Bronze Baby, Bronze, Blush Baby, Blush

Since I fell in love with my CG Cheeker's Blush in Golden Pink, I've been toying with the idea of trying a bronzer/blush in-one product. While I do love this blush on me, I thought it might be interesting to add some dimension to this bright (but natural since it has hints of tan and gold) shade for 2 reasons.

First, while this color is fabulous, I must admit that perhaps the formula isn't 100% what I would like out of a blush in terms of blendability. Since it takes a few swipes for any color to appear on my skin, including this one, I tend to go a bit overboard because this is also a bit difficult to blend once all that color is on. I know tools matter, but in this case, I'm sure it has more to do with the fact that this is barely a $4.00 product. But I've tried blending it out with some face powder, and that has definitely helped set the blush and dilute the color just a wee bit.

Second, I would like to give bronzer a chance. Now, I've never understood why and how bronzer works for darker-skin tones. I've always been under the impression that it can just make your face look kinda - well, dirty. I have a -warm-toned, tan-ish, olive-ish complexion and while Golden Pink livens it up plenty, I was sure bronzer would completely dull it. I'd hoped there was some happy medium, and have recently noticed a multitude of bronzer/blush products available. However, as usual, most of the shades don't look like they will be too flattering on me.

I realized some more experimentation was in order, so I finally decided to give a product that has been lying in my drawer another chance - L'Oreal HIP Vibrant Shimmer Bronzing Powder in Glowing (image shown is of actual color).

This bronzer comes in a pretty nice round compact with an extra compartment underneath that as a mirror and brush. Brush is of course useless, but I appreciate the extra care L'Oreal seems to be taking with its packaging. Glowing is a medium, golden-brown shade with flecks of shimmer that appear kind of greenish/goldish if you look closely - not really my thing, and one of the reasons I hadn't used it beyond a few test swipes.

But lightly swirled over Golden Pink blush - wowness. I finally understood what that "sun-kissed" look is all about, and was surprised that it could be achieved on my skintone. Glowing definitely gave Golden Pink (how cute, their names kind of go together) some much-needed dimension. It neutralized some of the pink just enough, and most importantly, helped it blend into my skin to create a more believable, healthy, summery flush. The bronzer itself is of good quality - soft and fine-milled with buildable color.

I've got to be careful not to use too much of either one since it could make my cheeks look a bit cakey, especially since mine tend to be dry. Also, I definitely don't love shimmer in this bronzer. It works fine on the cheeks, but I stupidly ran my brush over the rest of my face once I'd shaken off the extra color, and in the light, I could see all these green/gold sparkly flecks - ick. But I don't think this was too noticeable - it might actually give a prettier "glow" than I realize.

I can tell I'm going to have too much fun with this. Watch out for other bronzer experiments, and if possible, another blush I have my eye on...