Bronzer Blunders

This week I am so happy to introduce a guest blogger, our own Creative Brand Designer (and trend spotter extraordinaire) Courtney Maum. Here is her wonderful and timely advice about how to avoid bronzer baddies and look like a golden goddess all summer (and all year) long.

Bronzer Blunders: 4 tips to get your glow on (correctly) this summer

If ever there was a dividing line between girls-in-the-know and girls-in-the-no-no, it would be drawn with bronzer. When it’s used correctly, bronzer gives us ladies an immediate allure of sun-kissed sensuality. When it’s used incorrectly, well…the word oompa-loompa comes to mind.

Here’s how to turn bronzer blunders into bronzer wonders in no time flat.

Follow the sun: Make sure to apply sun-kissed color where the sun would kiss you. Stick to the cheeks and the bridge of the nose, and avoid the jawline. Better still, follow the sun outside and bring a mirror with you. If you look “dirty” or “orange”, go back inside and tone things down.

Remember you have a neck: And you have a nice one! Your face should never be a different color than the rest of you. Don’t trust a compact mirror to tell you whether or not you’re ready to step out into the wide, wide world. Trust a full size mirror, or an honest friend.

Know when to shine: I love me some shimmer. Who doesn’t? But I recently saw a picture of myself rocking a golden goddess look during the après-midi, and you know what? Instead of shimmer, I saw shine. So unless you’re so fabulous you spend your days flitting from one red carpet to the next, stick to a matte look for the daytime, and shimmer for playtime.

Hot tips:

• Pressed powders are ideal for a matte, daytime-appropriate look. (Try So-Bronze 1 for classic terra-cotta color with gold mica flecks so teeny tiny, they add glow, rather than sparkle).
• When the magic hour hits, reach for 24-Karat Gold Dust to give a delicately gilded look to cheeks, eyes and lips. But don’t stop there – mix it with a moisturizer for the décolleté or into styling product for your hair!

Do the Duo: A bronzer and blush combo is the easiest way to get a natural looking flush with just the right amount of shimmer. A large brush, like the Kabuki, will pick up the perfect dose of color to give your face a warm, multidimensional look.

Hot tips:

• So-Bronze 1 and So-Bronze 2 offer a blush and a bronzer in one pretty package, while Moonglow and Sunbeam Quad Bronzer feature four different shades so you can blend your way to beautiful.

Glow on, girls!