“I love blush, if nothing else I like to have a little color on my cheeks as my only makeup to make me look not dead.” —LB

“I wear a TON of blush. I don't wear foundation or powder or mascara most of the time. It's 100% blush." —cicillionaire

“Would love tips on how to apply blush - you mention the natural and editorial looks, depending on where you apply. Could you do an article on this, as well as where to apply based on your face shape/cheekbone area? Thanks ITG!” —Ashley E

In celebration of Glossier Cloud Paint Seamless Cheek Color—we thought we’d round up just a few of the hundreds of comments on ITG in praise of blush (these three specifically are from this story) because they’re a big part of the reason we wanted to make our own version. The other reason? Over the past couple of decades or so, blush has gotten a bad rap. People say it’s stodgy, unnatural, old-fashioned… And you know what? We agree! There hasn’t been any major blush innovation in a minute and we were craving some. So we made it ourselves!

We were inspired by gouache painting, which is like a mix between your high-pigment acrylic paints and your user-friendly watercolors—down to the little paint tube packaging. It's a light gel-cream that goes on colorful, but blends out to a transparent wash. All you need is a dab and you’re instantly healthier and more awake. And your face! It has definition and you didn’t even need to contour! See? A miracle product.

Cloud Paint comes in six shades encased in their own tiny little acrylic paint tubes. You can learn all about the product—like how it’s infused with collagen and blurring powders to instantly plump the skin and never leave a streaky finish—on Glossier.com. Here on ITG though, we’re going to take a different approach and give one of our favorite makeup artists, Ingeborg, the reins. She did the makeup for the Glossier campaign images and loves blush. Like, really loves blush. If anyone’s going to convince you need rosy-colored pigment on your cheeks from now until forever, it’s going to be her. Hit it, Ingeborg:

Why do you need blush?
“Blush is something that really can shape your face. Especially in the era of the selfie, where everyone is taking their own pictures with iPhones and washing out the face, it’s the one quick thing that can give you added dimension in no time at all. And it’s so much easier to apply blush than any eye makeup or contour. With these, you don’t even need a mirror…it’s such a sheer wash of color that as long as you have your cell phone in your hand to quickly look at yourself, that’s enough. You can just dab a little bit on your finger tip, pat it on the center of your cheek or up against the cheekbone if you want to be a little more chic.”

How did you approach the makeup look on the shoot?
“None of the girls in the Cloud Paint campaign are even wearing mascara—just Priming Moisturizer Rich, Skin Tint, Boy Brow, and some Balm Dotcom on their lids. That’s my no-mirror version of the smoky eye—just some balm and it enhances the colors of your lid without any makeup. Then I just used my fingers to apply the blush and keep it fresh and dewy. The smile trick still works—start on the apples of the cheek and then blend upward and out along your cheekbones.”

Got any blush tricks?
“Sometimes throughout the day, you start to feel like ‘Oh my makeup doesn’t look the same as it did this morning’ and instead of layering on more foundation and more concealer, sometimes all it needs is that fresh color and hydration.”

And now, a breakdown of each shade:

Brownish nude, to enhance bone structure and definition: Dusk

“So this is my favorite color of the bunch. It’s a rosy beige that just gives a little bit of health to the skin without going too pink or brown. I feel that if Lauren Hutton in the ‘70s was a blush, than it would be this one. I imagine it as a person wearing a beautiful camel coat or a soft, delicious cashmere sweater. All those luxurious things come to mind.”

Light, cool pink to brighten the whole face: Puff

“Puff will instantly brighten your skin and brighten your day and just make you look super refreshed even if your skin looks a little tired or you have a dark circle. On the shoot, it also looked super beautiful on darker skintones, too—so someone who wears Skin Tint in Dark or Deep. A lot of pastel pink blushes, because of their powdery nature, read ashy on darker skin, but because of the texture of Cloud Paint, it doesn’t get that ashy cast—it keeps this freshness to it.”

A berry flush without the workout: Haze

“This is the color of the natural flush from when you go running or you just splash ice cold water on your face. Your skin doesn’t naturally turn peach or tan—it’s a deeper, almost purple shade. So it’s bold but still very natural. If you really want to have fun with it and do something more eye-catching, you can use it in an ‘80s shape—which is going in a half-moon shape up the cheekbone and close to the hairline, around where you might put Haloscope. That’s what I do if I want the blush to be a real statement. Very ‘I’m going out!’”

Coral-peach for a warm glow all over: Beam

“This one is perfect in combination with a cat eye or a peachy nude lip—it ties all of those wonderful things together. To me, it’s very British Cool Girl, like Kate Moss with a little bit of smudged eyeliner and slightly tanned skin. It also really works on super, super pale fair skin. If you’re a little bit afraid to use blush, peach is very, very safe and easy to apply.”

Sunny coral for a back from the beach sheen: Dawn

"Dawn gives you a slightly sunbaked look, but in a good, responsible way. I like applying it high on cheekbones, on the bridge on the nose, and even on the tip of your chin. You can also use it on the apples of your cheeks for a coral flush, and swish it outwards and downwards. I really like mixing it with Beam to make it more brighter, but mixing it with Puff gives it a fresh, healthy blush tone. With Dawn, I think of those tanned All-American girls or a girl living in the south of France in the ‘70s. Super fresh, super summer, you’ve been at the beach all day and now you’re going to a very chic disco."

Warm rose for a flushed-from-the-cold look: Storm

"Storm doesn’t give a blue undertone that berry, or deep rose colors usually give. It’s warmer, and really looks nice with so many skin tones because it gives a brownish undertone. For that early morning, creamy pinky flush, you can mix it with Beam or Puff. If you want want make it even more dewy, apply it in a triangular shape from cheekbone to temple in combination with Haloscope in Quartz...that’s more like a going-out blush. Definitely something you’d see in a classic, beautiful British Vogue editorial—think Stella Tennant, Trish Goff, Diane Keaton, or even Lady Diana, wearing a tweed blazer or a beautiful men’s shirt. You can do a lot with Storm—it’s probably the most versatile Cloud Paint color."

Shop Cloud Paint exclusively at Glossier.com.