I don’t know about you but I’m actually more concerned with being bronzed in the Winter than Summer. I know it might seem topsy-turvy but my Summer tanning routine is usually a lot more relaxed than in the six months that follow. I’m more about sporting a few natural freckles and beachy waves because evening soirees during the warmer weather tend to come with the ‘anything goes’ dress code. Winter, on the other hand, is time to get glam. It’s party season, everyone wants to look their best and for me this involves having a healthy glow.
My favourite makeup item when creating a bronzed look has to be the Guerlain Terracotta Four Seasons bronzer. Comprising of not one but four beautiful matte shades, this compact can be used for an all over sweep of colour or to contour your face. This is one of the only bronzers I’ve used that doesn’t have an orange tinge or any nasty glitter particles making it practically impossible to go wrong with it. I have the colour ‘Brunettes’ but it also comes in ‘Blondes’ too so you do have a choice. Both shades look very au natural might I add. If I’m having a good skin day then sometimes I will use this alone on my face without any foundation but it does also look just as good on top of a base or fake tan.
Have I sold it to you yet? Well if so, then this may be one of the most expensive bronzers you will ever buy. At £46.50 (that’s almost £50!) this gorgeous glow doesn’t come cheap. I got this is a gift so managed to swerve any uncomfortable exchange with the counter girl where I don‘t fully let go of my cash as I reluctantly hand it over. Imagine the buyer’s guilt you would feel after purchasing this! What I will say however is you can really tell this is a luxury product. The powder is so finely milled that it feel super soft when applied to your face and the results do speak for themselves. Did I mention that the packaging is amazing too? It feels so heavy and expensive in your hands.
Despite the hefty price tag I would buy this bronzer if, and only if, I couldn’t find a good enough dupe for it. I’m skeptical as to whether I will though because I’ve never used anything like this before. It love it. Good news for those who do want to buy it now as it’s currently half price on Debenhams’ website. What the hell are you waiting for?
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Lately the make up world has been all about the contour. I blame the Kardashians, Kim in particular, for making us feel completely insignificant for not having chiseled cheeks and bright brow bones. Although the look may be hard to perfect, there are some great products on the market which can help us along our way. These Urban Decay and Sleek palettes for example are basically a ‘contour in a kit’ and contain most of what we need to give it a go. But which one do I like more? I don’t need both...that’s for sure.
Urban Decay are trying to replicate the success of their Naked eyeshadow palettes with their offering: the Naked Flush palette. The kit contains a bronzer, blusher and highlighter. I like how the products are proportioned in the palette. You get more bronzer than you would highlighter as you obviously use this product on a larger area of your face. With the Sleek palette you get equal amounts of each and I can see me running out of the blush much quicker that I do the highlighter. The Urban Decay blush is a vibrant pink which only needs a very small amount on the brush. It blends in well but can be a little bright if you apply too much. I’m not a fan of the highlighter in this trio. I find it’s a little too pink toned and although it does look lovely over the blusher, it’s hard to blend into the rest of your face. It’s not the right shade for my brown bone and I wouldn’t even attempt to add it down the centre of my nose (another prime highlighting point).
Sleek’s highlighter is a lot more face friendly and I find myself adding this everywhere on my face, including my cupids bow. The bronzing powder is a beautiful matte brown shade and perfect for blending in the hollows of my cheeks to make my cheekbones stand out. It suits my skin tone and doesn’t have any orangey tones unlike the Urban Decay bronzer which is more suitably used as a bronzing powder rather than a contour. I love Sleek’s packaging too. It’s really...well...sleek, and I love how each of the powders are in their own pans so they won’t smudge together and look messy.
If you haven’t guessed by now the Sleek palette is definitely my favourite. It’s half the price yet does a better job of shaping, highlighting and accentuating my face. It also contains the Rose Gold blush which is one of their most popular blushers and looks beautiful on most skin shades. I think I’m in love! The Urban Decay is a nice palette however I think it only really works on my cheeks and doesn’t give the full contoured effect that I’m going for.
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