A Fail-Safe Guide On How To Use & Apply Bronzer Properly

05 Jul, 2022

By Andie Reeves

So, what’s the deal with bronzer? You may already use a blush, highlighter and contour powder. Why do you need a bronzer in your makeup kit as well? Exactly what does a bronzer do? Give you more shimmer - or what?

For starters, a bronzer is used to add colour, warmth and dimension to your face (all very subtly), making you look healthy and glowing. Who wouldn’t want that?

If you want a natural sun-kissed glow, or are a beginner just starting out, applying a bronzer will give you similar results to other face makeup basics - just a touch more toned down. It’s one of those all-in-one makeup must-haves for a quick and easy natural look.

But if you’re in the mood to channel your inner makeup artist, bronzer has a role there too - working together with your blush, highlighter and contour powder to subtly enhance your whole face. Also, bronzer isn’t always shimmery; you get matte formulas too. So even if you just want the warmth without the glitz you should still add a bronzer to your makeup bag.

Still, they can be risky - it’s easy to go wrong with bronzer. Here’s exactly how to select the best bronzer for your skin, some easy tips and tricks on how to apply it right - and nail this gorgeously glowing look…

The Best Bronzer For Your Skin

Shimmer or matte? It depends…
We all know the difference at face value, one is shiny and one is not, but they also add completely different elements to your look.

Shimmer bronzers contain light-reflecting particles. They are really easy to over-do and because they have a hint of glitter about them can easily look unnatural. Be sure to tap your brush a few times before slowly building up layers of your bronzer.

Shimmery shades work particularly well for fair skin (which can risk looking simply grubby when using a matte bronzer) and dark skin (as matte products can get lost on deep tones). If you have any skin texture issues or blemishes it’s best to avoid this type of bronzer as it can accentuate and add dimension to unwanted problem areas.

Matte bronzers have nothing shimmery about them. These work great on medium and olive skin and for those struggling with things such as dark marks, uneven texture and other skin issues as they are more forgiving. Our pick is Bobbi Brown Bronzing Powder in Stonestreet, a sun kissed matte bronzer. To add a glowing dewy look without looking too shiny you can use a cream bronzer, which often come in matte formulas.

The best bronzer for your skin type

While the most common bronzers come in powder form, you can also get cream and liquid bronzers. If you suffer from dry skin then a liquid or cream bronzer is going to be your best bet for a flake-free finish. Use your fingers to apply it in a stippling fashion (that means lots of little light pats). Matte products can look cakey and make dry skin look worse so go for one with a shimmer.

A subtle liquid bronzer option for dry skins is to mix Dr. Hauschka Translucent Bronzing Tint with your favourite moisturiser for a transparent slightly bronzed hue.

Those with oily skin should stick to powder and you might want to try matte formulas as super shimmery ones could make you look too shiny.

Using your bronzer right

Powder bronzers are easiest to use, especially for beginner bronzers. This doesn’t mean you need to use a powder foundation however, as powder bronzers are easy to blend and build, mainly because you are using such a small amount. If you use a powder foundation, however, you need to stick to a powder bronzer as cream or liquid bronzers will cake when layered on.

Just be sure to first set your foundation with powder before applying bronzer. Your setting powder will mattify your face, hiding all the light-catching particles that make bronzer so amazing. Rather apply your powder bronzer at the very end of your makeup routine.

Read More. Natural No-Makeup Makeup: The Savvy Girl’s Guide to Dewy Fresh-Faced Skin

The best bronzer for your skin tone

Bronzer is not a one-shade-suits-all product. Also, many people’s skin colour changes slightly with the seasons, so get a bronzer palette with more than one shade that you can use all year round.

A good go-to-rule is to choose a colour that is one or two shades darker than your skin tone. Another tip for fair to medium skins is to opt for the shade that you would naturally go if you spent time in the sun tanning.

Best bronzers for fair skin: It’s easy for bronzer to look unnatural or orange on lighter skin tones so it’s important to choose a sheer and super blendable product. Choose warm beige or rose-tinged (especially if you’re a redhead) shades that won’t make you look like you overdid the fake tan, and be sure to use a really light hand when applying.

We like Catrice Sun Glow Matt Bronzing Powder in Universal Bronze, Essence Sun Club Large Bronzing Powder in Natural and Bobbi Brown Shimmer Brick Compact in Pink Quartz.

Best bronzers for medium skin: Instead of choosing warm or cool tones opt for neutrals like brown, taupe, beige and gold, as this will give you the most natural glow. Steer clear from orange or red-undertones in particular as these always look more intense on your skin than in the palette. Avoid anything pale or pink as this will wash you out.

Try Catrice Holiday Skin Luminous Bronzer Summer in the City, Palladio Matte Bronzer in No Tan Lines, Palladio Baked Bronzer in Illuminating Tan, Revlon Skinlights Prismatic Bronzer, Bobbi Brown Shimmer Brick Compact in Bronze, or the giant Gosh Sun Powder in Metallic Gold that lasts forever (one of those gems if you can get your hands on it - unfortunately no longer in SA).

Best bronzers for olive skin: Most bronzers on the shelf will suit you, as long as it’s not too much darker than your skin tone. Shades with a hint of red about them will look particularly amazing on you, like bronze, copper or

Our product picks: Palladio Baked Bronzer Illuminating Tan, Michelle Ori Compact Bronzer in Sunkissed, Clinique True Bronze Pressed Powder Bronzer in Sunkissed and Bobbi Brown Illuminating Bronzing Powder in Bali Brown.

Best bronzers for dark skin: A sheer bronzer with a light shimmery sheen is best for your skin tone. Shimmery shades work better than matte shades that can make the complexion look dirty and muddy on a darker skin. Bronzers with a red, burgundy or orange undertone work well to add warmth and brighten deep complexions. Remember the general rule for choosing a bronzer is no more than one or two shades darker than your skin tone.

We like Passion Pro Bronzer Duo in Beach Please, Bobbi Brown Illuminating Bronzing Powder in Santa Barbara with red undertones or try Bobbi Brown’s Deep that is a darker golden brown to warm your skin.

Read More. How to Cleverly Contour and Highlight to Enhance Your Face Shape

How To Use And Apply Bronzer

Think of bronzer like perfume: it’s easy to apply too much and impossible to tone it down without a good shower. The best tool for applying bronzer is a large, soft and fluffy brush. A brush with compact bristles will apply too much product and will leave you looking more dirty than dazzling.

A common mistake is dabbing the centre of the brush in your bronzer. This will result in too much product in one area and give you an unnatural finish. You should actually use the sides of the brush to dust on your bronzer, so rather gently roll your brush in your product. Tap the brush to get rid of any excess product then use a light, swiping motion to dust it on. Blending is crucial; you don’t want that dreaded tell-tale line of bronzer going across your cheek.

How to apply bronzer for a warm, sun kissed glow

A lot of tutorials simply say to apply a bronzer ‘wherever the sun would naturally hit your face’, but that could be pretty much everywhere. The key is to focus on your temples, your cheekbones and the bridge of your nose. You only need the lightest of touches - you just want to subtly warm and brighten up your face to give you a healthy-looking glow.

The best technique is to lightly dust on the product along each side of your face. Start at the temples, move down the side of your face to under the cheekbones, and then downwards from your ear about halfway across your jawline towards your chin. Finish off with a light sweep along either side of your nose and on your chin.

If you want more of an all-over glow, then lightly stripe the bronzer across both cheeks. Using your brush, make sure you blend out all the hard lines well so it looks like you’ve just been lightly sun-kissed. Finish off with a light touch of bronzer along the bridge of your nose.

Your bronzer can look totally perfect in your room but muddy and orange in the light of day. Apply it in daylight if possible, and have a good look at yourself in a mirror (or your selfie camera) before you leave the house. Inspect your jawline and cheeks in particular for any unblended areas.

Finishing off with a light shimmery dusting on your décolletage, collar bones and shoulders looks amazing with little strappy summer tops or dresses. And if you’re wearing your hair short or up, bronzer can work well along the back of your neck too.

Bronzer vs. contour – use either or both

It’s easy to get bronzing and contouring confused but think of it this way: bronzing involves making your face look sun-kissed and healthy while contouring carves and sculpts your face by creating shadows.

You can use your bronzer to contour lightly; however, if you’re wanting a serious carved out look then you need to use a matte product specifically for contouring first, and apply your actual bronzer afterwards. A shimmery bronzer won’t work for a super contoured look as it adds light instead of doing what contouring is supposed to do (which is to add shadow).

To use bronzer to not only add warmth to your face but subtly contour as well, start at your hairline. Swirl your brush in small circles all along your upper forehead, from temple to temple. Next carve out your cheeks. Swipe a line of bronzer under your cheekbones from the apple of your cheeks towards your ear. Now buff out this line with small circular brush strokes instead of a wiping motion.

Now swirl your bronzing brush from the start of your jaw to your chin, all along your jawline. Make sure to blend down your neck too to keep it looking natural. Lastly, swipe a touch of bronzer down either side of your nose. This will add definition to your nose and warmth to the centre of your face.

Our product picks for multipurpose contouring and highlighting palettes which also include bronzing shades: -
Essence Bronze Your Way Bronzing Palette
Rimmel Kate Sculpt Palette in two options – Bronzing and Highlight.
Catrice 3 Steps To Contour Palette Allrounder with contour, bronzing and highlighting options.
Maybelline Master Contour V Shape Duo for contouring and highlighting.
Palladio I'm Glowing Highlighting Palette
LA Girl Fanatic Blush & Highlighter
Elizabeth Arden 4Ever Bronze, a four-in-one compact that features ultra-refined highlighting, blush, contouring and bronzing powders.
MAC Contour & Sculpt Yourself Palette for contouring, highlighting and bronzing.

View Video: How to Use Bronzer Properly | Makeup Tricks

How to use bronzer with highlighter

This isn’t a way to get you to spend more money on makeup; you really need highlighter to balance the contract made with your bronzer. We’re trying to add dimension to your face and if you only use bronzer then you’ve only added dark shades; it’s time to lighten it up a little.

Sweep highlighter along the top of your cheek bones and your brow bone to keep your face from looking one-dimensional and muddy. We love LA Girl Luminous Glow Cream available in three shade options for different skin tones, Maybelline Face Studio Chrome Extreme Highlighter and Revlon Insta-Fix Skinlights Highlighting Stick.

How to apply bronzer and blush

It’s a common mistake thinking you can skip your blush - because just how much product can your cheeks even take, right? Well, bronzer and blush are two different products with different results and it’s worth using them both. Using bronzer on its own can look unnatural and flat. Blush is for making you look rosy and healthy while bronzer is for making you look sun-kissed.

Apply your blush first in circular motions to the apples of your cheeks. Your bronzer goes just below and next to your blush, from under the apple of your cheek to your ear. As a general rule try to use the same formulas all over your face, so a cream blush with a cream bronzer, or powder blush with powdered bronzer.

Your setting powder will mattify your face, including all the light-catching particles that make bronzer so amazing. Rather apply your bronzer at the very end of your makeup routine.

Read More. How Choosing the Best Blush Is the Key to Always Looking Awesome

View Video: Bronze Summer Makeup Tutorial | Dark Skin