What Is Transitional Blush? The Viral Sculpting Technique Everyone’s Talking About

What Is Transitional Blush & Why Is It Trending?

Transitional blush adds dimension to the face using the careful placement of layered blush shades, giving the skin a lifted, softly blurred effect. The look is really a combination of blush, under-eye brightening, and soft contouring—making it no wonder that much of the beauty community (us included) are obsessed with the look. 

Edeme’s technique includes layering cream blush, concealer, and pink powder (applied with a powder puff) to create a seamless color gradient from the under-eye down to the cheek. She’s applied the look to stars like Kelly Rowland, Raye, Doechii, and most notably, breakout "Love Island" star Olandria Carthen.

The transitional blush look has trended on socials for a while, but it particularly blew up over the last weekend thanks to makeup artist Patrick Ta, who announced the upcoming launch of his "Transition Blurring Blush Duo” and an accompanying “Transition Blush Brush.” Some online commenters accused Ta of borrowing from a technique Edeme helped popularize and passing it off as his own, especially by trademarking the word “transition blush” and using words like “created” to describe the technique—raising questions about who can claim (and often, cash in on) certain techniques and trends. 

While Edeme has made the striking blush look her signature, she’s never claimed to be the creator of transitional blush. Instead, she often references makeup legends like Danessa Myricks, Pat McGrath, and Kevyn Aucoin, the latter of whom first made the blush effect a staple through his looks. Edeme, however, has undoubtedly been responsible for the technique’s popularity in recent years. 

Ta addressed the issue directly via TikTok, stating that he began working on his product a year and a half ago and has been doing his own version of the transitional blush look since 2021. “I have nothing but love and respect for Esther…she Is Amazing [sic] and so talented,” he wrote in the post’s caption. He also gave credit to Edeme for popularizing the look. 

How to Get the Transitional Blush Look

The magic of the transitional blush look is that you don’t need any one product to create the look. You likely already have what you’ll need in your makeup kit. 

First, you’ll want to apply a deeper cream or liquid blush shade high up on your cheekbones or toward the outer cheek area. This will help create dimension across your face and give you that “lifted” effect. For a super pigmented (and long-wearing) look, we love the DANESSA MYRICKS BEAUTY Vision Flush. 

Here’s where the “transition” part comes in. On the back of your hand, mix your liquid or cream blush with a bit of brightening concealer to make a softer, more diluted version of the shade. Apply the lighter tone closer to the apples of your cheeks, and slightly underneath the under-eye area, to create that signature gradient effect. 

Once you’ve added both your deeper base shade and lighter mixed shade, you’ll want to blend, blend, blend to disperse and blur your blush. To avoid muddling the colors, start with the lighter shade and gently diffuse it underneath your eyes, then gradually blend the deeper blush into it, moving upwards with your brush. The goal is to create a smooth transition between both shades, without harsh lines separating the two. 

After merging your deeper and lighter blushes, apply a small amount of brightening concealer to your under-eyes and blend as usual. The concealer that never fails us is the DANESSA MYRICKS BEAUTY Yummy Skin Lift & Flex Concealer, though we’re also fans of the crease-proof Kulfi Beauty Main Match Hydrating Concealer, which is great for buildable coverage. 

The final step is Edeme’s signature. Grab a powder puff—this MORPHE Mini Powder Puff bundle comes with three—and a translucent or slightly pink powder. Use the puff and powder to gently set your lighter blush area and add a bit of brightness, which will help bring the look together.

5 Transitional Blush Looks We’re Obsessed With

1. Pop of Pink

Olandria loves a statement blush look, making her and Edeme a match made in makeup heaven. Here, her transitional blush also works as an under-eye concealer. After blending out your dimensional blush shades, apply a brightening blush to the inner corner of your eye, lightly tapping the product out until blended. Tap into her Barbie vibes with a high pony.

2. Classic Coral Blush

For a more classic take on transitional blush, check out this look that Edeme made for singer Cassie. Her concentrated coral blush makes a bold statement—perfect for the stage or a night out. Try out her look with this ultra-vivid blush stick by SMASHBOX COSMETICS. 

3. Glittery Glam

We’re absolutely obsessed with the glimmery glam Edeme created on supermodel Anok Yai. This more subtle blush look focuses most of its pigment on the higher part of the cheek—right below the outer corner of the eye—diffusing the color on both ends. A smoky winged eyeliner, plus shimmery body oil, really brings the look together. 

4. Luminous Pink

How amazing is this pink blush look? We love how it transitions to Tyla’s colorful eyeshadow. Edeme created this look with a pigmented pink blush—like this one in the JASON WU BEAUTY Beautiful Earthling Blush Trio Palette—topping it off with a white eyeshadow to add a brightening effect in between the cheekbone and outer eye corner. Paired with a glitzy light pink eyeshadow, this look is undeniably show-stopping. 

5. Blushing Beauty

Embrace your soft side with this perfectly diffused look. The key? A rigorous amount of blending. After applying your two blush shades, blend them out with a dense brush, then go in with a beauty blender to lighten the look more, if you like. You can be a little less restricted to where you blend out your brush—you could even bring the color down to your lower cheek, like Edeme did on Nara Smith. Use a translucent powder to set the look. 

Final Thoughts

Edeme has become one of the most visible figures associated with the look’s recent resurgence, especially in creating her breathtaking blush-forward looks on darker skin tones. Her melted blush look can easily be recreated at home—even with products you already have on hand. Whether you prefer to go with a statement hot pink or a deeper brick red blush, you’re sure to look lifted and sculpted in a way you’ve never seen before. Now’s the time to break out your powder puff and get to blending.