The best bronzers

Fake Bake Beauty Bronzer, glo-minerals Bronze, Sleek Face Form Contouring and Blush Palette, KIKO Essential Bronzer, KIKO Rock Attraction Bronzer, Liz Earle Natural Glow Bronzer, KIKO Colour Splash Multi-tone Bronzer, KIKO Loud Night Bronzer

Being naturally pale - even a week in the Mediterranean didn't touch me - means that in general, I find wearing bronzer a challenge. Last year, I was a complete novice. I watched countless amounts of YouTube videos in the hope that I'd perfect the sought after "contouring technique." But I had no luck. More recently though, particularly this summer, I haven't been able to step away from the stuff. Whether it's contouring, adding a glow or dusting all over my skin, I'm constantly using the product. Here are my favourites.    

Best brand:

When it comes to choosing a bronzer, the brand I always look to first is KIKO. Half the bronzers chosen for this post are from the Italian brand and it's easy to see why. The KIKO Rock Attraction Bronzer in Loud Tan* (currently on offer for £6.00) is the bronzer that I tend to use on a day-to-day basis. Despite being a powder formula, it's creamy to the touch and exceptionally easy to blend. It's completely matte so is perfect for contouring, and it's very hard to overdo this bronzer. Next up is the KIKO Essential Bronzer in Warm Melange* (currently on offer for £11.80) which is a two-tone bronzer. The pan is absolutely huge so I use this with a big fluffy brush and dust it all over my skin. The KIKO Loud Night Bronzer in Supple Satin Honey is up there in my top three. It's perfect for my pale skin tone and can be used matte to contour, or with subtle shimmer to add a glow. And finally the KIKO Colour Splash Multi-tone Bronzer in Jovial Tan comes with three different shades that are perfect for bronzing up the complexion.

Best highlight:

As a brand, I find glo-minerals underrated. Their products are of such an exceptional quality yet they're rarely raved about on blogs. The glo-minerals Bronze in Sunkiss* (£31.50) is an absolute gem. One side contains a matte bronzer and the other a beautiful golden highlight. The two shades can be swirled together or used separately and I constantly find myself reaching for the highlight side. It's stunning and makes the complexion glow. 

Best glow:

The Fake Bake Beauty Bronzer is wonderful for adding an all over glow to the skin. It's quite dark and pigmented so I tend to use this when I've tanned my skin. A light hand a big brush works best when applying this bronzer. Sadly, I can't seem to find this online anywhere. Does anyone know what's happened to Fake Bake's make up range?

Best all-rounder:

The Sleek Face Form Contouring and Blush Palette in Medium* (£9.99) comes with everything you need to truly bronze up your skin. The contour, highlight and blush-shade work together to create the most beautiful golden goddess look. Of course, the three shades can be used separately but I find them stunning when used altogether to create a bronzed look. 

Best natural:  

Liz Earle Natural Glow Bronzer - £19.50

As you can tell from the image above, this bronzer is exceptionally well loved. It has a hint of shimmer running through it but it's not over the top and still manages to look natural. There isn't a lot of pigment in this bronzer so it's perfect for pale skins to contour or use all over the skin.

I'm always on the look out to try out and find new bronzers. Let me know your favourites in the comments below.
*PR Sample
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MAKE UP | glo minerals Pretty in Pink

I am quite the fan of glo minerals as a brand, their lipsticks in particular. I have a few in my collection and they're the ones I tend to reach for. Sadly, I don't tend to read much about them on blogs, which is a shame because in terms of quality, their make up is second to none. The name says it all; they're a mineral make up brand meaning that their products are pretty much good for your skin. Their make up has been created by dermatologists too so you know you're getting added benefits. And when you've suffered with bad skin your entire life, this is a miracle. 

The brand set me a challenge to create a "pretty in pink" make up look using the products shown above. If you like my look, then please feel free to vote for it on their Facebook page. If not, it's worth going to check out the other blogger's fabulous looks anyway. Oh and a little incentive, if I win, I'll be given three glo mineral goody bags worth £100 to give away to you guys - not bad. (Just letting you know that the Facebook competition isn't live yet. When it is, I will be tweeting about it).

Anyway, onto how I created the look. When I first saw the Eyeshadow Trio in Ballerina* - £22, I was a bit nervous. You see, it's quite colourful and with my array of nude palettes you can tell that I'm not a "colour-on-eyes" person at all. But alas, I proceeded and I'm extremely happy with how the look turned out. I used the darker pink shade all over the eyes, the green in the crease and the lighter pink under my brow bone and my inner tear duct. It created the most beautiful smoky eye I think I've ever seen and the trio itself was a wonderful way for me to dabble into colour, without going too OTT.

Next up I used the Shimmer Brick in Gleam* - £27.50 which I instantly fell in love with. I'm a big blush fan and considering I use a lot of mattifying products on my base, I need blush and highlight to inject life and a glow back into my skin. This Shimmer Brick does exactly that. It comes with four colours - a champagne highlight, a beautiful Barbie pink blush, a deep rose-toned blush and a gold highlight. Oh it's perfection in every way. Easy to blend, last all day and nicely pigmented and glowing, you can create a multitude of looks with this one palette. It's one I'm most definitely taking on holiday with me. For this look I used the Barbie pink blush and the deep rose-toned blush on my cheeks and the champagne highlight on the tops of my cheekbones.

Finally, I finished the look off with the brand's Lipstick in Blush* - £15.00. As I said earlier, I really do love glo mineral's lipsticks. Despite being nicely pigmented and long lasting, they're instantly nourishing and hydrating and this beautiful nude finished the look off perfectly. It brought the make up together and complemented the smoky eyes nicely. Also for reference... my foundation is MaxFactor's FaceFinity, my powder is Rimmel's Stay Matte, my eyeliner is NYX The Curve*, my mascara is Green People's Volumising Mascara* and for my eyebrows I used Urban Decay's eyeshadow in Naked 2.

UPDATE: You can vote for me here.

What's your favourite way to experiment with colour? Have you tried anything from glo minerals before?
*PR Sample

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