i love the skin cancer campaign, "pasty by choice." equally i think the phrase "pale is the new tan" isn't used nearly enough. as if born unto vampires, i myself sport that "porcelain" look. "by choice" is a strong statement; if i had my way i would be a dark, sultry goddess. more like, "pasty for my longevity." but i appreciate the banning together of the non-tanners who revel in their lack of pigmentation in order to prolong their lives and warn others of the dangers of the sunburn.
porcelain can indeed be beautiful; the only hitch is to be its most beautiful it should also be flawless. it is most definitely true that the darkness of the shadows hide the cold, hard truth. in other words, being tan helps to hide our imperfections. and you know what else? you can get away with wearing a wider variety of colors and not have people ask you "are you feeling okay today?" i know i'm not exactly making a pitch to stay out of the sun, but as a recovering tanorexic, i implore you to be diligent with the sunscreen. it is the key to slowing the aging process of the skin, after all. and i am here to testify that no amount of concealer is going to cover up wrinkles and those awful dark spots that arise from hyperpigmentation due to overexposure and sun damage. even if you choose the cosmetic surgery route to reverse this damage, your skin will never look and act the same as it once did. and you can forget about ever seeing the sun again after a hefty chemical peel or laser treatments.
so what to do? unless you've been residing in a cave, (and if so, you would never have to worry about sun exposure!) i'm sure you've heard of some new-fangled products called self-tanners and bronzers. today i'm going to focus on the bronzers. i love a good bronzer. it can instantly lift you out of the pale doldrums into a healthy glow. the best thing about a bronzer is that you're not stuck with it. you don't like it, wash your face. no commitment. it will stain your clothing though, so use a little bit of caution in that area.
as a big bobbi fan, it's no surprise that i use her all over bronzing gel every day of my life. i will choose a gel over a powder every single time! it really just doesn't get any easier. all you do is mix a little dollop in with your daily moisturizer. that's it! seriously, there is zero work or skill involved here. and what makes this better than your tinted moisturizer, (which are never as great as your souped-up versions of moisturizer) is control of color. you make the call. you decide which moisturizer you want to use, and how much bronzer you want. in addition to ease of use, it also doesn't get more natural than a gel. a lot of the gel bronzers have a little more red than most of your powdered bronzers. i find that this yields the most natural look. too many powders go oompa-loompa orange. and it doesn't help that a lot of women are getting their bronzers in shades that are far too dark for them. it ends up looking like dirt. and oily skin women beware: oil makes powder change color – usually darker. so what happens when that oil starts mixing with your powder bronzer during the day? tennessean dirt. some others i like a lot are: clinique's non-streak bronzer, (which is quite cost effective since they market this towards men) lancome's flash bronzer instant bronze glow, and clarins' radiance-plus self tanning cream gel or self-tanning instant gel. in the case of clarins' bronzers, you are committing to the color. but clarins makes superb tanning and sunscreen products . . . and they smell pretty decent in comparison.
if you are going to use a powder anyway, i really really like clinique's blended face powder in transparent bronze – for a few reasons, actually. first of all, at $19 it's a great bargain. this stuff will last forever! if you are already a loose powder user, you know how far it goes. so imagine mixing in a little of this stuff in with your regular stuff – we're talking about this lasting you for possibly a couple of years! i typically tap out a very small amount in the cap along with my regular powder. using this method per use ensures complete control of color. and besides the fact that it's a great deal, lasts a long time and is easily mixed with loose powder, it's also translucent, has a hint of iridescence and a tad more red. perfect for any skin tone. and if you still choose to wear a pressed powder, simply brush a little of this on top for a sun-kissed look.
porcelain can indeed be beautiful; the only hitch is to be its most beautiful it should also be flawless. it is most definitely true that the darkness of the shadows hide the cold, hard truth. in other words, being tan helps to hide our imperfections. and you know what else? you can get away with wearing a wider variety of colors and not have people ask you "are you feeling okay today?" i know i'm not exactly making a pitch to stay out of the sun, but as a recovering tanorexic, i implore you to be diligent with the sunscreen. it is the key to slowing the aging process of the skin, after all. and i am here to testify that no amount of concealer is going to cover up wrinkles and those awful dark spots that arise from hyperpigmentation due to overexposure and sun damage. even if you choose the cosmetic surgery route to reverse this damage, your skin will never look and act the same as it once did. and you can forget about ever seeing the sun again after a hefty chemical peel or laser treatments.
so what to do? unless you've been residing in a cave, (and if so, you would never have to worry about sun exposure!) i'm sure you've heard of some new-fangled products called self-tanners and bronzers. today i'm going to focus on the bronzers. i love a good bronzer. it can instantly lift you out of the pale doldrums into a healthy glow. the best thing about a bronzer is that you're not stuck with it. you don't like it, wash your face. no commitment. it will stain your clothing though, so use a little bit of caution in that area.
as a big bobbi fan, it's no surprise that i use her all over bronzing gel every day of my life. i will choose a gel over a powder every single time! it really just doesn't get any easier. all you do is mix a little dollop in with your daily moisturizer. that's it! seriously, there is zero work or skill involved here. and what makes this better than your tinted moisturizer, (which are never as great as your souped-up versions of moisturizer) is control of color. you make the call. you decide which moisturizer you want to use, and how much bronzer you want. in addition to ease of use, it also doesn't get more natural than a gel. a lot of the gel bronzers have a little more red than most of your powdered bronzers. i find that this yields the most natural look. too many powders go oompa-loompa orange. and it doesn't help that a lot of women are getting their bronzers in shades that are far too dark for them. it ends up looking like dirt. and oily skin women beware: oil makes powder change color – usually darker. so what happens when that oil starts mixing with your powder bronzer during the day? tennessean dirt. some others i like a lot are: clinique's non-streak bronzer, (which is quite cost effective since they market this towards men) lancome's flash bronzer instant bronze glow, and clarins' radiance-plus self tanning cream gel or self-tanning instant gel. in the case of clarins' bronzers, you are committing to the color. but clarins makes superb tanning and sunscreen products . . . and they smell pretty decent in comparison.
if you are going to use a powder anyway, i really really like clinique's blended face powder in transparent bronze – for a few reasons, actually. first of all, at $19 it's a great bargain. this stuff will last forever! if you are already a loose powder user, you know how far it goes. so imagine mixing in a little of this stuff in with your regular stuff – we're talking about this lasting you for possibly a couple of years! i typically tap out a very small amount in the cap along with my regular powder. using this method per use ensures complete control of color. and besides the fact that it's a great deal, lasts a long time and is easily mixed with loose powder, it's also translucent, has a hint of iridescence and a tad more red. perfect for any skin tone. and if you still choose to wear a pressed powder, simply brush a little of this on top for a sun-kissed look.
my tip for this blog is applying a powder bronzer. you definitely want a brush that is made for this purpose. most are wide and blunt, some are a little fluffier and more rounded at the top. the fluffier brush will lay down a little less color, while a blunt, concentrated brush will lay down a lot more over a larger area. personally, i prefer a fluffier brush . . . always easier to add more than subtract. really think about where the sun naturally hits you: across the forehead, nose, cheeks and a little on the chin. i like to use the "figure 8" method as opposed to the "w" method, which leaves out the forehead. this means simply brushing a figure 8 on your face – skipping the underside of the nose and omitting the immediate eye and mouth areas. (i also go easy on the hollows of the cheeks.) and not that you necessarily need to cake your neck with bronzer, but just don't forget about it. softly brushing across the neck with the leftover powder on the brush should suffice.
No comments:
Post a Comment