It is officially summer as of today, and for the love of all that is holy, it is FINALLY frickin nice outside here in Minnesota. It was 80 something out today and not a cloud in the sky. So I busted out my swimsuit, SPF 55 sunscreen and hung out by my pool (yes my pool is a hard plastic kiddie pool purchased from Menards. Judge me. Go ahead.) It. was. awesome. I also took a cat nap in the hammock. Also. Awesome.
So in honor of summer I thought I would do a few summer beauty posts for you. To start off we are going to look at some of my fave bronzers for your makeup routine along with a recommendation and thoughts on self-tanner.
Bronzer. Bronzers can be an awesome thing, when done right. Bronzer is NOT the same as contouring. You can use bronzer to contour, but they are not the same function. Bronzer is something you put all over your face in the spots where the sunlight would naturally hit your face (forhead, cheeks, tip of your nose, etc.), and it warms up your complexion. Contouring is something you do to create shadows on your face that will slim it down and play down larger features. There are several great bronzers you can use for contouring as well as bronzing. Note: If you are going to use a bronzer to do contouring with you have to make sure it's matte. You do NOT want to contour your face with something that has shimmer in it. Trust me.
(clock-wise from top are the E.L.F. blush countour duo, Sonia Kashuk cream bronzer, theBalm's Bahama Mama - this is really dark so I prefer to use this for contouring, I am too pale to use this as an actual bronzer, and Physicians Formula Bronzer)
Some of my fave bronzers for all over your face are:
(Left to Right: Physician's Formula Bronzer in medium, Too Faced Leopard Bronzer and Sonia Kashuk cream bronzer)
Self-Tanner. Okay so we've all seen those people who make you think "Is she part oompa-loompa, or is that self tanner?" Maybe you've been her, maybe she lives on your block. You don't want to be her. But at the same time you don't want to rock the Casper the Ghost look in the summer time.
I have two self-tanners that I actually like and use fairly consistently.
(okay this is really pissing me off. I take the picture the right way and then it uploads side ways. No matter how many times I re-save it and save-as it, the damn thing is still sideways.)
The first one is the St. Tropez bronzing mousse AND the mitt. The mitt is the key. It seriously helps you spread the tanner evenly over your body to include the elbows, knees and ankle/foot area that can be a magnet for all extra product you get on your hand. And speaking of hands, the mitt helps you avoid orangey/brown tan hands. One bottle of this mousse will last me a season and I usually toss the mitt when the bottle is empty and buy both brand new next summer.For me personally I only apply this about three times a week, but depending on the level of bronze you are trying to achieve you may want to use it more. Of course you have to wait for it to dry before getting dressed and I would avoid swimming or any sweaty activity for the first 24 hours or this will run and streak. Also, speaking from personal experience, do NOT put this on right before bed and climb onto your white sheets. There will be a bronzy outline all over your bedding in the morning and it most likely will not come out.
A little more affordable and accessible is the Jergens Natural Glow lotion. You can buy this at your local Target/Walmart and they do have a face lotion option as well. This works great, but be advised it starts to look weird when you stop using it and the "tan" fades.
What are some of your fave tanners or bronzers?
No comments:
Post a Comment