Beauty / Bronzers That Are Perfect For The Brown Goddess

Bronzers That Are Perfect For The Brown Goddess

Beauty Jul 14, 2020

by Meena Khan | Features Editor - Beauty

What is more beautiful than brown skin? Bronze skin that is kissed with a touch of bronzer because South Asian women are meant to be touched by the sun — without the damaging UV rays of course! Check out these bronzers that are perfect for brown skin.

At first blush, it seems odd to add bronzer to naturally warm skin tones but it is no more odd than adding bronzer to naturally fairer and cooler skin tones to achieve a sun kissed look. A bronzer, when applied properly, lifts the overall complexion, infusing the face and neck with a healthy glow. The glow suits South Asian skin tones in particular, because we are already blessed with warmth. Bronzer just turns up the heat and adds more zest to our beauty beat.

SIMPLE COMPLEXION PREPARATION

The trick to successful bronzer application is to perfect the complexion, i.e. minimising dark circles and spots, with a touch of base application. During the summer, I love to tap a stick foundation such as Benefit Hello Happy Air Stick Foundation (12 shades available) on my trouble areas such as around my mouth, my under eyes and atop my colonies of brown spots on my cheeks.

bronzers — **Bronzers That Are Perfect For The Brown Goddess: Benefit Hello Happy Air Stick Foundation.** Photo Credit: www.benefitcosmetics.com

I use my freshly washed fingers to tap the product in place, and then use a sponge to spot apply a translucent powder such as Stellar Beauty Cosmic Face Setting Powder in Glow 02 (3 shades available) to ensure that my colour remains even.

SKIN TONE AND SKIN INTENSITY – THE ANALYSIS AND THE LEXICON

Step One: Figure Out Your Skin Tone

The next step is bronzer application, and the first decision is to select the correct product based on your skin tone and glow goal. Skin tone in bronzer speak is analyzed through your undertone, and intensity of pigment. You determine your skin tone by looking at your wrists to discern the colour of your veins. Here’s a quick chart to help you figure out your skin tone:

VEIN COLOUR	SKIN TONE
Green	Warm
Blue	Cool
Barely visible	Neutral

Step Two: Establish Your Skin’s Pigment Density

The next step is to establish your skin’s pigment intensity, i.e. fair, medium or dark. In many bronzer shades the intensity is indicated by the number where the lower ones denote shades for fair skin tones while higher numbers denote shades for darker ones. Some brands use adjectives to indicate the intensity, for example, beige is for fair skin, honey is for medium skin and cocoa is for dark skins. Remember that unlike complexion correction products, bronzers do not need to perfectly match your skin. The bronzer should appear to be a natural enhancement of your already lovely brown skin. Consequently, several South Asian women of varying skin intensities can be enhanced by the same bronzer even though their foundations and concealers shades vary greatly.

GREAT BRONZERS FOR SOUTH ASIAN GODDESSES

Once you understand your skin tone, you need to decide your glow goal. Bronzers come in a variety of finishes such as shimmer and matte, and formulae such as powder and cream. I have found five bronzers that would flatter a plethora of South Asian beauties, and they are listed herein below:

Charlotte Tilbury Airbrush Bronzer (4 shades available) is a matte bronzer that is designed to add a hint of sun. The compact contains a finely-milled, tightly-packed powder that is subtle and perfect for bronzer novices.

Fenty Beauty Cheeks out Freestyle Cream Bronzer (7 shades available) looks intense in the pan but when you dab it onto your face, you receive a soft glow that easily blends into the skin. If your skin tends to be dry, the creamy finish is ideal.

Vasanti Mineral Bronzer in Sun Peach Glow (3 shades available), is an interesting bronzer-blush hybrid. The powder looks like a glowing sunset, and is far removed from the warmer, classic, sepia-hued products. However, on a dark skin tone, the depth of the sunset really makes dark skin glow.

Nars Bronzing Powder in Laguna (4 shades available) is a classic bronzer that contains a hint of gold shimmer. It adds glamour, and imparts the impression that you spent the day at the beach;

Guerlain Terracotta & Glow Palette (universal shade) contains three pans of product in a handy compact. The first pan is a cooler shade of brown that is ideal for contouring lightly, the second pan contains the soft shimmery bronzer and the third pan is split between a gold and pink blushes. This palette is perfect for people who are well-versed in applying complexion products.

APPLICATION – PIROUETTING TO A SUN KISSED GLOW

Once you have selected your bronzer, the next step is application. The trick is to not confuse bronzer and blush application. The bronzer is designed to enhance the complexion and add glow to the face.The blush is designed to enhance the cheekbones and to bring colour to the face. The difference in the roles means that the bronzer should be applied with a light hand, like a ballerina who pirouettes across the stage.

It is important to use a specialized brush such as the Charlotte Tilbury the Air-Brush, a retractable, travel-friendly brush, that is tightly packed with semi-flexible hairs.

The brush when tapped across the surface of a powder bronzer picks up a smidge of product, which is the perfect amount because bronzer can quickly transform into a muddy look when applied with a heavy hand. The key is to build intensity with multiple applications, rather than applying a wallop of product and then using wipes to remove it.

The application is fairly easy and I find it helpful to think of pirouettes as I apply the bronzer:

Once you have passed over the surface of the bronzer, tap the brush to remove excess particles, and place the brush on one side of the forehead and tap it to the opposite end, such that you have only applied the bronzer on the centre third of the forehead, which is the part that protrudes and absorbs the most sun.
Pass the brush over the bronzer again, and this time place it on a temple and pass the brush across the face, such that you touch the cheekbones and the tip of your nose and arrive at the opposite temple. As with the forehead, you will have lightly applied bronzer to other jutting parts of the face.
Pass the brush over the bronzer again, and this time dab it on the point of the chin, and then the collar bones, so that there is a continuity of glow from the forehead to the exposed neck area.

If you have opted for a creamy bronzer, make sure to apply it to same areas of the face and neck. Your application tool, will be freshly washed fingers, preferably the pointer and middle ones. I like to position them tightly together, and then apply the bronzer with a series of light dabs. I repeat the dabs until the bronzer is diffused into a natural glow.

SUNNY DAYS AND SKIN TO MATCH

Bronzer is an integral part of my vanity during the summer because I do tan, and I want to optimize my beauty by celebrating my skin colour. It is imperative that you identify your skin tone and then select a product that helps you celebrate your brown beauty. Once you have the product, all you need is a light hand to enhance what you already have — a gorgeous complexion.

Meena Khan | Features Editor - Beauty

Author

Meena (@meenalaregina) always loved the idea of exploring the non-conventional idea of beauty. Having grown up as a pimply chubby teenager, she wanted to see the change in the world that best reflected your uniqueness as well. Her well-received collection of blogs where she tries on various beauty p...

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Bronzers That Are Perfect For The Brown Goddess

by Meena Khan | Features Editor - Beauty

Meena Khan | Features Editor - Beauty

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