Review| Make Up For Ever Pro Bronze Fusion in 15L

I hold opinions from certain people in high regards, and a fellow makeup lover suggested that I check out the Make Up For Ever Pro Bronze Fusion ($36) line. 

It's a waterproof (!!?) gel-powder bronzer that comes in 6 shades and two finishes: matte and luminous. Be forewarned that all six lean warm and I don't believe any of them to be appropriate for true contouring. 

I picked up 15L, the lightest of the bunch, because I like my bronzers to be subtle. My skin should look like "Oh this? It's natural...from my expeditions in Bali." and never "Oh this? I hope you can see the powder residue on my face this fine day."

From my in store swatches, it appears as if both the L and M finishes are glowy and satin finish rather than truly stripper-sparkly and bone matte. I've also heard a lot of complaints about this product lacking in pigmentation, so I want to dispel some theories. 

First, the gel-powder hybrid monstrosity of a formula requires you to use a buffing or stippling brush to apply. DO NOT USE a fluffy powder brush! Please use something dense and geared towards picking up liquid and cream products. If you see the promotional brush they're trying to shill you'll see that it's a flat top dome shaped brush that's densely packed. 

Second, blend in circular motions with your buffing brush onto the high points of your face, or the perimeter, or both if you'd like and don't be unimpressed with the pigmentation. It IS there, just very subtle and build-able. Besides, bronzer is not something you want to be heavy handed with in the first place. 

So as a pro and con: it does take time to build up on the face.

I also hear that the new Sculpting Duos released by MUFE include a dupe for 30M and two beautiful highlights. In retrospect, I should have picked the #2 duo up. Instead, I stupidly thought it was a marketing fluke and that the bronzer was meant to be used as a contour powder. 

*wahhhh* Ragrets. 

I've included swatches of: Benefit Hoola Bronzer (definitely much more red toned), Kevyn Aucoin Sculpting Powder in Medium (a true contouring product), and MUFE in 15L. 

This is indoor, indirect natural lighting. 

This is indoor flash. 

If you're not a fan of warm toned bronzers I think it's best that you stay away. Otherwise, this new formula is mindblowingly good at creating the BEST natural tans. And yep, you won't see any tell-tale signs of a powder product on your cheek and temple. I believe 20M is the coolest out of the bunch and could *technically* be used for contouring...but don't take my word for it. 

xo Be

Review| The Body Shop Honey Bronzer in Shade 04

The Body Shop Honey Bronzer ($20) is a great option if you're on the fair side but still like looking bronzed and sun-kissed. Shade 04 is the darkest option and will only flatter me up to NC25. It's very orange based but looks amazing as a bronzer (NOT a contour.) 

I use it all over the face on the planes where the sun is most likely to hit: apples of cheeks, bridge of the nose, forehead, and maybe my chin. I use a very large fluffy brush to blend the color, and the result looks like I've spent half of the day soaking in the sun with various outdoorsy manly lumberjack worthy activities. It's much warmer than Benefit Hoola Bronzer and just as matte.

Again, it's a great option for fair to light skinned gals who want to look tanned and healthy. 

xo Be

First Look| Maybelline Master Hi-Light Blushes

Maybelline has a new line of blush/bronzer/highligher compacts for Spring 2014 called the Master

Hi-Light Hi-Lighting Bronzer. It's been out for a while and I've seen a lot of hype and talk on YT, so I decided to pick out two to try. I found a small display at my local Rite Aid and they retail for about 9.99 retail. There are six shades in the line, but I only saw three left and grabbed what I could. 

The left is 50 Light Bronze, which contains in its mosaic design a silvery taupe, gold, light pink, and bronzed brown. All of them swatches shimmery despite what you see in pan.

The right is 60 Deep Bronze, which contains a satin magenta, a satin brown, a shimmery orange brown, and a gold shimmer. 

Needless to say, they are very complex products for the price point. Of course it's well nigh impossible to use just a certain color from the pan as a blusher or bronzer. If you swirl a finger into it, the pattern will look rather muddy and disgusting. If you lightly swirl a brush, the mosaic won't be moved and no major dust kicks up. 

Maybelline has kindly graced us with the presence of a mirror and hidden brush on the bottom of the compact. It doesn't stay standing if you push the mirror up, so I had to hold it with a finger. I wouldn't have someone pay me money to use that brush with anything. Do yourself a favor and throw it out.

Here is what they look like swirled and swatched on the skin. This is natural indirect lighting with no primer underneath the swatches. As you can see, the four colors in each pan morph to become a shimmery red or coral that works well as a bronzer/blush. I wouldn't put either in the hollows OR apples of my cheeks, but they look amazing towards the back of the cheeks and brushed upwards.

Edit: I went back for the Nude shade, which is swatched below.

The Light Bronze reminds me of an even more pigmented MAC Warm Soul with the sheen of theBalm's Frat Boy blush. There is no chunky or obvious glitter despite the ultra-tacky packaging. The application is very smooth and silky, and they glide effortlessly on the cheeks. They are not powdery or chalky in the least. 

If you excuse my hair and flu infected face of death, you can see for yourself how much life it gives to my complexion. It's not very loud as the pan suggests, but it imparts just the right amount of color and glow to the face without using a separate highlighting powder. You definitely can't see any glitter, and there are no obvious demarcation lines.  The wear time is standard for most drugstore blushes, around 4 to 5 hours of solid wear before it fades. Another note to add is that while the color may fade out, the sheen stays on your cheeks for a much longer time. 

Seriously, these are the best cheek products other than Milani I've ever tried from the drugstore! 

XO, Be

How To | Bronze and Glow

I think there's a cult out there that has successfully convinced many that using bronzer with glitter is on the same level as consorting with the devil.
Seriously.

Here's the thing, a contouring shade should NEVER have glitter, no matter how finely milled or microscopic. Contouring is the same as creating an illusion of deeper set shadows on the face, and shadows never sparkle. On the other hand, a bronzer with glitter does its job beautifully. Have you ever noticed how Victoria's Secret Angels all look like they practically live on a co-op lesbian yacht in the South of France? They always have an angelic glow/tan that is healthy rather than fake bake, and their skin is always on point even before Photoshop. (Btw, bless Photoshop for their wonky crease-less knees and elbow joints, too.) For the most part, this is due to the witchcraft of bronzers with a hint of shimmer. When shopping for a bronzer, I usually gravitate to VS sales to stock up for the year. Their bronzers are always surprisingly top notch since makeup is not their specialty.

My go-to bronzer at the moment is Victoria's Secret's GLOW Pressed Mineral Bronzing Powder, available in 3 shades and retails for 16 dollars. My shade is Riviera, which accompanies light-medium to medium skin tones very well. They all have a yellow undertone and some warmth, rather than straying to an ash or cool tone. The quad has four shades that can be used separately (as highlighter) or together for an awesome glow (hur hur, hence the name.) The best part is, this product is so subtle that it's hard to over-do and can be built up. There is also another bronzer line that VS does, but it contains too much shimmer for my taste and would best be used as a straight highlighter, similar to MAC's Soft and Gentle.

 

 

You can see that the colors lean a little cool-toned or warm under direct sunlight. You also can't see the shimmers unless you look very, very closely.

My husband noticed that my skin looked "radiant." Little did he know...

Before bronzer, I always like to have the rest of my face, eye, and lip makeup on first. This way, it's easier to gauge how much product is needed. I often pair a bronzed face with minimal or neutral eye makeup and a soft nudey pink lip so that my complexion takes the spotlight.

When applying a powder bronzer, I use a denser but fluffy face brush, like Sigma's F40 or powder brush and swirl in into the product. I then focus the product on the highest point of my cheeks, across the bridge of my nose, and straight onto my forehead. I also apply any left over product onto my chin and down the sides of my vocal cords (LOL, this sounds awful but it does slenderize your neck.) The effect you're going for is how your face would look on a print ad of glamorous women on boats. Please note that this procedure is completely different for applying contouring products. You could possibly take it on the edges of your hairline or under your cheekbones, but I'm not a fan of the look. Sparkling hairlines are so not vogue.

After the initial application, I like to take a clean face brush and blend/buff everything out so that there are no noticeable lines or demarcations. That's it!

I love using bronzers to warm up a foundation shade that's a tad too light, or just to warm up my complexion in the wintertime. While I adore a porcelain skin look in the winter, the dry air often sucks up the hydration on my skin and makes it look dull and flat. Bronzer often takes this away, and if done right, shouldn't be obvious in the least bit.

For a matte bronzer that also works as a natural contour, I recommend Urban Decay's Naked Flushed palette. Another great bronzer is any from the Physician's Formula line. For a high end pick, I would go with NARS Laguna. The most important part isn't the price point, but how finely milled their shimmer particles are. We don't want obvious chunks of glitter now do we?

That's all for today. I hope you guys found it helpful!

Be