Ariana Grande's Blush Placement Hack Gives The Perfect Flush

Ariana Grande has inspired a number of beauty trends throughout her career as a pop star and actor. We credit the Disney alum for popularizing the power ponytail and her signature '60s-inspired cat eye, which you can easily replicate at home. Now, the "7 Rings" artist has added another trend to the list after she starred in a video shared on the TikTok account of her R.e.m. Beauty brand. In a video with over 800,000 likes and 7.6 million views, the entrepreneur demonstrated her new "hypernova ombré blush" method, which she applied in a delicate heart shape using two different shades of her R.e.m. Beauty Satin Matte Blush.

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hypernova ombre blush as seen on @arianagrande 🎆🪐 here's our new favorite way to add a cosmic burst of color to your makeup routine

♬ original sound – r.e.m. beauty

The "Side to Side" singer's playful blush hack resulted in a vibrant pop of color that her fans adore. For an explanation of the hype around this enchanting blush placement, Glam reached out to Jade Griffin, professional makeup artist, licensed esthetician, and owner of Queen Productions. "As a pro MUA of 11 years, I find new trends like the heart-shaped blush exciting because they create a youthful, doll-like effect," Griffin revealed to Glam during an exclusive interview. "Trying out new techniques like this could easily make it a part of your daily makeup routine." We're inclined to agree here, seeing as the pop icon is riding one of the hottest beauty trends at the moment: the girly coquette aesthetic. In a way, this look is Grande's rendition of the "coquette cheeks" trend, so those who love coquette makeup will be particularly attracted to this latest look.

How you apply blush can alter your whole look, and the same goes for the colors you use. As such, Glam asked pro-makeup artist and esthetician Jade Griffin to explain the benefit of combining multiple shades in Ariana Grande's split-heart blush technique. "The benefit of using two different blush tones is that it adds depth and dimension while also lifting the face," Griffin told Glam exclusively. In this case, the two-toned method enhances the warmth and definition of your bronzer.

In her tutorial, Grande appears to use the shades Pinking of U and Strawberry Nebula, and the R.e.m. Beauty founder was deliberate in her placement of each. She swiped the lighter shade on the apple of her cheeks, toward the center of her face, and applied the darker shade to the widest part of her cheekbones. Also note how Grande lightly dabbed the same deep tone above her eyelid, at the very outer corner of her eyebrow, on each side to mimic the curve at the top of a heart. She then pulled the entire look together by following up with a light dusting of bronzer and blending to perfection.

"This blush hack works on all face shapes," makeup artist Jade Griffin explained during an exclusive chat with Glam, "especially heart-shaped faces." So, this blush placement works especially well for Ariana Grande due to her naturally heart-shaped face, which is defined by a narrow jawline or a pointed chin with the forehead being the widest part of the head. 

That said, there's been a surge of blush technique videos on social media sites such as Instagram and TikTok in the last few years that will tell you that you must have a certain face shape or certain facial features to pull off a specific blush placement. And while it's perfectly reasonable to want to align your blush placement with your face shape, we would all do well to remember that makeup is — and should be — an enjoyable experience. For many, applying makeup is a form of creative self-expression, so feel free to experiment with this Ariana Grande-inspired blush trend even if you don't share similar features. You're bound to look as cute as a button with this adorable two-toned look, regardless.