Bronzer | Beauty and Fashion Tech

Bobbi Brown Nude Collection Shimmer Block

I am a sucker for neutral/nude shades, and Bobbi Brown is pretty much the best for that stuff, so I just had to order up some items from her Nude Collection. I wasn’t disappointed! The first item I picked out was the Bobbi Brown Nude Shimmer Brick .

This compact gives a nice sheer shimmering bronze for the cheeks, and the individual strips can also be worn as shimmery eye shades. The color wears well, and the overall bronzing effect was perfect for my pale skin. Below are swatches of the individual strips. The larger swatch at the end are the shades mixed together.

This is a collection, so I imagine that the Nude Shimmer Brick won’t be around forever.

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Popularity: 2% [?]

MAC Mineralize Skin Finish Trio

MAC cosmetics has some new Mineralize Skin Finish items out for summer. I was sent a MAC Mineralize Skin Finish Trio in Triple Fusion, which works quite well with my fair skin.

The trios consist of a couple of bronzer shades and a pinker blush shade. They are fairly adjustable depending on where you sweep your brush. I mix the three shades together for a light bronzer/blush look. The effect is nice for summer where too much blush can look garish. The skin finish shades have a bit of shimmer to them, but are not overdone. So they work for natural looks and for night and day. My MAC Skin Finish Trio has become my go to bronzer/blush, which is not surprising since I frequently used a different MAC Skin Finish a lot before my trio arrived. It is a quality product with a fairly decent price.

I use a MAC Duo Fibre Face Brush to apply bronzers, which works wonderfully for either a bronzer or blush. Shopping hint: for a limited time, check out the Nordstrom Exculsives MAC 5 Brush Set which also includes this brush with a shorter handle for almost the same price as the single brush. This is a limited edition set, but they put out similar set again at the Holidays).

Popularity: 2% [?]

Pur Minerals Perfect Starter Kit

Like many mineral makeup companies, Pur Minerals offers a starter kit. I gave one a try, and was generally impressed.

The starter kit comes with the following:

4-in-1 Pressed Mineral Makeup: What I liked right off about this item was that it was pressed. Pressed mineral makeup is much easier to apply than loose powder and it makes much less of a mess. Pur Minerals’ foundation also has fairly high coverage, making it good for covering melasma, acne, or redness. I thought the coverage was much higher than Bare Minerals or Everyday Minerals (including Everyday Minerals’ heavier coverage items). The makeup wore well for me for an entire day and never felt dry or cakey. It also wasn’t obnoxiously shiny like some other brands (especially Bare Minerals) can be. The mineral makeup is free of oil, alcohol, talc, fragrances, preservatives and chemical dyes. It also includes shea butter and vitamin E. However, I did notice bismuth in the ingredient list, so people who are sensitive to that will want to avoid it.
Mineral Glow: This is a basic mineral bronzer that looks and wears quite nice. For those who like a bit of bronzer over blush, it is a good choice.
Universal Marble Powder in Pink: This is a multi-purpose mineral makeup that can be worn as a blush or highlighter. It has a nice flattering pink tone to it. Because it is pressed, it is easy to use and carry.
The Chisel Makeup Brush: Pur Minerals makes brushes of OK quality. The chisel Makeup Brush is the right size and type for good application of the mineral foundation. Mine occasionally loses hair though, which I would not normally expect in a brush that is sold individually at $22. Regardless, it still is a good applicator.

Pur Minerals starter kits retail for $35 and are a good way to try out the company’s products at a decent value. You can purchase Pur Minerals online at at ULTA Beauty stores.

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Popularity: 2% [?]

Nars Makeup Technique Video: A Healthy Radiant Complexion

Nars is releasing a set of short makeup technique videos. In this first one, you can learn how to use Nars foundation, powder, and bronzer.

Nars Makeup Technique Video: A Healthy Radiant Complexion

Note the application of the bronzer in a number 3 movement. This is the best way to apply bronzer and the video shows it very well.

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Popularity: 2% [?]

M.A.C. Cosmetics New View Collection

M.A.C. has a great new collection out that I find very useful. So I declare this a must have product!

M.A.C. New View is a collection of mineralized baked skin finish powders for finish, contour, and highlight. M.A.C. describes New View as follows:

Natural and Shimmer. The split personality of powder now, in NewView combinations with superfine seracite and talc base to sheerly and subtly perfect skin with dimensionality and mineralized starshine. The planes of the face, the contours of the body, made dazzling with a one-two sweep. Mineralize Skinfinish duos are state-of-the-art simplicity, high-resolution finish.

Each compact contains two forms of SkinFinish—one fairly matte and one shimmery. The beauty of this is that you can use the matte to contour or generally finish your makeup, and use the shimmer for highlight. Or you can mix them together for a luminizing effect.

I tried one in light and found that it was perfect on my pale skin. There was just a hint of color from the matte to add contour and the shimmer was light and not overwhelming.

Contouring and highlighting with my complexion has always been difficult. Most products have too much color and end up looking like bronzer of blush. But New View worked perfectly. So pale girls take note! This one works quite well! This will easily become a staple item in my makeup bag.

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Popularity: 13% [?]

Sonia Kashuk Bare Minimum Pressed Powder Bronzer

I have been going through a number of Sonia Kashuk items and will be featuring a few of my favorites. One is the Sonia Kashuk Bare Minimum Pressed Powder Bronzer in Golden, although I recommend it mainly for those with fair skin.

This bronzer is quite sheer, so for a super pale girl like me, it is perfect. I use it for a just a hint of color on my cheeks and forehead, and as a bit of contouring on only my cheeks. It provides a nice tint to the face, without being overwhelming. Because it is so sheer, I don’t know that women with darker skin will have much luck with it though. Even though it appears rather dark in the package, it simply isn’t.

As with other Sonia Kashuk items, the packaging is quite nice. A brush is not included with this, but Sonia Kashuk makes a number of very affordable cosmetic brushes that would work well with the bronzer, such as this Sonia Kashuk Large Contoured/Angled Blush Brush.

Sonia Kashuk products are available at Amazon.com (linked above) and at Target stores.

Popularity: 1% [?]

Cargo Cosmetics: The Big Bronzer

Once the weather starts getting warm, I feel like wearing bronzer is more legitimate. I wear it in winter too instead of blush, but nothing says spring and summer like bronzer does!

A new one for me was CARGO The Big Bronzer Cheek Color, which I tried in the medium shade. This bronzer is indeed big. It also gives a nice glow that is not quite as shimmery as some of the other bronzers that I have tried. It also wore fine, lasting all day for me.The medium shade is pretty versatile. I could wear with in place of blusher on my fair skin, while I think medium shades of skin would wear it fine as well.Look for Cargo Cosmetics online and at major cosmetic retailers.

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