The best bronzers for a natural, all-year-round glow

Because a summer glow isn't just for summer

The best bronzers can (and will) warm up your complexion in a matter of seconds. Bronzer is one of those products you can rely on when you’re feeling a bit lacklustre, with the power to take a face from dull and tired-looking to healthy and radiant.

‘Making sure you get the right bronzer for your skin tone is so important because getting the wrong one can either make you look orange, ashy or like there’s no make-up on you,’ explains Bobbi Brown Pro Artist Zara Findlay.

‘Obviously, we want to use make-up to highlight and accentuate elements of our face, without making it look too prominent and in your face – it’s all about getting the balance right.’

So what should you look for when bronzer shopping? ‘Your bronzer should tick a few boxes: It should be the same undertone as your skin (cool, warm, olive, neutral); should be the natural warmest colour your skin tans and; preferably be matte, as bronzer is used to warm and define the face,’ says Zara. ‘Shimmer or areas of glow should be added with a highlighter rather than a bronzer.

‘The easiest way to see if it is the perfect colour for you is to place the bronzer against your chest and see if it lifts and compliments your skin tone.’ Keep reading for a few more tips on how to choose the right bronzer for your skin tone, as well as the Marie Claire edit of the best buys.

Best bronzers for pale skin

You might think a bronzer on pale skin will look too garish, but there’s a whole host of new products on the market that are catered for lighter skin tones. The key is to go no more than one or two shades darker than your natural complexion.

You should also choose a formula with pink, peachy or golden undertones. The result? Skin that looks sun-kissed rather than an odd shade of orange.

Best bronzers for medium and olive skin

For those of you with warmer skin tones you’re in luck, because you can choose to go subtle with your bronzer or really pack it on. Be wary of formulas that are too shimmery though, as this can make you look washed out. If you want a touch of shimmer, make sure the particles are super fine.

If you’ve got olive undertones, try copper shades, and if you’ve got yellow undertones, go with more golden and peachy options.

Best bronzers for darker skin

Deeper skin tones can benefit from the best bronzer too. Go for ones with reddish copper tones – Glossier’s new Cloud Paint shade Dawn works beautifully on black skin – and gold-flecked brown formulas. They’ll illuminate your skin while giving it a subtle sculpt.

Speaking of sculpting – the best contour kits are perfect for creating that defined contoured look – but if you prefer something a little more subtle, try adding contour with a light shade of bronzer. Keep scrolling for our favourites.

Enough Glitter To Completely Bling Out Your Beauty Beat

Urban Decay knows a thing or two about sparkly, highly pigmented makeup and their new Sparkle Out Loud Heavy Metal Glitter Collection is no exception. The new collection launches today, Wednesday, May 15 and is sure to bring your makeup bag plenty of glitz and shimmer. But what's in Urban Decay's Sparkle Out Loud collection and where can you find it?

The new glittery collection features four new products in a wide range of shades all formulated for a long lasting sparkling look. There is the Heavy Metal Glitter Eyeliner; a buildable liquid shimmery eyeliner, the Hi-Fi Glitter Lipgloss; a smooth sparkling gloss that gives your pout a plump look, the 24/7 Glide-On Glitter Eye Pencils; a long-lasting glitter pencil eyeliner, and Heavy Metal Glitter Gel; a water-based glitter in a tube for your eyes, face, and body.

The entire collection is available on UrbanDecay.com, and in-stores and online at Sephora, Ulta, and Macy's, so no matter where you live, you have plenty of access to these high-shine products.

Each product ranges in price from $20 — $22 and if you're looking for a complete breakdown of each item, the available shades, and how to apply it, read on for the deets.

Folks Are Getting Penis Facials And Vampire Facials

The first time I heard the term “penis facial,” I immediately assumed it could only mean one of three things:

1. Something really gross I saw in a porno once and don’t want to talk about.

2. The typical exfoliating, purifying, and moisturizing process involved in a facial, but for a penis.

3. Something to do with a penis slapping some poor person in the face? I don’t know.

It turns out, there aren’t any actual penises involved in penis facials, or… not directly, anyway. Though, I might be even more horrified by what a penis facial actually is than what I thought it was. The procedure involves taking the severed foreskin from an infant’s circumcision, using the fibroblast from that bit of skin as a culture for growing new skin cells and creating a serum to apply to the face.

SO. MANY. QUESTIONS.

I mean, using infants’ severed penis to get pretty? I just… is this what happens when a person has so much money that they have to think up weird shit to do with it? Or is this honestly the very best way for a person to never look their age? What even is this?

Also, I can’t be the only one seeing this scenario like some super twisted real-life version of a Disney Villain. I’m picturing Charlize Theron as the evil Queen Ravenna in Snow White and the Huntsman, obsessed with maintaining her beauty, except instead of collecting the life force of young maidens, she’s collecting foreskins. Diabolical.

And penis facials aren’t the only, um… unique beauty procedure filthy rich people and/or celebrities engage in. Here are a few others that have us scratching our heads:

Placenta Creams and Facials

Sheep placenta, pig placenta, and yes, even human placenta. Eva Longoria has been known to use placenta cream, Jennifer Lopez gets placenta facials, and those willing to unload a whopping $10,000 can get actual human placenta injected into their face to maintain their baby soft glow and utterly defy mother nature and gravity. These are donated placentas, of course, though I’m not sure how I’d feel about my placenta being used for superficial purposes if I thought I was donating for medically necessary procedures like skin grafts for burn victims. But maybe we could all just keep a bit of our own placentas after giving birth and inject ourselves when we need a little self-care boost. I’ll start a Pinterest board. (Not really. Don’t do this.)

Vampire Facials

Also known as the PRP (platelet-rich plasma) facial, this very bloody cosmetic procedure involves drawing your own blood, separating out the platelets, and injecting the platelets back into your skin via a process called microneedling. The growth hormone in platelets, along with the stimulation from the needling, is meant to encourage cell turnover and restore a youthful glow. YIKES.

Bird Poo Facials

This is a procedure in which you smear actual, literal bird shit on your face. Granted, it’s fancy nightingale bird shit—said to be high in urea and guanine, which moisturize and brighten, respectively, and yes, it’s sanitized and dehydrated and stuff, but still. WTAF. Harry Styles and Victoria Beckham have been known to engage in this tomfoolery.

Snail Slime

So I don’t even understand why this one is so expensive. The mucin from land snails apparently does have elastin, glycolic acid, and protein in it, but why not just go for a hike and find some land snails and let them crawl all over your face? You could lay in the mud and get a free mud mask. Who needs to spend hundreds at the spa?

Bull Sperm Conditioner

This protein-rich (yuck!) hair mask combines the semen from Aberdeen Angus Bills with Katera root and is meant to strengthen hair and promote growth. It isn’t even that expensive, but… OMG WHY? I’m not eating for the rest of the day.

Snake Venom

This anti-aging cream is made from actual active snake venom which is supposed to freeze facial muscles but, you know, without paralyzing you or… killing you. Who needs Botox when you can use all-natural deadly snake venom?

24k Gold Face Masks

This $300 and up treatment uses literal 24k gold leafs to create a face mask that supposedly renews cells, improves skin elasticity, and reduces wrinkles. If I ever got one of these, I’d wear that shit around town on my face like jewelry. Because seriously, what do they do with the gold after they use it? Recycle it and use it on other people? Trash it? Make a bracelet?

And these procedures are only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to unusual and expensive beauty treatments. I love a good facial as much as the next gal, but I think I can do without smearing blood or semen or placenta on my face in the interest of beauty. Give me a good clay mask and a nice hyaluronic acid serum, and I’m good to go. But if we are ever able to collect and cultivate maiden’s life forces in a non-invasive, consensual, non-murdery way, sign me up, because really, who doesn’t want skin like Charlize Theron’s?