Put down your contouring palette and step away from 'no make-up' make-up - blusher is making a comeback for autumn / winter 2018 and it's had a makeover.

From Christopher Kane to Mary Katrantzou and House of Holland (to name just a few), the catwalks in New York and London were awash with a wave of gently flushed faces.

But don't start dusting off your old powder blusher just yet, and you can certainly forget about applying it in doll-like circles across the apples of your cheeks. This is androgynous blush (think colder, more natural) and you don't even need a traditional blusher to achieve it. In fact, the make-up artists backstage at Fashion Week would prefer you used something else entirely... lipstick.

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Christopher Kane A/W 18 show

'This season, the look is wintry fresh skin, with a natural flushed cheek', explained lead make-up artist Lucia Pieroni at Christopher Kane, 'as if the girls had run for a bus.'

To bottle that 'I just stepped out in the cold moment', Pieroni overlooked blusher in favour of Nars' new Audacious Lipstick Palette (out in the autumn), especially the Pride and Greed shades.

Pieroni also skipped brushes; choosing to blend the product into the models' cheeks with her fingers for a natural finish, but if you're committed to your tools, try Mac's 129 Blush Brush, £28, as at Prabal Gurung, or the Luxe Fan Brush, £21, for super light application.

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House of Holland A/W 18 show

At House of Holland, there were two lipsticks involved - Lord & Berry's Absolute Intensity Lipstick in Sweet Heart and in Avant Garde, both £15.

'The inspiration behind the collection was urban hiking, so we focused the look around a natural, wind-flushed cheek,' revealed head make-up artist Zoe Taylor.

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Mary Katrantzou A/W 18 show

It was a similar occurrence at Mary Katrantzou, where the iridescent, flushed skin on show, created by Lyndsey Alexander, was inspired by 'young boys on a cold day'.

This time Mac's new blusher in Bubbles Please was blended low on the cheeks with a new lipstick shade, Oh Sweetie Liquid Lip Colour in Funfetti Cake. They are out this spring and summer respectively.

How to recreate it

1. Blush looks best with a hydrated, glowing complexion. Mac's Studio Moisture Cream, £25, and Mixing Medium Shine, £16.50, were particularly popular backstage.

2. Find your lipstick. While you wait for the latest lipstick palettes to launch, try Nars' Audacious Lipsticks in Barbara and Audrey, £26 each.

3. Get hands on. Apply your chosen shade by tapping it in a triangular shape low on your cheeks, but go lightly - you can always add more product if you need.

4. For when ruining your lipstick feels like too much of a crime, take the make-up artist Janeen Witherspoon's approach at Bora Atsu and gently tap Mac's Pro Longwear Paint Pot in Stormy Pink (an eyeshadow), £16.50, down your cheek.

5. Or, if you can't bear to be separated from your Nars Orgasm Blush, compromise with a touch of their Liquid Blush (in the same shade), £23.

6. Finish by dabbing a touch of your chosen product on your lips to match. Et voilà.

From: AR Revista