Bronzing Vs Contouring

 

My sister was the one who always told me that bronzer was used to contour your face and to give it that little bit of color everyone needs, especially in the winter.  Well, since the pandemic started, I've had time to check out certain topics and I just found out that her statement was not quite correct.

Although bronzer can be used as she said, bronzing and contouring products are different and are to be used differently. First of all,  both bronzers and contouring products such as concealer and highlighter come in powder, liquid, and creme but the difference is in the shade and finish.

Bronzers tend to come in warm or neutral tones and may be found in a matte finish or may be sparkly and glowy.  It is designed to make you look as if you have been in the sun.  On the other hand, contouring products come in neutral or cool tones and always have a matte finish because it mimics natural shadows hitting the face.

Bronzer is used to add warmth and color to your face so you look more alive. Since it uses warmer tones, it will have more red, orange, or yellow undertones. Bronzer allows you to look as if you spent the day on the beach with a nice tone.  The contouring products are used to create shadows on your face so the features of your face are more defined and sharper.  The shadowing helps emphasis features of your face and helps hide others so. you are transforming your facial structure without any surgery. Contouring products tend towards the more earth based tones and are often grayish in tone.

When you apply bronzer, you need to apply it to the places on your face where it is normally exposed to the sun.  This would be around your hairline, the sides of your forehead, the tops of your cheeks, and the bridge of your nose. Another way to apply it is in the shape of a "3" from temple, down around the eyes, and around the mouth to the chin on both sides. This looks more natural because it mimics how the sun hits our faces naturally. In addition, add a little around your neckline for a more natural look and don't forget to add bronzer to the neck to complete the look.  Now, if you have oily skin, use a powder bronzer but if you have dry skin choose a cream or liquid formula and if you have normal skin, you can use any of the three.  

I know some people use one product for everything but if you use bronzer as a contouring product the final look doesn't look quite right and if you use a contouring product as a bronzer, the look can seem too heavy.  In addition, since bronzers are warmer, they can look orange on your skin when used to contour your face. 

Now if you are contouring, it requires a different technique. You should look for a contouring shade about two shades darker than your natural skin tone and is a cool shade or has a gray tint because you don't want a sun kissed look. You actually want to apply the contour in areas where shadows naturally fall rather than all over the face. You can apply the contouring product using either a brush or a makeup sponge.

Contouring product is usually applied to your temple, along the sides of your nose, below your cheekbones, along the jaw line, or just beneath your bottom look.  For instance if you want to contour the hallows of your cheeks, cover the small area from the ears to the pupils of your eyes and it will give your bone structure a more sculpted look.  In addition, add some contour to your jaw line to make it appear slimmer, and add contour to the sides of your nose so it looks narrower.  No matter what you do, make sure the contouring product is well blended into the skin otherwise it won't look right.

So bronzer is to recreate the sun kissed look and the contouring product is good for creating that perfect look.  Let me know what you think, I'd love to hear.