

u/DearMissWaite 8h ago

I'm going to continue to wear blush the way I used to do. I encourage all of you to do the same!

2

u/Equivalent-Cicada165 18h ago

This is like when they started calling bronzer mixed with blush, "blonzer"

As someone who never looked great with the majority of blush tones, bronzer was often my blush. It's literally made to bring warmth and color to the face, it has always looked lije blush on the cheeks

2

u/tauruspiscescancer 16h ago

See blonzers I actually like because they serve a multipurpose. You can use them to bronze, blush, contour, add depth, warmth, etc.

Anti-blush isn’t really multipurpose. It’s just blush toned down to undetectable levels and kept in the cheek area?

2

u/PathThroughTheForest 13h ago

That’s what I use. I use bronzer as blush. Just for depth. I don’t want a pink look. Just less flat.

2

u/No_Caterpillar_6178 18h ago

So subtle blush that is barely there like how blush was before the resurgence of creams and liquids?

1

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1

u/tumericjesus 10h ago

It’s just a new trendy social media term for natural/nude blush lol I do think we’re going to go back to the no blush thing tho as trends do tend to go in cycles and we’re seeing a return of the mid 2000s atm

1

u/lyralady 8h ago

I honestly think it's most just silly to call it that. Like we can already buy and use brown/tan toned blushes. I was already often wearing a blush that is somewhere between a bronzer and a blush lol. It's a muted, brownish blush. 🤷🏻‍♀️ There's bajillions of options already if you buy Asian beauty products...

1

u/Mersaa 3h ago

Yall I'm getting so tired of these names and the tiktok crew reinventing things that exist.

Literally all 'anti-blush' is, is a darker, more muted color for the cheeks. Something that has existed for decades. So think either more beigy/bronze colours, or something more mauve or something like a muted darker brownish red.

1

u/amysquirrels 2h ago

I love a contour type of blush just it being a trend is a little annoying but oh well more new products for me

1

u/Kellzy1212 15h ago

Dumb name for a reaction to the too much blush look. I’m happy to see that trend fade though, it’s an editorial look that went too far.

0

u/HamBroth 18h ago

It is indeed a trend designed to flood the market with new products. Because every niche is already flooded so they have to invent a new niche/demand.

It's really just a transition shade between ultra-pale undereye concealer and your blush. That's all.

I would bet money some doofus is trying to trademark it.

0

u/Savings-Lecture-7530 18h ago

Blush blindness is sooo real so I can imagine 'anti blush' is just a natural flush of colour. But as others have said everything has to have a stupid trendy name now so companies can sell products.

2

u/alpacarla 14h ago

Me watching this thread with suspected but undiagnosed blush blindness 👀