The Douyin Blush Hack: China’s Most Coveted Beauty Trend Is Here

Are you guilty of over-blushing — planting the product with abandon across the face? This China-originating trend is for you in that case. It involves concentrating a soft wash of colour on the high points of your face — lifting your eyes and endowing a natural-looking, sun-lit flush upon your skin. Birthed in China, the trend has migrated across the internet and amassed millions of views over a period of time. There’s a reason why everyone’s disposing of their bronzers and scrambling to recreate this look. Here’s what you need to know about this hack, and how you can do it yourself.

This Hack From China Has Us Blushing.

This hack involves etching tiny ‘v’s or hearts on the high points of your face — atop the cheekbones, chin, and nose, and around the outer corners of your eyes to lend a doll-like finish to your look. All you need is a liquid or cream-based blusher (or cherry-red lipstick as demonstrated in this video) to execute the hack. You can blend the pigment into your skin with your fingers: the warmth of your fingers encourages the product to diffuse into your skin effectively. Even a (damp) blender works. Notice how this user has smeared some lipstick over the lids as well. She skipped the chin too. You can tweak the process the way you like.

This technique results in a fresh-faced finish that looks natural and flushed — not deliberate like bronzing and contouring. Just ensure you’re starting with a lighter base than usual (even no makeup works) to capture the aesthetic better. You can conclude the look by placing a little bit of highlighter on all the points you’ve added colour to and layer your lips with lip-gloss to play into the softness of the aesthetic.

Here’s a tip. Instead of going in with too much product, build it up. Start off by drawing smaller ‘v’s on the high points, and if you feel like you want a more obvious flush, go right in with more of the colour. This allows you to control the way in which the blush looks.