quest to be brown

Beauty stuff has never been my strong point. In middle school I insisted on changing my nail polish once a day for a month. Yes, I inhaled quite a bit of nail polish remover. Don’t judge. You know you like that scent too.

But I’m kind of a sucker for trying new things. (Except toothpaste-I’m a Crest girl, and toothbrushes-Sonicare.) Makeup is no exception. Mom introduced me to Lancôme; then I was a MAC girlie through most of college; on the mission, I decided that it wasn’t worthwhile to wear makeup when it was just going to melt off my face in the Florida humidity; and now I’ve been sporting different versions of Bare Minerals (first the loose powder, and now the pressed stuff for a better coverage.)

Moral of THIS story is that I’ve taken a liking to watching beauty bloggers on YouTube. Forget about morning cartoons (I’ve always liked X-Men) because I’ll just watch a tutorial on how to do makeup. I’m NOT a girlie-girl. Playing outside in the dirt, or planting something is more up my alley. But I invested in BRONZER.

New question. What is bronzer? It’s amazing, let me tell you! There’s all types of the stuff. Some has sparkles, some has shimmer stuff in in, and some are just plane ole’ brown. It’s to make it look like you’ve spent some time in the sun, when maybe you’re trying to prevent skin cancer. Or it’s winter. Or you want to “contour” your cheekbones—I’m still working on that part.

So, originally, I was thinking I wanted something with a little shimmer to give my face a nice summer ‘glow’. After much deliberation, yes, it took me a while, I broke down and bought some at the local Wally World. It looks like this:

Physicians Formula: Airbrushing Bronzing Veil Bronze Booster (Light to Medium)

See? It’s shimmery. Too shimmery. And it makes me look like a carrot. Which I’m not a carrot, so that’s a problem. I’m also not a fan of the packaging. It comes with a little brush that is kept in the compact, but I’m not a compact kind of girl. Thanks, but I have my own set of brushes that I like to use. This is just taking up more room in my makeup box.

All my YouTube adventures led me to this one. 

Benefit: Hoola

It’s called Hoola, by Benefit. Yes, it’s more than $10, but it’s color works with cooler undertones, and has no sparkle or shimmer. The packaging is cute, but it adds some bulk to my makeup box. But the plus side is since it has sides, the product doesn’t go everywhere when you swirl your brush around! The negative and the positive cancel each other out and you’re left with a neutral. The light probably doesn't do it the justice, but believe me when I say it's a chocolaty brown that gives you a nice tan and works with just about any skin tone.

Do you have any preferences with bronzer? Suggestions? I would love to hear!