Get the Perfect Fall Flush with These Blush Shades 

As a committed fall enthusiast, nothing makes me happier than packing away my summer dresses and welcoming the cool, crisp air of autumn. I spend all year waiting for the days of chunky sweaters, colorful leaves and Halloween candy. So when fall rolls around, I like to switch up my makeup in favor of a more autumnal color palette: think muted pinks, rich berries, rusty oranges. This fall-obsessed beauty editor’s favorite shades of blush for pumpkin spice latte season (and beyond) are here.

Poppy pink

Pink blush is a year-round thing, but come autumn, I set aside my usual peachy pinks and gravitate toward red-based poppy pinks to mimic that “I was just outside picking apples” flush. Lately, I’ve been reaching for Wayne Goss The Weightless Veil Blush Palette in Bright Poppy to create the perfect fresh-from-the-cold glow. I love that you can layer the pink shade to bring out the red tones of blood circulating under your skin after a brisk jog—perfect for someone like me who rarely jogs.

Brick red

Brick red… on your cheeks?! It sounds scary, but it’s actually less intimidating than you’d think. Think of brick red like coral’s deeper, more sophisticated sister—it adds enough warmth to brighten up your entire face, but it’s muted enough not to look clownish. The product that turned me on to brick red’s potential as a cheek color was Hourglass’s Ambient Lighting Blush in At Night, a gorgeous mix of muted red and peach that can be built up for more intense color.

Burnt orange

This classic fall shade—a toasty terracotta orange—looks just as good on autumn leaves as it does on your cheeks. The golden, not-too-bright undertones have a subtle bronzing effect that’s great for sculpting and shaping the cheekbones without a separate contour product. I love to take a burnt orange cream blush (ILIA Color Haze Multi-Matte Pigment in Stutter is a favorite) and blend it just under my cheekbones to add warmth and structure.

Deep berry

Rich berry hues really do look good on just about every skin tone. If you’re #blessed in the melanin department, you can layer this shade on your deep skin until you achieve your ideal level of sultry, sophisticated flush. For lighter skin, dust it on with a light hand—it’s always easier to add more than take it away. One of my all-time favorite berry blushes is Surratt Beauty’s Artistique Blush in Rougeur, a plummy raspberry. The formula is softly luminous without any noticeable shimmer particles, so it never ends up looking ashy or chalky on dark skin tones.

Muted rose

A good dusty rose is a must-have for anyone’s blush wardrobe. It’s the perfect shade to add a soft, pretty hint of color to cheeks, especially when bright pinks feel too summery. If you don’t have a favorite muted rose blush yet, Charlotte Tilbury’s Cheek to Chic in the iconic Pillow Talk shade is a great point of entry. (Try the Pillow Talk Intense shade if your skin is on the deeper side of the spectrum.)