By Despite what you’ve heard, summer isn’t cancelled — because even while social distancing and keeping away from crowds, sun rays and longer days will still do their thing. So how do we snap into summer with our vitamin D-deficient complexions that continue to log unprecedented hours on Zoom calls? That’s where bronzer comes in.
rn rnSince we’re not about to walk back on skin care routines stepped up during months of quarantine, not just any bronzer will do. This year, we’re reaching for formulas that also fight free radicals, hydrate and offer other essential skin care benefits.
rnAhead, we’ve rounded up some of the most innovative bronzer-skin care hybrids to try this summer. What’s more, we’ve gleaned tips on how to use them from celebrity makeup artist Terri Apanasewicz, who famously gives Cindy Crawford and Kaia Gerber their sun-kissed glows and offers virtual one-on-one classes on how to nail red carpet-worthy makeup for ourselves.
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SEE NEXT PAGE: Kosas The Sun Show Bronzer, $34″,”Kosas The Sun Show Bronzer, $34 If you’re looking for a glow that’s more casual and less Kardashian, consider this sunshine in a compact. The buildable, talc-free powder is made with moisturizing meadowfoam oil and shea butter, and feels incredibly soft. The shimmery powder goes on light for a diffused finish that doesn’t require the kind of blending that a more matte and concentrated pigment might. In the end, it doesn’t look like you’re wearing bronzer, but are radiating health, which Apanasewicz says is exactly the point. “Creating a glow with bronzer should be about enhancing your own beauty and feeling great, not advertising the product you’re wearing,” she says.
SEE NEXT PAGE: The Lip Bar Fresh Glow Duo, $22″,”The Lip Bar Fresh Glow Duo, $22 Looking for a bronzer, brush and mirror all housed in a single, chic AF kit? With this multi-layered compact, The Lip Bar has you covered and then some (there’s blush inside, too). What’s more, it comes in five shades to compliment light to deep skin tones and is made with natural ingredients like kaolin clay and cornstarch, which is used instead of talc.
To achieve the most natural glow with a powder bronzer, Apanasewicz suggests applying it to high points of the face in a circular motion with the fluffiest brush you can find.
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SEE NEXT PAGE: Tower 28 Bronzino Illuminating Cream Bronzer, $20″,”Tower 28 Bronzino Illuminating Cream Bronzer, $20 Like any bronzer, this one (which comes in two shades) was made to be used on cheeks, forehead, nose and chin. But we’ve actually been using it on eyelids for the easiest-to-apply shadow — it delivers a sheer wash color that makes blue eyes pop. No matter where you put it, the burnished shades (made with moisturizing mango butter) make skin look as if we’ve spent the day in a sunshine daze, not a makeup studio.
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SEE NEXT PAGE: Orveda Botanical Booster, $193″,”Orveda Botanical Booster, $193 Technically, this vegan, prebiotic liquid-gel is billed as a skin serum, made with bio-fermented kombucha black tea and marine enzymes to reinforce the skin’s barrier and hydrate. But thanks to the inclusion of caramel extract, the serum imparts a beautiful amber tint to the skin, effectively warming all-over skin tone and erasing the need for a separate bronzer.
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SEE NEXT PAGE: Cocokind Chagaglo Bronze Highlighter, $12″,”Cocokind Chagaglo Bronze Highlighter, $12 The bummer about using powder bronzers directly over liquid or cream foundations and tinted moisturizers? They tend to grab onto base makeup and look patchy instead rather than glide across the skin for optimum blending (unless you’ve set your base makeup with translucent powder first, Apanasewicz says).
Cream bronzers glide over makeup and moisturizers, no setting powder step required. This vegan cream bronzer is made in an easy-to-swipe stick form for speedy application and packs hydrating mango seed butter, anti-inflammatory chaga mushroom and a shimmery gold tone that made our complexion look supremely healthier with a single swipe.
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SEE NEXT PAGE: Ilia DayLite Highlighting Powder, $34″,”Ilia DayLite Highlighting Powder, $34 “There’s a fine line between glowy and oily,” Apanasewicz notes. If stacking cream products amounts to more of an oil slick than a believable faux California tan, a powder bronzer may be your best bet. After using a translucent powder to set foundation, dust your forehead, chin and cheekbones with a matte bronzer, like this vegan version — made with hydrating jojoba seed oil and silica beads — which takes the shine off of pores with a blurring effect.
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SEE NEXT PAGE: Colorescience Sunforgettable Total Protection Color Balm SPF 50 Bronze, $29″,”Colorescience Sunforgettable Total Protection Color Balm SPF 50 Bronze, $29 A few swipes of this shimmer-flecked cream on the high planes of the face not only make us look like we’ve been at the beach all summer, it adds another layer of chemical-free sun protection too, thanks to a generous 12.5 percent helping of zinc oxide. (When used on lips and eyelids, this stick also makes for a very pretty tinted lip balm and sheer shadow, too.)
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SEE NEXT PAGE: ReVive Glow Elixir, $125″,”ReVive Glow Elixir, $125 Part bronzer, part highlighter and part nourishing skin oil (thanks to fatty acid-rich shea butter, sunflower and crambe seed oils and antioxidant-packed vitamin E), this multitasker provides one of the fastest ways to fake a fresh-from-Capri glow. “Mix it into your moisturizer or foundation for an all-over warm-up that’s very subtle,” Apanasewicz says. “Or apply it over foundation and to the high-planes of the face with a makeup brush or beauty blender for a sun-kissed highlight.”
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SEE NEXT PAGE: Flower Beauty Heatwave Bronzing Essence, $16″,”Flower Beauty Heatwave Bronzing Essence, $16 If you’re looking to fake a deeper tan with just a hint of shimmer, this bronzing gel (which includes hydrating squalane and jojoba seed oil) may be just the thing. Since applying this formula with fingers can leave a streak-y finish, Apanasewicz suggests dotting a few drops on the back of the hand, then blending into skin with a contour brush for a healthy (and authentic-looking) glow.
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SEE NEXT PAGE: Yensa Silk Bronzing Base Sunlit Glow, $38″,”Yensa Silk Bronzing Base Sunlit Glow, $38 This buildable bronzer is made to be worn on its own or over foundation, but Apanasewicz notes that it can also be applied beneath foundation to add dimension, without looking too contoured. The cream-to-powder formula blends seamlessly when applied with the included brush and boasts eight botanical ingredients — including chia seeds, seaweed and black tea — to hydrate and brighten skin.
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SEE NEXT PAGE: Charlotte Tilbury Airbrush Bronzer, $55″,”Charlotte Tilbury Airbrush Bronzer, $55 This skin smoothing, pore-blurring bronzer was so anticipated ahead of its launch this month, that 5,000 people joined a waiting list to get first dibs. Luckily, it does not disappoint. The silky, skin care-infused powder solves for two issues makeup artist and brand founder Charlotte Tilbury consistently ran up against when using traditional bronzer: a drying effect (addressed with the inclusion of hyaluronic acid) and a tendency to catch on skin and makeup (bypassed with the use ultrafine powder). Bonus: It’s also packaged in a refillable compact.
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SEE NEXT PAGE: Chanel Les Beiges Healthy Glow Bronzing Cream, $50″,”Chanel Les Beiges Healthy Glow Bronzing Cream, $50 This cream-gel bronzer is made from a coconut oil base, but magically applies with a silky texture that transforms into a matte finish. Since tapping it in with fingers can cause foundation to shift underneath, Apanasewicz suggests using a brush to blend the cream in without mucking up base makeup.
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