Jenny Suk, 27, has become obsessed with blush in recent months, inspired by videos of TikTok influencers and celebrities like singer Sabrina Carpenter, whose dewy, flushed cheeks have become her trademark.
Sook says she has a personal collection of about 25 blush shades and enjoys experimenting with layering different creams and powders to achieve a rosy glow.
“A few years ago, I probably only had one or two blushers and barely used them,” said Sook, who lives in Houston and works in social media for a veterinary services company. “Now I can’t leave the house without my blusher on.”
She found herself using more and more products until finally someone pointed out that she might be using a bit too much. Social media has been plagued by this suffering, by the inability to judge how rosy things are in the experience. Too rose-colored — has come to be jokingly known as “blush-blind.”
“The first time I realized I had red face blindness was when I walked into my sister’s house and she said, ‘Oh my gosh, did you just get a facial? Your face is so red,'” she recalled.
Being identified as blush blind has led women like Suk to reconsider how much product they’re applying (this is an offshoot of another TikTok trend, brow blindness, in which users self-deprecatingly post about their old brow styles).
Gone are the days of the powdery blush we all associate with our mothers and grandmothers: Blush products have exploded in popularity in recent years, thanks in part to new, creamier liquid formulas sold by Rare Beauty, the makeup brand founded by Selena Gomez. Last year, Rare Beauty reportedly sold 3.1 million units of liquid blush.
Renee Crowell, CEO of cosmetics brand Saie, told The New York Times in an email that her company sells a blush every 30 seconds. “On social media, blush is definitely the new accessory,” she added.
Celine Blumenthal, a junior at Yeshiva University in New York City, used Rare Beauty blush before realizing she might have gone overboard with it.
In a phone interview, she recalled her mother commenting on the bright shade: “She said, ‘I’m telling you now, in hindsight, I don’t think orange suits me at all. It’s ugly.'” Ms. Blumenthal exchanged the item for a different shade.
Blumenthal posted several photos on TikTok of previous times when she had pink cheeks and called herself a “victim of blush blindness.”
Toni Bravo, a beauty content creator based in Los Angeles, attributes blush’s rise to a shift away from a culture of “color fear,” and said that as blush has become a widespread beauty trend, it has become more accessible.
“People who are intimidated by or don’t know how to use blush are starting to realize that there are so many different types of blush available, and they come in so many different shades, tones, finishes and textures,” says Bravo, 24. “There really is something for everyone.”“
But like anything that relies on human perception, red eye blindness is highly subjective, Bravo added.
In a recent video, she responded to commenters who accused her of wearing too much blush by applying more blush.
“I think it’s just a matter of preference,” she says. “I also think some people just aren’t used to bright, bold blushes, especially if they have darker skin tones.”
Bravo isn’t the only one who ignores what the online masses have to say about her makeup. Rachel Carlisle, 27, has built a small following on TikTok by posting step-by-step videos of her makeup application, which includes applying a generous amount of blush as a base. Ms. Carlisle, who lives in Biloxi, Mississippi, and works in medical consulting, says she likes the warm, tanned effect of this blush style.
While commenters often accuse her of trolling, Carlisle says her intentions were serious.
““When people first started doing at-home body contouring, everyone made fun of it, like it was completely insane,” Carlisle said. “But now I think about it, it seems like it was meant to be.”
