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.
Since 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.
Ahead, 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
