Bronzer vs. Blush: When To Use Which
No one is born with an innate understanding of all things beauty. That’s why you landed here. It’s hard enough to decide which shade of lip color is currently on trend, but untangling when to use a bronzer and when to use a blush (or how they’re even different) is an entirely bigger problem.
Take a deep breath and relax. The beauty editors at Lashify® have your blushed and bronzed back (or cheeks, rather).
We’ll help you understand the difference between both blush and bronzer and when and how to use each. We’ll also give you a few tips about how to get seriously dramatic lash looks in about 10 minutes flat.
Get ready because what we’re sharing will make you flush.
Blush vs. Bronzer: Which Is Which?
They look relatively similar. Both blush and bronzer come in either powder, liquid, or cream forms and are designed to be applied somewhere on your midface. The differences, however, are important.
Blush
Blush gives your face the vibrant color you have when you’re slightly embarrassed or have just completed a workout. Think of the look of a child’s rosy pink cheeks, and you’ll understand how blush should work.
If you were to pinch the apples of your cheeks, you’d see a natural flush pinkish/peach color that represents your natural coloring. The problem is that coloring fades in a few seconds. Blush gives you the ability to have that flush of color for hours on end.
Bronzer
Blush makes your skin look naturally flushed, while bronzer makes your skin look naturally sunkissed without ever exposing your skin to those harmful UV rays that can burn it.
Bronzer gives your skin a hint of a tan with a slightly golden finish, usually from the inclusion of a shimmery ingredient like mica or titanium dioxide.
When Should I Use Bronzer and Blush?
You can use a blush and a bronzer daily, but remember that both add color to your cheeks and midface. If you’ve been exposed to the sun or naturally have a lot of color in your face, you may want to keep your usage minimal to avoid looking ruddy.
Blush
Use blush when you want to create the look of youthful radiance, which is probably pretty much daily. Blush should be applied to your cheeks based on your face shape, focusing most of the color on the apples of the cheeks and sweeping the color upwards.
- Avoid getting blush too close to your temples. This can immediately take your look from iconic to 80s ironic. You don’t naturally flush on your temples, so there’s no need to add blush there.
- Choose a color that is as close to your natural flush as possible or a shade darker if your skin has a darker tone or a slight tan from the sun.
- Blush doesn't need to be applied all over your face. Remember, we’re going for a natural flush, not full-on facial redness.
Adding bronzer to your look can give your skin natural color, but it’s important to apply both blush and bronzer correctly so you don’t end up with a strange combination of colors that leave you looking orange.
Bronzer
Making your bronzer look natural is tricky. If you get it wrong, you can end up with a dark, unnatural color on your skin. Get it right, and you’ll look like you just spent a week in the Bahamas.
The key to making a bronzer work magic? Apply it in the same places the sun would naturally kiss your skin. For instance, keep your bronzer applied on the highest areas (or the most prominent points) of your skin. This would include the apples of your cheeks, the bridge of your nose, and your forehead.
To keep it natural, keep it light. If you’re wearing both blush and bronzer, apply your blush first and sweep a thin layer of bronzer over the apples of your cheeks, keeping it applied horizontally.
- Bronzer should never be applied to your entire face. If you use too much, it can look more like a shimmery spray tan.
- Contouring products are different from bronzers and usually don’t contain shimmer. Contour colors are used to create shadows and depth; bronzer is used to create illumination and radiance.
- You can use a bronzer as your blush, but remember that the color should be slightly more pink than tan.
The only time you’d really want to actively avoid a bronzer is if you naturally have a fresh, sunkissed look or recently had a spray tan. In those cases, you can easily swap out your bronzer for a highlighter to get the same iridescent luminosity you want without adding color to your skin.
How To Find the Right Colors
There are like a zillion colors of both blush and bronzer. It can feel completely overwhelming to find the shades that work best for your skin tone, and once you find them, the seasons change, and you need something else.
The easiest way to find the right colors is to shop by skin undertones. Skin tone is literal science and is determined by how much melanin we have in our skin. Skin undertones refer to how translucent our skin is.
- Cool undertones. People with cool undertones have skin that looks almost ethereal. If you look at places where the skin is thinnest (the inside of the wrist or elbows), you’ll see colors like purple and blue.
- Warm undertones. You have a warm undertone if you look at these same areas of your skin and see red or orange colors.
- Neutral undertone. Some people have skin tones that look consistently the same color as they do on the surface. If you look at the underside of your wrist and the skin color is nearly the same as on your face or your arm, you probably have a neutral skin undertone.
Remember that even darker skin tones can have cool undertones, and fair skin may have neutral or warm undertones. When you’re shopping for blush and bronzer colors, you’ll want to pair the undertones in the product with the undertones in your skin.
For cool skin undertones, look for blush with a slightly magenta undertone or cool pink and lavender colors. For warm and neutral undertones, you can shop for products with brick-red, yellow, or gold undertones.
You can always test-drive the shade on the back of your wrist to see how closely the undertones in the product match the undertone in your skin. You can apply with confidence once you’ve found your shades, knowing you’ve hit the color jackpot and are getting a great match for a natural look.
To keep your natural look going, you’ll want lashes that don’t take a lot of time and look as professionally applied as salon-style extensions. You can only find them at Lashify.
Lashes That Complete Your Look
Great makeup doesn’t have to be applied by a professional, and neither do your lashes. You can get great-looking lashes at home in about 10 minutes with the Lashify DIY Lash Extension™ System.
How We Work
Lashify is different from anything you’ve ever tried. Our Gossamer® lashes are 100% cruelty-free and made from Korean PBT silk.
Each Gossamer consists of multiple lash fibers attached to a featherlight Spine base that is a few millimeters in length. This helps distribute the weight of more voluminous Gossamer lashes across more of your own lash fibers, keeping them safe and comfortable.
We also avoid glues with our system. Salon and at-home lash glue can contain chemicals that aren’t safe for your lashes and even cause them to become brittle and break. At Lashify, we use Bonds formulated like lash serums, with lash-nourishing biotin and lavender to support your natural lashes while you wear your Gossamers.
Our application method is different, too. We use Underlash Technology™, which allows your Gossamer lashes to be applied beneath your natural lashes, close to your waterline. This method is more forgiving for beginners and creates the most natural look for at-home lash wear.
All you need to get started is the Lashify At Home DIY Lash Kit.
In Control
Gossamer lashes are designed to be worn for up to 10 days with proper care. Everything you need to apply and care for them comes in the Control Kit.
Each kit contains:
- Two sets of Gossamer lashes. Pick two from our Curl, Amplify, or Bold collections to start your lash wardrobe.
- Fuse Control® Wand. The only tool you’ll ever need for Gossamer application, this wand is ergonomically designed to feel comfortable in your hands and against your lids.
- One set of Wandoms®. Lashify Bonds don’t fully cure, which keeps your natural lashes safe. During application, Bonds become tacky. Wandoms ensure your Gossamer lashes don’t stick to your Fuse Control Wand.
- Whisper Light Bond™. Our most popular dual-sided Bond never leaves behind a sticky or visible residue.
- Glass Finishing Coat. The perfect sealer for getting long wear out of your lashes. You don’t have to seal your Gossamers, but if you do, Glass is a great solution.
- Samples. You’ll get two samples of products we love in every Control Kit. If you love them, you can always circle back and grab them on our website.
Everything comes wrapped up in a protective hard case with a mirror to help you apply your lashes like a pro.
You’re Blushing
You can master the art of blush and bronze and get great lashes at the same time. Keep checking back for more beauty how-to info and for the latest in lash fashion.
Sources:
What’s the difference between UVA and UVB rays? | MD Anderson Cancer Center
Biology of Skin Tones | Blog | Science Museum or Virginia
