There comes a moment in the everyday makeup routine where you realize that covering up your face with any type of foundation-like product can completely white out your face in the sense that it is all the same perfect flawless shade, but you don’t look as “alive” as you should. This is where people bring in the three following products to bring back the warmth and colour to their face: blush, bronzer, and highlighter. I myself am not in any way a makeup professional or trained in the art of applying these all in the perfect way, but over time and a lot of practice has lead me to a way that works for me. I’ve recently sorted out my products to reduce the clutter in my makeup pile, and I will break down which blush, bronzer, and highlighter products made the cut!
Blush. Using blush products has been something I have been used to for the past many years. I used to just grab any pretty shade and apply it without really knowing any technique basics. Maybe about two years ago I started paying more attention and started off by making the decision to purchase a higher end blush product. I picked up the Tarte Amazonian Clay 12-Hour Blush in the shade Dollface, which happened to be the lightest pink shade available. This is still my main go to blush as the colour payoff is great and it lasts throughout the day. Some days I felt I needed something a little bit darker, so last year I branched out and picked up the Kat Von D Everlasting Blush in the shade Bellisima. I had a sample of the blush and was really enjoying it, so I made the plunge and bought the full size product. The colour is definitely a darker pink shade than the first product, and a bit warmer toned, but great for that extra warmth on your cheeks. A blush product that I had wanted for a long time and only made the purchase recently was the Benefit Hervana blush. I thought the colours of this product were lovely and had wanted it since it was first released. I was a bit worried about the darker berry-tones in the palette, but when you swirl your brush around all of the shades (shell, peach, rose, and berry) it blends to a slightly cool toned blush that can be applied lightly or build it up to a darker colour if desired. I like to use this blush to build on another if it needs that extra touch. Lastly, a fairly recent purchase of mine was the Rimmel Match Perfection Blush in the shade 001 Light. There are mixed reviews online about this product, but on days when I don’t have enough time to apply a blush and bronzer, I’ve opted for using this as a dual product and time saver. The colour is a good mix between a blush and bronzer and doesn’t appear too pink on the cheeks. As you can tell, all of these products were powder-based. I am not a big fan of cream-based blushes and have not found one yet that is worthy of staying in my everyday makeup collection.
Bronze. I’ve only recently taken a few baby steps into the world of experimenting with bronzers. I had ignored the concept of adding warmth to your face and any sort of contouring until I heard mention of a bronzing product made for people with fair skin. That has my name written all over it! This product is the Honey Bronze Bronzing Powder from The Body Shop. I picked up the lightest shade of the range and I should be thanking whoever invented this product. When applying this product it is very light and you don’t have to worry about applying too much and messing everything up right away. A bonus to this product is that it is also a matte product. No extra shimmer in this one! You can build with it to create a darker impact on your face, but I tend to keep it light. After feeling I had mastered this product and the summertime hit, I picked up the much talked about NARS Bronzing Powder in the shade Laguna. This is definitely a darker bronzer than the first one, without giving a colour payoff that comes off too dark. I go easier with the application of this one to avoid applying too much, but the warmth it brings to the face looks very natural and healthy. A little well-blended swipe below the apples of my cheeks up to my ear, and then around to my forehead and I’m good to go. Between these two product I am satisfied for the next long while until I completely use them up.
Highlight. Another area of makeup that I recently dove into: the world of highlighting. Learning how much it can brighten up my face made me realize I should have started with it sooner. I first bought the Mary-Lou Manizer highlighter from The Balm maybe about two years ago, but did not end up using it often. This had a ton of great reviews online and despite my seldom use of it in the past – all those reviews were right! The only downside I’ve discovered with this product is that it is easily breakable and I’ve been dealing with using this product in pieces over the past year since I shattered it. This is the main reason why I reach for it less often. It does add a slightly shimmery highlighting look to the areas of your face that you apply it, just to wear the light would hit your face naturally. The other highlighter product that I have been trying recently is the Laura Mercier Matte Radiance Baked Powder Compact in the shade Highlight. This product has less of an impact than the first, but still creates a very subtle, soft, and natural highlight when applied to the face. I tend to reach for this product a lot more than the first, and think it just gives a more natural finish.
I hope this breakdown of my go-to blush, bronzer, and highlighter products has helped you if you’ve been considering giving any of them a try! I’m pretty happy with my selection, but can’t help but to test out a few new ones every once in a while.
