Dior’s Goldfever Quint | I love Dior quints for their versatility and how the colors pair so well together.  I’m a sucker for golds, so this quint is especially (well, hell, the whole collection) to my taste.  Subtle summer shimmers will work well for easy day time looks and even for subdued evening eyes.  The gray-mauve and berry-mauve are both deep and dark enough to work as crease colors or to create smoky eyes.  My only complaint is that the level of frost in the finish is a bit high to be universally appealing–I’m okay with it, but I do find that sometimes I’ll opt to use a different color (not from the quint) for highlighting my brow.

See details for Dior’s summer launch here.

Guerlain’s Meteorites Pressed Powder |

See details about Guerlain’s summer launch here.

 Givenchy’s Prismissime Mat & Glow in Harmony #72 | A small compact palette in checkboard style that features nine squares of color.  The first and third columns are matte colors, while the second column consists of shimmery choices.  For summer, Givenchy offers Harmony #71 for fairer complexions, while #72 is for warmer/tanner complexions (like mine).  I like that they’re separated, because it gives you the opportunity to use them alone, rather than together, but because they are also close together, you could also gently sweep a blush brush over it for an all-over color.  The palette can be used on eyes, cheeks, face, or even your decolletage, making it very versatile and multi-tasking.  This gives me a nice light bronze on cheeks, and the shimmer lets me highilght cheekbones precisely or lighten up a deeper summer bronze.

See details about Givenchy’s summer launch here.

Couple more photos… Read the rest of this entry »

If you’re living in a naturally warmer climate (cough, California!), it’s easy to confuse spring with the beginning of summer as blue skies dominate and the sun shimmers down. But whether you’re jonesing for a touch of summer in your life or are already breaking out your booty shorts, bronzers are often turned towards for a subtle, sunkissed glow that is an earmark of summer and fun.

1.  Flirt! Bring on the Bronze Bronzing Powder ($12.00) comes in two shades, Foxy Bronze and Golden Minx. What I like about both shades is that neither is too dark, which makes it easier to go natural rather than overboard. I loved Golden Minx, just because it is a really great shade of peachy-bronze that is perfect for summer. The packaging is interesting and unique (slides out, flips up), but I found that I felt a bit like I could easily break it.

2.  Face Atelier Ultra Bronzers ($30.00) have three shades, ranging from a medium bronze to a deeper color bronze. Face Atelier uses micronized pigments wrapped in silicones to make a bronzer that lasts longer on the face and doesn’t emphasize fine lines or wrinkles. It is incredibly soft, smooth, and it has decent buildability. It is also meant to be moisture, heat, and sebum resistant. I personally found it wore well throughout the day with noticeable fading.

3.  Cover FX ‘Bronzed FX’ Bronzing Powder ($28.00) uses “micro-nutrient” technology, which is Greek-speak to me, but it is wax-free, oil-free, paraben-free, and fragrance-free. What I really liked about this line of bronzers is that it comes in five shades, but not all of them are just “bronze” colors. They have Garnet and Pink Topaz, both which look like blushes with golden sheen. Gold and Bronze are more typical of the bronzer family, while Golden Peach reminds me a lot of NARS Orgasm, with more gold shimmer.

4.  Jane Iredale Moonglow & Sunbeam ($46.00) are compacts that have four colors inside them. The shades feature bronze and copper shades to be used alone, together, or in combination thereof. It is a bronzy highlighter to help warm up skin in a natural way. In case the price tag made your heart stutter, the gold shimmer is the result of 24 karat food grade gold flakes. You can use these all over, because it doesn’t contain and FD&C dyes or irritants.

Make sure you didn’t miss part one or two!

Find these bronzers and more at Nordstrom.com or Sephora.com.

If you’re living in a naturally warmer climate (cough, California!), it’s easy to confuse spring with the beginning of summer as blue skies dominate and the sun shimmers down.  But whether you’re jonesing for a touch of summer in your life or are already breaking out your booty shorts, bronzers are often turned towards for a subtle, sunkissed glow that is an earmark of summer and fun.

Estée Lauder ‘Bronze Goddess’ Soft Matte Bronzer ($29.50) is part of their summer Bronze Goddess launch.  It’s a smooth, silky bronzing powder that minimizes oil to keep skin looking more matte throughout the day.  The compact comes with a contoured brush, which I adore.  I don’t love sponge applicators, and usually, that’s what you get in a compact.  Instead, you can tote this easily transportable compact with a fabulous little brush inside for last minute touch-ups.

Dior Essential Bronzing Powder ($40.00) is very much like your typical bronzer, though I will say it goes on like velvet and feels like silk.  It also blends incredibly well with my natural skin tone so that it really does create a subtle bronzed look without being too heavy or unnatural.

GlowFusion Micro-Tech Intuitive Active Bronzer GlowFusion ($39.00) is Fusion Beauty’s answer to giving you glowing skin.  It is supposed to help fill in fine lines and wrinkles to help give the appearance of healthier skin that glows.  There are “soft-focus luminzers” to help give you that bronze color by their InvisiSkin complex.  With all their techy and patent-speak, it makes me skeptical.  I actually happened to get this when I attended a Nordstrom Beauty Trend Show a season ago, and while it is deliciously smooth and feels like silk on skin… I can’t say that I would ever splurge $39 on it.

M·A·C Bronzing Powder ($20.00) come in three shades that have a touch of shimmer (very fine, very subtle!) to help highlight and color naturally.  I only own one bronzer by MAC, and it will probably last me a lifetime.  I think the shade I own is Golden Bronze or something like that.  Each summer, MAC launches their summer skin/bronze line, and that’s usually a great place to pick up a bronzer.

Stay tuned for part three (did you miss part one?)!

Find these bronzers and more at Nordstrom.com or Sephora.com.

If you’re living in a naturally warmer climate (cough, California!), it’s easy to confuse spring with the beginning of summer as blue skies dominate and the sun shimmers down.  But whether you’re jonesing for a touch of summer in your life or are already breaking out your booty shorts, bronzers are often turned towards for a subtle, sunkissed glow that is an earmark of summer and fun. 

Urban Decay Baked Bronzer ($24.00) looks very much like a the famous MAC mineralize skinfinishes, so if that’s your bag… you should definitely get your butt to your nearest Sephora to check this out!  What I like about the Baked bronzer is that you can use it either wet or dry, and using it wet won’t ruin your product or leave a wet stain/spot behind.  I actually tried a coming-soon shade in Gilded, which will is part of Urban Decay’s Summer 2008 launch.  Original shades Baked and Toasted are fairly uniform in color throughout the product, but Gilded has gold spun through it (very much reminiscent of MSFs!).

Clinique True Bronze Pressed Powder Bronzer ($23.50) is an ultra lightweight powder compact that goes on so smoothly and lasts awhile.  I like that it comes in four shades, which gives possibilities to different shades to go for subtle bronzing or deeper color as they please.  The compact is sleek and transportable, which is great for doing makeup on the run as I know many of us will be spending plenty o’ time outdoors once weather permits.

Xen-Tan Perfect Bronze Perfect Bronze ($28.00) is a velvety smooth bronzing powder that is designed to “never look orangey or pink, even on fair skins.”  Unfortunately, as I’m nowhere near fair, I can’t report on the accuracy of that statement, but it does give me hope for those who have been hesitant about getting into bronzer because of the orange-effect.

Guerlain Terracotta ($42.00) is a luxurious bronzer (hello, it’s Guerlain) that is moisturizing and lasts all day.  The powder is also supposed to help protect your skin against free radicals.  According to Guerlain, “neutral bronze” is suitable for all skin colors, though the product does come in four shades.  If you’re a fan of this brand and have extra cash in your wallet, this isn’t a bad item to splurge on.  Though I personally find that for bronzing, since I rarely use straight bronzers by themselves, that I do not need a product like this (then again - it would last me eternity!).

Stay tuned for part two, with even more bronzers to choose from!

Find these bronzers and more at Nordstrom.com or Sephora.com.