Category: Bronzers
0 Harmonie Poudre De Soleil – Summertime De Chanel Collection- My review
This beautiful collection from Chanel “Summertime De Chanel” screams summer. It includes a mixture of sophisticated nude & coral lips, a mix of muted browns and a focus on glowing bronzed skin!
Chanel- always keeping it classy- opt for pretty simple and subtle shades instead of extra bright hues for the summer.
As Chanel describes it, “Sun-kissed cheeks, magnetic eyes, and radiant beauty”.
So I have this bronzer from the collection- and I can tell you- from just seeing it- you will feel that it is the MOST natural bronzer you will ever see, due to its very subtle colors. BTW- this bronzer is used on the model’s face in the above photo.
The bronzer “Harmonie Poudre De Soleil” #907 Sable Beige is the bronzer’s name. The collection does have another one called “Sable Rose” with some pink & gold to give some hint of blush.
It comes in a cute velvety pouch
Sable Beige bronzer has a mixture of beiges & browns. You will notice that the colors range from soft to intense, all in form of blocks! This will make it easier to swipe the different colors and give your face a beautiful mixed glow (light & dark)- Not just dark as other bronzers (orangy result)!
So it has 7 color strips. They blend beautifully and naturally contour (which I LOVE- not a dark shown contour).
If you want a super natural bronzer- this is the way to go. For extra dark bronzed look- this is the wrong choice.
However, it will go beautifully if you are tanned & want to add a hint of a natural glow. You will feel that this bronzer is super lightweight!
I like using these type of bronzers/blushes with a KABUKI brush- easier to use and take on all the different colors.
Can’t wait to be fully tanned again in a week so I can really feel how this bronzer will give me a natural glow!
My swatch is below- notice how very natural it looks- a beautiful reflecting sheen… but you can always add more for it to show
The bronzer’s retail price is 28 BD
Summertime De Chanel Full collection is available in Bahrain. It’s limited editon so get yours asap! It is one of those chanel powders (like Blush De Horizon-pink) which are causing a huge stirr in the beauty industry!
You can get yours at:
2 Colorescience Pro- the innovative choice of mineral makeup!
I’m sure many of you might have not heard about this brand “Colorescience pro”- and so did I- until a few weeks ago when my friend introduced me to them!
I tried some samples & i must say.. they are amazing!
(a few products will be sold in my makeup workshop!!)
Lemme tell you more about this brand.
Basically, colorescience pro is a brand with NO CHEMICALS/PRESERVATIVES! All of the products are free of talc, mineral oil, alcohols, emulsifiers, dyes & perfumes. It claims to give you beautiful results without infecting your skin with harsh preservatives. The brand provides a huge line of makeup- few of lipsticks & eyeshadows, but mostly skincare & foundations (face products).
What i came to love about their products is how they stop anything from coming into your pores. Also, i love how many of their products come in a tube- a brush on one side & a powder in the other. This makes it so convenient & easy to use! I realized that their products DO cover imperfections amazingly!
Let me introduce you to some of their best products:
Sunforgettable SPF 30: a lightweight mineral powder with a barely-there feel that provides a safe, non-irritating, instant UVA and UVB sun protection. The self-dispensing powder brush makes this sheer formula easy to apply and reapply throughout the day. Shake it up & puff it on! (6 shades)
Loose Mineral Foundation: SPF 20, takes the mess out of minerals with a simple, self-dispensing powder brush. Get perfect color and coverage every time to achieve a balanced skin tone and glowing radiance. This lightweight powder formula feels as smooth as a cream and doesn’t dry the skin (13 shades)
Sunreliable Primers: SPF 30, provides a high level of non-irritating, instant broad spectrum UVA and UVB sun protection while evening skin tone and creating a more youthful texture. This comes in different types: skin brightner, skin bronzer, skin mattifier, skin soother, real menerals.
Mineral blush powder: Nothing is as classically feminine as a cheek with a healthy glow. Colorescience Pro’s Mineral Blush Powder works gracefully with your skin and foundation to add just that hint of gorgeous, natural colore. The result is a long lasting, natural looking colore that seems to come from within (5 beautiful shades)… This is my favorite.. the blushes are amazing with a hint of shimmer.
Mineral bronzer powder: Much more than just a self-tanner, Colorescience Pro’s Mineral Bronzer Powder can be used for contouring and highlighting, adding richness and warmth to your complexion. It let’s you layer and blend your colore so you can achieve a weightless, healthy-looking glow every time. (4 shades)
0 The “Holiday” Collection- from Too Faced – LUV IT!
I can’t wait to get my hands on this one! Sephora will launch this new collection soon! It’s a limited edition- and I’m in love with the soft neutrals! The collection consists of 3 collections under it!
Sweet Dreams Collection:
Consists of 15 shadows, primer (anti crease), 2 blushes, bronzer, warm golden highlighter. Also, too-faced signature Step-by-step instruction card is included.
In your Dreams Collection:
Offers 9 eyeshadows, 3 blushes, & 3 lip shades. Step-by-step guide/face chart is illustrated in the box!
Beautiful Dreamer Collection:
2 mirrored compact cases, includes shadow insurance (anti crease), fade proof, Full size Lashgasm mascara, lip gloss (sexy pink), & a pretty bag to put it in.
Glamour to go dream:
A vintage inspired palette with 8 eyeshadows, a lipgloss, bronzer and sheer blush in a slide out drawer!
5 MY PHOTO TUTORIAL- How to mend your broken eyeshadows & blushes!!!
I decided to show you how to mend your broken eyeshadows/blushes, on my own, instead of videos. It’s very easy, just follow the steps.
This is my broken eyeshadow. I love this shade, it’s Nylon-from MAC.
Take any wand or stick and crush the broken pieces even more- make it EXTRA CRUSHED
Get a coin, make sure it fits the eyeshadow exactly, same size.
Take the coin and wrap it in a tissue, like the picture below. Then keep the wrapped tissue on the side.
Go to a pharmacy and buy a “Rubbing Alcohol/ Alcohol Disinfectant” – a bottle.
After crushing the eyeshadow (within its pan), pour a few drops of alcohol on it. Make sure to not pour too much.
It has to be a thick paste. If it became to watery, let it dry for a few hours.
Take the wrapped up coin in tissue and press it on the paste. You can press & twist it in a circular motion.
It will look like this, after being pressd. You can smooth it out any way you like
Let it dry for an hour or so, then place it in your palette, if you have one.
YAY! Mission accomplished!
0 Art of Powder Collection- by MAC – Abstract powders
MAC continuously launches new products! It’s hard to keep up with them sometimes… Their new collection is Limited edition & inspired by “The masters & modern art movements”. The palettes are portrayed in colorful abstracts. It comes in 3 squared powders:
Highligher: very soft pink with some goldish yellow lines, lilac & pink
Bronzer: Bronze with a gold pearl shade mixed with pink
Eyeshadow: Graffiti design- mix of light brown, cool blue, white, orange, peachy pink, and pastel blue
Launch Date for USA: Sept 29, & October 2011 ( selected MAC stores internationally).
0 Enhance your bronzer…
So you apply your bronzer. WAITTTTTTT… Enhance it more…
Add this:
It is a cool product from a brand called “TOO FACED”—sold only in SEPHORA (Middle East).
This Pure Bronze Mineral Bronzer consists of crushed pearls. It gives you a natural tan. It creates a brighter,smoother, & more radiant complexion. It’s a loose powder form of bronzer. This unique, light reflecting shade is very easy to apply.
1.Tap a little powder into the lid.
2. Use a kabuki brush-> (picture) I use inglot’s brush,I find it better than MAC’s brush. You can find those brushes in every makeup store. With the brush, absorb the powder in a circular motion.
3. Start at the temple & move to the apple of the cheek. Also apply on the nose.
However, I tend to do it differently. I apply my normal bronzerà (hoola, cargo, mac, etc). Then on the upper cheekbones, I would highlight it only with this mineral powder to give it a glow. Make sure to blend it in.
WARNING FOR THIS PRODUCT: IT IS VERY.. VERY.. SHIMMERY. If you apply it all over your face, it would all look shimmery-glittery. So be careful. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.
0 How to properly apply bronzer?
- Get your favorite bronzer.. With a not so large fluffy powder brush (I use bobbi brown’s), dab any excess onto tissue place on cheek. Circular motion on apples and sweep along your side temples. The circle lightly at outer jaw. Make sure you don’t get anything under your eyes.
- Very lightly, diagonal sweep across each side of forehead.
(areas to apply bronzer are shaded)
- Balance your bronze by some touchups on Nose bridge + chin
- Don’t forget to balance your face with neck, so apply lightly under chin, neck + chest.
- You can add some blush to your cheeks to add some colour! Bronzer on its own might apply dull. Creamy or powder blush- your choice.
If you feel that your bronzer is not blended properly, take a KABUKI brush, and blend it with it. It should even it out. (KABUKI brush below)
Bronzers are always available in either matte or shimmer finish. If you have fine lines or wrinkles, matte is the answer. Bronzers are also available in either liquid or powder. I recommend liquid for people with extra dry skin, but the powder (mostly used) are for people with oily or combination skin.
I use Benefit’s Hoola /Cargo/NARS laguna/Mayelline’s Sunglow/MAC’s refined golden
0 THE BIG BRONZER
CARGO – The majority of you haven’t heard about this company. It’s a Canadian cosmetic line, in which product cases are made from renewable resource & easy biodegradable products. In the Middle East, it is only sold in SEPHORA. It is an amazing brand, with award winning products- especially their blushes!
Anyways, the product I wanted to introduce to you is:
THE BIG BRONZER
This award winning bronzer has gotten better, after it’s been made bigger! The advantage of this highly pigmented bronzer is that it doesn’t make you look orange. It’s different than the bronzer “Hoola” from benefit, as it is more shimmery & gives you a glow (NOT THAT SHIMMERY AS OTHER BRONZERS). It gives you a very natural + healthy tan. This stunning copper coloured won’t streak!
What’s also good about this medium shade is that it’s so versatile. It compliments all skin tones. You can wear it instead of blusher if you have fairer skin. You can wear it without foundation. You can even wear it all year round!
Make sure you use a bronzer brush with this, or a slightly big brush. I love Bobbi Brown’s bronzer brush (photo below). You can use any brush similar to it.
0 A Tinier Forehead
If you have a slightly huge forehead and don’t have bangs, then bronzer is the godsend solution. Reach for any matte bronzer (not shimmery) and a big powder brush.
Bronzing your forehead area will create a shadow, making your forehead appear smaller.
Swirl the brush into the bronzer, tap off any excess (so the shade will be light & natural), then brush it along your hairline from temple to temple 2-3 times, then do a circular motion to blend in the colour!
You can use any bronzer you like, and a good brush to go with it is the MAC 150 brush.
0 The slimming Effect
Contouring… The one thing I still struggle with. Many girls don’t do it, but it’s essential as it creates a sense of balance & adds dimension to your makeup. It is usually applied on the temple area of our cheeks, nose, eyes, & chin areas. Powder/mineral powders give a smoother satinish finish & are easier to blend than creams/liquids.
To hide your problems the solution is contouring. Whether you want a slimmer nose, cheekbones, less double chin… A great contouring kit I use is “Smashbox’s- Step by step contour kit”. It includes 3 shades (contour,bronze,highlight). A contour brush is included (SLANTED) + a mini picture with instructions on where to apply each shade.
Step 1: use the base of the contour brush, apply the darkest shade (contour) to the sides of nose, jaw line & underneath cheekbones for a SLIMMING EFFECT. To enhance cheekbones, suck in our cheeks & apply the darkest shade to the hollows.
Step 2: using the side of the contour brush, apply the bronzer (middle shade) to the nose, cheeks, chin & forehead to add warmth to the complexion. To minimize a double chin, apply this shad along the jaw line and blend it towards your neck which will create depth & hides the extra fat.
Step 3: using the tip of the brush, apply the highlighter (lightest shade) to the bridge of the nose, cupids bow & above cheekbones + brows to light the high planes of the face. For a small thin chin, apply the highlighter to the centre of the chin.
BLENDING BLENDING & BLENDING is again, what helps everything to stand out without being blotchy & even.
0 The St. Tropez face
Every summer, when I get really tanned, I stock up on St. Tropez’s Gradual tan for the Face. (2 shades)
If you have built your natural tan, and want to maintain it for a while then you should get this. They sell it at boots pharmacy, or online. This is not just any normal fake tan cream. It will go great with your makeup.
Apply a coin size on your palms and put it all over your face. It will act as a primer, so you can apply some colours now. Do not apply foundation on this, since you have a lovely tanned face. Here you should apply “Hoola” by benefit, topped up by Mineralize Skinfinish natural powder. Do those steps if you just had a hot day on the beach/pool and absorbed some color. Trust me, you will look amazing!
0 The Finishing Effect
I know most of you just apply foundation, bronzer on the side, top it off with a little blush and go! Well… Not so fast! If you havn’t done what I’m about to tell you, then you havn’t experienced how to have a FLAWLESS face. Let’s just say, after COLOURING YOUR FACE–> ( Eyeshadow +foundation)… and right before you apply your blush.. USE THIS..
