Blusher’s back at last. Post Covid it’s all about a healthy glow...

ACHILD’S template for what is beautiful will often be her mother: the face that becomes the paradigm for all faces. Mine possessed alabaster skin and cheeks flushed permanently pink. Later, as a fledgling academic, i learnt that a ‘roses and lilies’ complexion signified beauty from the ancient world via the medieval period and beyond. When i came to do research, i chose a form of poetry that celebrated it.

in terms of my own face, it took a while to work this balance out. At 18, i had such a ghostly pallor that my victorian literature tutor used to ask: ‘Are you sure you’re alright?’, imagining i must be suffering from consumption.

When i finally discovered blusher, i went in hard. Still do, in fact. But, then, we all have a beauty ‘thing’, and mine is being a bit too faux-flushed.

The fact is, blusher makes us look younger, prettier, more alive — active, happy, but also fertile, flirtatious, aroused. valentine’s beauty often focuses on scarlet lips.

However, the true look of love is more pinkly suggestive than dangersignal red.

This blush-led look suggests a postcoital glow that can be used as a form of pre-coital allurement and — make no mistake — it does the job. Where the Kardashian nude contouring that ruled in the 2010s turned women into inaccessible glamazons, peachily pretty cheeks look fresh and inviting.

Think of Dangerous Liaisons, Francois Boucher’s portraits, and, of course, the belles of the Netflix hit Bridgerton, who inspired last year’s rouge revival.

CoviD doubtless played its part, with gaunt, chiselled taupe giving way to a blooming flush of health that cries: ‘i’ve not got it — not me! i’m terribly well and snoggable.’

Twentysomething zillennials lapped up the trend, with TikTok producing a motto to be chanted while daubing your dimples: ‘Gorgeous, gorgeous girls always over-blush. Gorgeous, gorgeous girls are always in a rush.’

Sometimes i like to wield a wispy, pastel petal colour for cheekbone-sculpting purposes. My beloved Kevyn Aucoin Neo Limelight Highlighter ibiza (£23, lookfantastic.com) is currently sold out, annoyingly.

Dior Forever Couture Luminizer in Pink Glow (£40, dior.com) will create a similar effect. However, the new flirtatious flush is about recreating the colour you go after a bracing stroll in the cold.

This will be pink if you’re cool-toned, peach if you’re warmer. i like to use two shades.

i start with a blue-pink on the apples of my cheeks (smile and there they are): Clinique’s Blushing Blush Powder Blush in iced Lotus, say (£24, clinique.co.uk), or Bobbi Brown’s bright Pale Pink (£21, bobbi brown.co.uk).

Then, after blending, i may add a touch of a hotter, tropical berry shade for extra oomph, depending on the weather, my mood, and how much of a sexpot i want to look. Lancome’s Blush Subtil in Pink intensely (£33, lancome. co.uk) is not far off my discontinued favourite Rose indien (still available for £24 at amazon.co.uk, while stocks last).

or try Pat McGrath’s Skin Fetish Divine Blush in Lovestruck (£30, patmcgrath.com), a demimatte berry.

if you have tawnier skin, aim for apricot via coral to tangerine and terracotta shades — a spectrum of oranges in place of my pinks.

if you can’t be bothered toying with more than one powder, may i recommend Chanel’s reliably gorgeous Joues Contraste blushes (£37, chanel.com), which boast a subtle, multi-dimensional aspect, or MAC’s Mineralise Blush (£24, maccosmetics.co.uk), baked for pearlescent shimmer. i’m wild about the Hubba Bubba hue Bubbles, Please.

i’ve always been a powder obsessive. Despite what people claim about the flattering nature of cream blush, on me it would vanish in seconds, having first wrecked my foundation.

Well, no more. i’ve finally cracked cream by means of make-up artist Bobbi Brown’s fabulously flattering Jones Road Lip And Cheek Sticks (£30.50, jonesroadbeauty.com), applied with the brand’s Blush Brush (£32.50).

This wonder tool allows rouge to work for all of us, and blends beautifully. it also makes deploying lipstick as a final, exquisite accent on cheeks a cinch.

Then blot down the shade on your mouth for a lovely, sexily sheer effect. You’ll look young and in love, whatever your age.