Starting Off: Bronzer

Hellooo lovelies.  Can't believe we are already at week number 4 of #theSOproject.  This week concerns Bronzer.  This is something I have used for a long time, but only started to use it in a different way and now I love it even more!  This post will explain the basics of bronzer and how it can be used, as well as my current favourites.

What is Bronzer?

Bronzer can come in powder, cream or liquid form (with powder being the most commonly used), which aims to add warmer glow to your face.  It can sometimes be off putting to people, especially those with paler skintones, but fear not - if used in the correct way and with the correct shade, bronzer can do wonders on any skintone.

How is it used?

Firstly, choosing the right shade is absolutely CRUCIAL.  If it is too dark, it will simply make your face look dirty (NOT a good look), or if completely the wrong shade you will turn into some kind of Oompa Loompa.  I don't mean to scare when I say that though, as its pretty easy to find a good bronzer, it just needs to be a few shades darker than your natural skintone.  Bronzers can come in either matte or shimmer finishes.  Matte is perfect for sculpting and contouring, while shimmer is great for adding a subtle glow.  Don't go too overboard on the shimmer though - a little shimmer is good, but some bronzers out there (usually the cheaper kiddy ones) are complete shimmer glitter mashups, which is also not a good look.

There are a few ways to use bronzer;

• A light covering all over the face just to add a little warmth to your complexion.
• For contouring the nose, cheekbones and temples, to sculpt the face and make it appear thinner.
• In a backwards '3' shape at each side of the face to add a summer glow to the areas the sun would naturally hit.

The Gorgeous Kim Kardashian when she took to Instagram to show how she contours her face using Bronzer & Highlighter

My Current Favourites

I've been using bronzer since I first started using makeup, but used to simply brush loads of shimmer all over my face (I dread to think what I looked like, ha).  But since learning a little bit more about makeup, I have learnt the better and more subtle ways of adding a summer glow.  I am getting into contouring lately and really loving it the more I practise.  Contouring is the way I choose to use bronzer most these days, by adding a little under my cheekbones using either my MAC 168 Large Angled Contour Brush, or my Real Techniques Contour Brush.  However, I do sometimes use my real Techniques Blush Brush to add a glow to my cheeks, forehead and chin if I'm a little stuck for time.

My favourite bronzers of the moment are;

• Bourjois Delice De Poudre Bronzing Powder (aka Bourjois Chocolate Bronzer)
• W7 Honolulu Bronzing Face Powder (a dupe for Benefit Hoola, although I haven't used Hoola so can't comment. Love this for contouring)
• Soap&Glory Solar Powder Bronzing Powder
• I have also been loving Bourjois Bronzing Primer, but I use this UNDER my foundation or sometimes on it's own for a lighter coverage.

Bronzers and Tools.  I forgot to add my MAC 168 Brush to the pic, wooopsie!

So there you go.  That's bronzer.   Hope this post helps but if you need more help there are thousands of images and videos on google for how to apply bronzer in the correct ways.

What's your favourite bronzer and technique?