In the pink

PINK cheeks - that’s all I want for spring. I don’t have the budget for a new spring wardrobe, and I don’t have the energy to get my body into shape, but I can spruce up my cheeks with a lively pink.

And blusher doesn’t cost much - bonus.

Pink cheeks are cool now. They’ve always been cool. They bring a freshness, a Merchant Ivory gorgeousness to the face, if you don’t overdo it. If you overdo it, there’s only one word - clown. So avoid that look and go for the pretty “I’ve just been skipping” look.

Think Michelle Williams at the Oscars, or, if you like your references retro, Helena Bonham Carter in Room with A View. There’s something innocent schoolgirl about it. Or innocent schoolgirl meets high-octane Alpine chic meets super-sporty urban woman. It’s all a mash-up.

If you go lightly, you’ll nail the pink-cheek look in an instant. Plus, shades that seem outlandish in the pot look gorgeous on.

I’ve been trying out some insane pinks over the last few weeks, and as long as you don’t trowel them on, each and every one makes your skin look like a healthy peach (minus the fur, thankfully).

Kicking off with a big burst of colour is Estee Lauder’s new ‘pure colour blush,’ €34. You’re not going to find anything more dramatic than the electric pink shade here, and while it looks like something Cyndi Lauper would liberally apply - in the dark - it is very cool on and is far more understated than it looks, especially if you wear it against very pale skin. Add dramatic, feline eyeliner flicks for a big entrance.

Equally high drama is MAC’s creme blend blush in Florida, €21.50, from its new super- kitsch SHOP MAC collection. Make-up companies seem to be getting a bit bored of the powder blush/cream blush scenario this spring and are stirring things up with some new formulations.

Yves Saint Laurent is keeping it fresh with voile de blush, •38, which is really rather great. It looks like some sickly-sweet jelly formulation until you put it on the cheeks, whereupon it sinks in and leaves a very flat-tering, post-coital flush. It’s got a weird texture, but it works.

Clarins (left) has gone for the good-goods-in-small-packages angle this spring with what has to be one of the smallest blushers we’ve ever seen, with Instant Light Blush, €23.38. It feels like a liquid eyeshadow (one of those lovely watery cool ones) and it goes on very smooth and prettily, but I could do with having a whole lot more of this one. A whole lot more of them all, in fact.

Bring on the pink.