For a make-up enthusiast, bronzing is serious business. A good bronzer can mean that you don’t have to replace your foundation with one a shade deeper for the summer season. It gives dimension to the face, maximising cheekbones, sculpting noses and pacifying tired complexions. A good bronzer creates that beautiful “expensive skin” look that just sings in summer sunlight, and it does some very elegant heavy-lifting when we pare back on foundation once the weather warms up. A bad bronzer? That’s another matter. A bad bronzer means grey or orange racing stripes seething their way up faces. A bad bronzer won’t look like sun on skin, but conspicuous make-up.
If you’re investing in a luxury product that will see you all the way to September and beyond, getting the tone right is essential. You want it to work for everyday use, and ideally to adapt with your skin in different temperatures and weather conditions. So if your skin is very oily, opt for powder or a cream that is more on the matte side. If you’re on the dry side, a formulation with a little more slip and creaminess is the one for you.
For so long, paler and deeper skin tones just weren’t catered to. Chanel Les Beiges Healthy Glow Bronzing Cream in Deep Bronze (€46 at Brown Thomas) is a hero for a reason. The texture, blendability and finish are exceptional. Think French Riviera skin. The type a dream version of you might feature at one of F Scott Fitzgerald’s glamorous but debauched house parties. It now comes in three shades for different skin tones — this one is ideal for deeper skin.
If you’re paler and prefer a matte finish — not everyone loves a radiant finish — Victoria Beckham Matte Bronzing Brick in 01 (€60 at victoriabeckhambeauty.com) is sensitive to the real tone of paler skin. It won’t flood you in tangerine tones, instead veiling skin with a realistic peachy bronze that really looks like sun on fair skin.
Rose Inc Solar Infusion Soft-Focus Cream Bronzer in Seychelles (€35 at Space NK) is a new and exceptionally clever bronzer. A very light wash of a deeper shade can even work on paler skin, though it comes in four shades. Add more opacity however, and you have a full-on contour product. It blurs the skin gently but doesn’t contain any brash glitteriness, so it still looks like skin. The deepest shade — Capri — is beautiful on deep skin tones.
For bronzing pros who like to customise tones and textures, the Vieve Dimension Face Palette in Dawn (€48 at Brown Thomas) is the ideal choice. It contains a bronzer, highlighter and two blush tones that can of course all be worn separately on face and eyes. However, take a dash of the blush intense and blend it over the bronzing tone, and you instantly have a warmer, more light-reflective bronzer. This is an ideal choice for holiday bronzers, and those who like to play around with products.
Product of the Week
Dyson Airwrap Multi-Styler (€549 at dyson.ie)
