Olive skin? These blush shades are your perfect match

If you have olive skin, you’ve probably experienced the slightly annoying process of trying a blush that looks beautiful in the pan, only for it to look strange once it meets your skin. And while olive skin is often lumped into the same category as warm or golden skin, the reality is a little more nuanced.

What is olive skin?

Olive is an undertone, not a skin-tone depth. In India, you can have olive undertones whether your skin-tone is fair, medium, tan, or deep. The giveaway is usually that subtle green or green-grey cast beneath the skin, which can sit alongside golden, yellow, or neutral tones. So no, having olive skin does not automatically mean you need to reach for the warmest peach or coral blush in the beauty aisle.

The shades that deliver

This is where choosing the right hue comes in. Warm peach, apricot, and terracotta shades can complement olive skin beautifully, particularly when your undertones lean warmer, while mauves, berry tones, softer rosy shades, and even baby doll pink can work when you want something cooler. The trick is to look at the undertone of the blush rather than simply its colour in the pan. A peach with a muted base can look very different on the skin from a bright orange-leaning peach; just as a cool mauve shade can give a very different finish from a warmer rose. 

Swatching the shade on your cheek, rather than relying on how it looks on your hand, is usually the easiest way to see whether it blends into your skin or sits on top of it. A great guide to finding olive-skin blushes is picking shades with neutral undertones; this way they will complement your skin whether it is warm- or cool-toned.

And then there is the shade purple, which deserves its own conversation. Purple blush can look exceptionally beautiful on olive skin because it gives the cheeks a cooler flush of colour without fighting the green undertones. On fair olive skin, softer lavender and lilac shades can work beautifully, while medium and deeper olive complexions can play with richer purple, plum, and berry tones. On deeper skin, some purple blushes can even transform into that surprisingly pretty Barbie or baby-pink flush once blended into the skin.

Blush shades to avoid

There are no hard-and-fast rules when it comes to olive skin, but some blush shades can be trickier to pull off. Very orange-leaning corals, icy pastels, and highly saturated pinks can sometimes sit awkwardly against olive undertones, while very pale beige shades may disappear on deeper olive skin. The key is to find a version of the colour that works with your undertone and skin depth. If a shade looks too stark in the pan, try a softer, more muted version of the same hue.

So, if you’ve been wondering which blush shades actually work with your olive undertones, start here. These are the blushes to shop.

Yves Saint Laurent Make Me Blush - Spicy Berry, ₹7,100

Anastasia Beverly Hills Stick Blush - Peach Caramel, ₹2,800

Thou The Limitless Multi Use Blush - Day Break, ₹1,125

Huda Beauty Blush Filter Liquid Blush - Berry Fever, ₹2,475

Nars Multiple Blush - Trance Violet Orchid, ₹3,500

Goodside Good Glow Dewy Crème Blush - Soft Peach Pink, ₹1,770

Benefit Cosmetics Juice Stick Dewy Gel Blush - Shellie, ₹3,700

Haus Labs Fuse Longwear Glassy Lip + Cheek Stick - Lavender, ₹4,975 

 

Image credits: The brands

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