I’ve gone a bit blusher mad recently. I don’t know whether it’s just because I’ve done the whole “subtle bit of bronzer under the cheekbones” thing for so long and I fancied a change, or that my pregnancy hormones are sending me a bit off-piste with everything. Either way, I love the lift that a good blusher gives to the skin – bronzer can add a touch of healthy glow, but there’s nothing like a bit of pinky-peach to make your whole face look more awake. Just a hint of it, swept across the tops of the apples of the cheeks, or a proper colour wash, right across the cheekbones and back towards the ears, with a dab on the bridge of the nose for good measure. (You have to tread carefully with the latter option, obviously – you don’t want to look as though you’ve fallen asleep on the beach after four glasses of Rosé.)

The Bobbi Brown Calypso Cheek Palette in the new “Hot Collection” is just gorgeous – subtle enough to be foolproof for those who tend to be heavy-handed with their brushes, but with great colour pay-off that builds into an intense, peachy colour pop. Here I am sans blush:

And then with a healthy dose of all three shades, blended together:

I bloody love it. If you compare the two photos, it looks like quite a lot of blush going on, but if you just come back to the page and look at the second picture on its own you can see that there’s just this brilliant glow (thanks to the shimmery blush in the centre of the palette) that makes everything look so healthy and fresh. (I haven’t tweaked anything else, by the way – the makeup and lighting is identical in the before and after. I think that my eyes look livelier and perhaps even a little bluer, but I could be imagining!)

So yes, I am a big fan of blush at the present time: I like a big sweep of it over perfectly finished skin with just a simple coat of mascara and that’s it. To be frank, you wouldn’t want to wear a lot of blush and eyes and lips: it’s enough on its own. If you wanted to oomph up the eyes and/or lips, then my advice would be to keep the blush barely-there, but – y’know – knock yourself out if you want to do the Full Face thing…

Bobbi Brown Calypso Cheek Palette is available at Selfridges.com here for £34. My base is Burberry’s BB Cream in shade 02 (love it, review soon, find it here) and the mascara is Roller Lash from Benefit. You’ll be seeing more of Bobbi Brown’s “Hot Collection” when I get going on those lipsticks and Art Sticks!