The beauty product known as bronzer used to be strongly associated with an overly orange look reminiscent of Cheetos. Fortunately, though, the range of bronzer colours, textures and finishes has significantly widened since then.
“You’re looking to add warmth with bronzer, not colour,” celebrity makeup artist Hung Vanngo has nonetheless cautioned in words quoted by Cosmopolitan. So, how can you help yourself to wear bronzer in a way that, well, doesn’t look like you are wearing bronzer?
Choose a suitable bronzer for your skin tone
A mismatch between your skin tone and the colour of bronzer you use can create jarring results.
Seventeen explains: “Fair skins look best with a golden bronzer (no pink or orange) and medium to dark skins need more warmth and heat, so use a bronzer with a hint of red or deep golden bronze.”
It could hugely help you if you find an online store that would allow you to virtually ‘try on’ various bronzer colours for free.
Be selective about where you place bronzer
It would be missing the point of bronzer for you to simply apply blanket coverage of it. You want bronzer to be on parts of the skin that are relatively exposed to the sun.
Hence, makeup artist SJ Froom has urged Good Housekeeping readers to focus on “the forehead, the bridge of the nose, the highs of the cheeks and the tip of the chin” when putting on bronzer, as “the sun always hits the highs of the complexion first.”
Blend out the bronzer
Though you now have a list of specific facial areas where bronzer ought to be applied, you also don’t want the effect to look too abrupt.
This is why, when you put on bronzer, you should be diligent in blending it out — and then blending it even further. Through gently blending in small, circular motions, you can diffuse harsh lines you could initially see when the bronzer goes onto your face.
Blend the bronzer beyond your face, too
Froom has emphasised the need “to bronze the neck and décolleté” as well as the face, since a seemingly tanned face would look bizarre if the neck remained pale.
She has advocated “applying the bronzer on either side of the neck, and beneath the collarbones”, while you should also be careful not to neglect the hairline. Otherwise, it could be left with obvious white lines betraying the fact that you are wearing bronzer.
Master the art of using liquid bronzer to convincing effect
While a powder bronzer might seem like a more beginner-friendly option, once you have thoroughly accustomed yourself with using it, you might want to switch to using a liquid bronzer.
That’s because a liquid bronzer can actually achieve the most realistic-looking results when used in the right way. It is especially recommended if you are striving to create the illusion that you aren’t even wearing makeup.
The bronzer bundles from ICONIC London include liquid-bronzer-and-glossing-brush sets which can assist users in building up subtle finishes on the bronzing front.
See some more of my beauty posts here
