Smiling can make the apples of the cheeks easy to find. It also moves them. If you place all your blush while holding a broad smile, the colour may sit differently once your face relaxes. That is a useful observation to test, not a rule that one placement suits every face.
Start by looking straight ahead with your usual expression. Decide what you want the colour to do: suggest a soft flush, sit higher toward the temples, or add warmth across a broader area. The choice is aesthetic; you do not need to “correct” your face shape.
A small placement experiment
Use your normal base and a clean applicator suitable for the product. Pick up less cream than you think you need, following its directions. Place a small amount on one cheek while relaxed, then blend the edge before adding more.
For comparison, place the same small amount on the other side while smiling. Relax again and look at both cheeks from the front and at a slight angle. Notice the location, spread and strength of the colour rather than judging one side as automatically better.
You can remove the comparison and repeat your preferred placement evenly. This exercise is easier before a quiet day at home than five minutes before leaving.
Check the blend away from the close-up mirror
A close mirror encourages you to inspect individual edges. Step back into ordinary viewing distance and, if possible, check in indirect daylight. A colour that looks dramatic under a bright bathroom lamp may read differently near a window.
If the edge is too definite, tap it gently with the remaining product on your usual base sponge rather than spreading the blush across a much larger area. Work gradually; different cream formulas layer differently over powder and foundation.
Take a quick note of the amount, applicator and position that worked. A repeatable method saves more time than a complicated face-shape diagram, and it leaves room to change the look when your mood or makeup changes.