How to Master the Watercolor Blush Trend (No MFA Required)

Gentle, blurred, and gracefully diffused, the watercolor blush is the painterly flush that is quietly taking center stage. Its defining characteristic? A layer of color with no harsh lines to be found. “The watercolor blush is a soft veil of product applied to the cheeks,” says celebrity makeup artist Carolina Gonzalez, who often references the watercolor pinup girls of Alberto Vargas in her ethereal aesthetic.” It’s a way to think about the finish and how there’s a difference between oil paint (opaque) and watercolors (diffused and buildable). You’re not going to be able to see the beginning or end of the application of the watercolor blush because the product melts unperceived, into the skin without detectable edges.” Gonzalez is known to paint this ethereal look on the likes of Sabrina Carpenter and Gigi Hadid, but it seems that Kendall Jenner, Simone Ashley, Dua Lipa, Lilly-Rose Depp, and others all share an affection for watercolor blush too.

The Ascendance of Watercolor Beauty

If this looks like watercolor paint applied to paper, you are spot-on. Kasey Spickard, pro makeup artist, is likening watercolor blushes moment into a new movement in beauty centered around skin-care-makeup hybrids and is just another take on a natural flush – nay, a reaction to what we saw during the heavily pigmented matte makeup explosion of the last decade. “This blush trend is so dreamy, as it emphasizes a soft wash of color to the cheeks,” says Spickard, “At this point we see the trend of watercolor blushes trending as we see skin, soft-focus ethereal makeup continue to take precedence in the beauty space.”

Top Watercolor Blush Products by Category

Complete Product Recommendations

Application Strategies

What’s truly impressive about this technique? It works across both liquid and powder blush formulas. Gonzalez, when short on time, follows the same soft-blend technique using her favorite powder and—boom!—a romantic flush that looks effortless, not overly done.

Spickard, however, is inspired by the soft-focus beauty of a true watercolor painting. He uses the same philosophy that artists live by: light to dark, and layered intention. “I begin by putting down a sheer wash in a light color of blush all over the cheeks, up the cheekbones, and then across the nose. I stipple the product on with a dense blush brush and diffuse it out with a damp beauty blender,” Spickard says. Once the base color is set, he adds a darker powder blush to the apples of the cheeks for dimension and depth.

Professional Application Methods

For sure, the right products help. Semi-sheer balms, blendable creams, and barely-there watery tints really taking the market by storm in 2025 so far also lend themselves to that painterly look. But the trick to getting the watercolor look correct is not just the products, but the way you apply them. So no, you can’t just slap it on and go. Just a few deep breaths—it’s not as complicated as it may sound to achieve it. “There’s a couple of ways to approach this,” Gonzalez starts. If you are going in with your favorite liquid blush with no foundation on the skin, she suggests to dab a small amount on each cheek with your fingers, and blend out carefully—especially the edges so that it is soft and blurred.

For the super-glam set who want to top their look off with a fresh flush, Gonzalez says, “start off with your same blush application, and do a solid ‘buff,buff,buff’ with a brush. then, ‘with a drop of concealer – and I mean drop – you can off the back of your hand, and just tap the brush into it. Then just buff gently around the edges of your blush, feathering away edges.’ If you have already done foundation, you can just use whatever is left on your complexion brush to do the same.“