This Week’s Beauty Panel challenge from FASHION Magazine was how to apply bronzer.

A few weeks ago, I was in the Dominican. During that time, I was applying SPF 50 on my face every hour and SPF 30 every few hours on my body.

Why apply two different SPFs for the face and body?
I’m worried about sun spots, wrinkles, and any signs of pre-mature aging on my face.  So I definitely want to protect my face more.

Because my body was a few shades darker than my face, bronzer was my best friend to match the two together.

What You’ll Need:

• Matte Bronzer – Because I have oily skin, I tend to use powders. But if you have drier skin, feel free to use creams. I prefer using a matte formulation as I like to use bronzer to contour and make my round face slimmer. Any formulations with shimmer will highlight the areas I’m trying to slim down.  I love using NYC Sun ‘N’ Bronze Bronzing Powder in Coney Island Glow as it contains two shades of brown that will allow me to make the perfectly match my face to my body.
• Pointed or Dome Shaped Brush – Any brush that has a pointed tip or slim edge will do. I love using Real Techniques Contour Brush as it precisely applies and blends out the product.  Also the bristles are super soft on your skin.
• Blush – To give more life to my face, I prefer to using a pink blush.  One that I have used continuously and hit pan with is Cargo Blush in Catalina.
• Blush Brush – Any brush will do.  Lately, I’ve been using Real Techniques Expert Face Brush as I can stipple on the blush then blend it out.

Steps:

1. After applying your foundation, dip your brush into the bronzer.
2. Using the handle of the brush, place it from the middle of your ear to the corner of your lips.  This aligns with the hallows of your cheek, so you don’t need to do the infamous “fishy face”.
3. Starting from the middle of your ear, apply the bronzer and slowly move towards the corner of your lips.
4. Repeat on the other side.
5. Dip your brush again into your bronzer and apply it along the hairline and underneath the jawline.
6. Blend as needed so there are no harsh lines on your face.
7. Dip your blush brush into your blush and apply it to the apples of your cheek and blend outwards.
8. Repeat on the other side.

Tips:

• You want to apply blush after bronzer so your blush does not get muddy.
• Imagine yourself writing an “E” and “3” on your face when bronzing up your face.