How to wear: Bronzer

Now that we’re in the middle of winter our complexions have changed from sun-kissed to sun-missed. It’s tempting to make up for what the sun lacks with a heavy dose of bronzer – but don’t. Chances are that just as you’ve needed to upgrade your foundation to suit your winter colour that heavy handed bronzing approach you had all summer will look spectacularly odd in winter.
The thing is that most of us don’t apply bronzer correctly and even if we do we probably have the wrong colour for our skin – you shouldn’t pick the colour based on what you want your skin to look like, rather what suits your complexion pre-bronzed.
Bronzers usually come in three colours – light, medium and dark. Those with fair skin should always choose the lightest colour in the range. Medium skin the middle colour and dark can wear the deepest. Make sure the colour looks golden – not brown and test it along the jawline.
Bronzer looks best when worn over tinted moisturiser or foundation. Sweep bronzer around the hairline, jawline, cheekbones, forehead, chin and neck. Do not use it on cheeks only as this will look strange. Always, always wear a blush on the apples of your cheeks to make the effect more natural (but stay away from peach or orange based blush as this will emphasise the golden tones in the bronzer).
If by chance, you’ve gone a bit OTT and it’s all too dark pare back the colour by swirling your brush in translucent powder and sweep it over. It’s also a good idea to use translucent powder first if you have oily skin or oily areas. This will stop the bronzer from pooling in those spots and going too dark.
If you’re looking for a darker colour don’t sweep it all over the face as it will look unnatural and flat – use a tinted moisturiser or foundation first. Remember the cardinal rule with bronzer – it should go where the sun kisses the skin to highlight the face.
Bronzer works best when the rest of the face remains beachy – it’s not really suited to some of the more dramatic looks that are out this winter – the dark eye or vibrant lip. In fact one of the nice things about winter is that it forces us to celebrate our pale complexions by choosing eye and lip colours that suit a more porcelain canvas.

What do you do? Do you continue your summertime bronzed look in winter or do you try something different?

Tamsin xo