Bronze Goddess

I don't really change my routine with the seasons. I might layer a bit more in the winter than the summer, but LA weather is pretty consistent throughout the year. My hair routine doesn't change, my skin routine doesn't change, but I start getting makeup cravings. Summer means bronze, glowing godessness. Don't get me wrong, I'm not going to cover myself in bronzer or start spray-tanning. There are some chicer ways to incorporate the spirit of summer into your beauty routine, and they'll even work year-round!

Smashbox Artificial Light Luminizing Lotion, $24 at smashbox.com, Bobbi Brown Beach, $55 for 1.7 ounces at bobbibrown.com, Estee Lauder Bronze Goddess, $52 for 3.4 ounces at esteelauder.com: I got a teeny-tiny sample of the Smashbox lotion in Glow from Sephora about a year ago, and it's still half full. That stuff, especially in a bottle that size, will last FOREVER. A drop or two goes a long, long way. As for the colors, it comes in Glow, a bronzy gold, Diffuse, a pearly white, and Flash, a pale peachy gold. Glow works nicely as a bronzer, and Diffuse and Flash make great highlighters. What makes these special is that the sparkle isn't grainy or obvious--it really does make you glow. I love the liquid formula because it blends nicely and goes on evenly, and doesn't cake or dry out your skin like a powder highlighter/bronzer. I really can't convey how much I love this stuff. Smashbox products and I usually don't get along (stupid Photofinish), but I would fight tooth and nail to keep my Glow. Summer isn't just limited to makeup, though. For some reason, I find the idea of a summer/beach perfume really appealing. Beach and Bronze Goddess are two variations on a similar theme. Beach has notes of sand jasmine, sea spray, and mandarin. It's a lighter, saltier take on the beach fragrance, and a really nice alternative to traditional sweeter perfumes. Bronze Goddess is a summer release, and I've been flirting with it for about a year now. It has bergamot, mandarin, tahitian gardenia petals, coconut, amber, sandalwood, and vetiver, along with a few other notes. Beach is a softer cooler variation, whereas Bronze Goddess is much warmer and more tropical. I love, love, love the idea of coconut (so beachy!) paired with amber and bergamot, but the gardenia scares me. White flowers smell like dead people. But, if the gardenia is blended in well enough, I might not even notice it. The bottle is pretty, and you get a lot of fragrance for about $50. It just screams summer to me. I might cave on this one.


Frederic Fekkai Marine Summer Hair Beachcomber Leave-in Conditioner, $23 at sephora.com, Jergens Natural Glow Foaming Daily Moisturizer, $8.49 at drugstore.com, Tarte Cheek Stain in Sunkissed, $28 at beauty.com: The leave-in conditioner is not only a leave-in conditioner, but also a hair sunscreen! That is the most fantastic combination ever. A light leave-in conditioner is a great styling tool to add texture, and UV protection can help keep your haircolor intact. I just wish that this wasn't only a summer release. Yes, the sun shines more in summer, but it doesn't go away the rest of the year! It's still beaming it's UV rays down on my hair in fall/winter/spring. Maybe this calls for a multiple bottle stockpiling. I am a loyal fan of the moisturizing self-tanner, so I'm really excited to try this Jergens foaming tanner. It's supposed to go on more evenly and show up more quickly than the regular Jergens tanner, which is brilliant. Sometimes I can't tell how tan I'm going to be, so I overapply and wake up orange. More immediate results keep the probability of looking like a cocoa bean to a minimum. And foam is just fun! This last product is probably the thing I'm the most excited about. I have a Tarte cheek stain (in Tickled) and I love it. It's a little red for me, so I don't use it often, but the formula is fantastic. It's sheer, easy to layer, and has a dewy glow that powders can never achieve, plus it smells yummy. While the cheek stain is a great blush, I feel like it would be a phenomenal bronzer because it's easy to blend and hard to overapply. I'd use it on top of my cheekbones for a bronzy glow, but I think it might be an easy way to contour my cheekbones. I have a serious case of pillowface, so I'm always looking for ways to make my cheekbones pop without looking unnatural. Plus, Sunkissed smells like coconuts. Winner!


Image Sources:
Smashbox Lotion: smashbox.com, Bobbi Brown Beach: bobbibrown.com, Bronze Goddess: makeupalley.com, Frederic Fekkai Summerhair: sephora.com, Jergens: drugstore.com, Tarte Cheek Stain: beauty.com