Top 3 Bronzers

I wanted to take the time today to list my top 3 bronzers (in no particular order) which I mainly use to contour my face with and sometimes use as eyeshadow. All these bronzers are fairly different from one another but these work best for my needs and fair complexion.

CoverGirl Trublend Bronzer in Golden Sunrise
($8.29 for 0.63oz)
A little of this loose powder bronzer (on a brush) goes a long way (this has lasted me forever), it's build-able and great if you want to do some seriously dark contouring as well.

NARS Bronzing Powder in Laguna
($38 for 0.25oz)
This bronzer goes on looking less intense than it seems and it looks the most natural since it blends out well (maybe a little too well at times) and ultimately gives a subtle natural contoured bronze look (great for subtle nose contouring). You can also get this as a duo with the ever-so popular 'Orgasm' blush.

Flower in Gloriously Golden
($9.98 for 0.28oz)
For a bronzer that lasts all day long this is the one to get (love!) as it's build-able with a smidge of blendability (apply with a light hand). This also comes paired with a sweet baby pink blush.

Bronzed Face for Fair Skin

I noticed that a lot of people have questions about bronzer and application so this post is just to give you my advice on applying it to the face and creating a nice natural tan appearance for fair skinned individuals.

For some reason I've noticed a lot of people say to apply bronzer where the sun would naturally hit your face. I find that to be horrible advice, especially for fair skinned individuals like myself that naturally sunburn and possibly freckle. However, if you want to add a light highlight shade to your face than you would want to apply that where the light would naturally hit your face. I find that applying bronzer to the contours of your face is much more appealing and doesn't give you that dirty appearance if it had been applied to where the light naturally hits. You also want to blend your contours expanding it out a bit on the areas where light doesn't naturally hit your face but focus most of it around the sides of the forehead, under the neck, along the jaw line and the sides of your nose.

Applying a blush will look more natural than just adding a tan shade to a fair complexion and it can also make for a more youthful appearance. Being fair skinned and knowing that when you get sun you probably turn a pinkish shade I like to use a very light pink blush on the apples of my cheeks and sometimes the bridge of the nose (avoid the tip of the nose so you don't look like Rudolf!) during warmer months. During winter months I'd go with a bit more intense blush shade since you will be exposed to the cooler climate and you probably won't get sunburn (unless you happen to be skiing!).

I'd also advise using a tinted moisturizer (or mix some of your liquid foundation with your face moisturizer) all over your face and neck if you're fair skinned and want to look a bit tanner or add more color to your complexion, this will help give you an all around tan appearance when followed with my bronzing advice above.

You probably don't want to neglect your eyes when going for a naturally tan look so apply an off-white matte shade (or skin tone shade) all over the lid (or a gold shade) along with an off-white shimmer shade under the brows, you can then either use the bronzer you applied to your face or a similar colored eyeshadow blended into your crease. You may also want to darken your brows slightly with an eyebrow shadow if they are blonde in color. Add some brown or black-brown mascara to your lashes and your eyes are complete (you can also line your eyes or add a bit more depth to the eye with a dark brown eyeshadow if you want to be a bit bolder).

With a nude tan face on fair complexions almost any lipstick shade will work but I'd probably avoid the pale pastel shades which can make you look too washed out, especially during summer months. For a more natural tan approach try a bronze lip color (like Rimmel's lipstick in Summer Angel).

Neutrogena Healthy Skin Blends Natural Radiance Bronzer - Review

The Neutrogena Healthy Skin Blends Natural Radiance Bronzer in Sunkissed 30 has been overlooked in my makeup collection for awhile now and I just recently started trying it out again to see why it was not getting any use thus far. So...I decided to do a super quick and short review on it.

This bronzer is too orange for my fair colored skin tone first of all however, the Neutrogena Healthy Skin Blends Blush and the Translucent Oil-Control Powder are decent on me. This bronzer is not quite dark enough to be a contour shade for my personal preference so I can't go that route with this. This does seem to stay on throughout work, which would be great had I liked this on myself. Overall this is not a product I will be rushing back to anytime soon, unless I happen to turn Snookey orange.