Smackdown: Nars Laguna Bronzer Vs. Elf Warm Bronzer

Welcome to this weeks smackdown, bronzer edition. Today I'm smacking down 2 bronzers that arent really compared a lot, but are very similar in my eyes. The Nars Laguna Bronzer and the Elf Warm Bronzer!

Lets start with the packaging. They are both packaged in a sleek looking black compact that opens up to reveal a mirror, and the pan of product. They are both very easy to open, and are very sturdy.

Nars Laguna Bronzer holds 8 grams of product and has a retail of $38.00.  Elf Warm Bonzer has 12.3 grams of product and retails for $3.00. So, clearly Elf is far more budget friendly here.

Elf Warm Bronzer has 4 different bronzing colors in the pan making it very versatile. You can customize for added dimension on you face and even highlight with the lightest shade. It has a satin finish, so it is great for contouring as well as generally warming up the face.  And, since it has that satin/skin-like finish, it blends very beautifully if you are using a fluffy brush and a light hand.

Nars Laguna Bronzer is also a satin finish bronzer that is ver easy to work with. It blends seamlessly into your skin and makes it look like you aren't even wearing any bronzer at all, only you have that hint of dimension that is very natural looking. This is by far the easiest bronzer I've ever worked with. It is so smooth and works with lots of different skin-tones.

When swatched, these bronzers look a tiny bit different. They have the same finish (Satiny, skin looking), but the Elf is a bit more pigmented with one swipe, and is also a bit warmer. Overall, with the price difference and the performance I don't think I even need to say it, but the Elf Warm Bronzer is the winner for me on this one! So much cheaper with such a similar effect, you cannot go wrong with this $3 gem!

What's New: Too Faced Bonjour Soleil Limited Edition Summer Bronzing Wardrobe

Welcome to Wednesday of bronzer week here at Winky Pink! Today I'll be talking about whats new in the bronzing world. And that would specifically be the Too Faced Bonjour Soleil Limited Edition Summer Bronzing Wardrobe. This is a palette of 3 different bronzers from Too Faced. None of these shades of bronzers are limited edition or specific to this palette, they can all be found for $30 each in their own round pans.

What I love about this palette so much is that it comes with one of my all time favorite bronzers, Chocolate Soleil! It also comes with Sun Bunny, and Snow Bunny.

All three of these bronzers are great, and for different reasons! Chocolate Soleil is a stellar contour shade. It's matte and the perfect shade for loads of skin tones. Sun Bunny, is a beautiful warm satin finish bronzer that warms up the face in very little time, with very little product. And Snow Bunny is a gorgeous 4 layer shade that can be customized for a highlighter or a natural-looking blush!

You can currently get this palette at Sephora, Ulta, beauty.com. and HSN (don't forget about that code I mentioned here! It's good til the end of this month!). It retails for $44. I highly recommend buying this now if you want it. Limited Edition stuff can become very obs-elite very quickly!

Tip Tuesday: The Do's & Don'ts of Bronzing

Welcome to Tip Tuesday of this weeks special edition Bronzing week here at Winky Pink! I Absolutely LOVE bronzers! It's no lie. I contour with them every day of the year, and warm my pale skin with them all day every day during the summer and warmer months. Today I'm going to tell you some do's and don'ts that I rigorously follow when applying bronzer.

DO

• use a fairly fluffy brush when your are applying your bronzer. I've seen so many people flub up their makeup by thinking that they can draw lines on their face to make it look more contoured. NO! fluffy brushes are your friend when you are contouring your face. The last thing you want are streaks on your cheeks. My favorite brush to use right now is the Eco Tools fan brush (pictured above).
• use a shade that is only few shades darker than your natural skin tone. This will make it look way more natural and blend seamlessly into your skin.
• use a matte (or skinfinish) shade if you are contouring with your bronzer. There are so many sparkly bronzers on the market. Trust me. Sparkle draws attention, and if you are trying to contour, that means you are trying to NOT draw attention to that particular area. Matte bronzers are your best friend for this purpose! My favorites are Too Faced Chocolate Soleil, Tart Park Avenue Princess in Matte, Revlon Photoready Bronzer, and Essence Sun Club Matte Bronzer.
• make sure you know exactly where you need to place your bronzer. You don't want it all over your face. Contouring is your best friend. So, unless you want to look muddy, only take your bronzer where you absolutely need too.
• take it down your neck a little. You want your neck to match your face. No white necks with tan faces. It looks horrible!

DONT

• over do it. I know that the idea of looking skinnier is appealing, there is definately a line that can be crossed. You want things to look natural. 
•  use too much product. A little goes a long way people. Only pick up a small amount on your brush. You can always add more if you think you need it.
• use a shade that doesn't flatter your skin tone. Know what your undertones are and know what looks best on you. There are orangy bronzers out there that look stellar on some people. Guess what? Those people usually have orange under tones, which means that they have a lot of red and yellow pigments in their skin, as apposed to more blue and red. I heard so many ladies rave about NYC Sunny bronzer, and when I picked it up and tried to use it I looked like an Umpa Loompa! Badly! So, I try to steer more towards cool toned bronzers. But, trust me NYC Sunny is so so so pretty on lots of skin tones, just not mine :)
• put bronzer on your skin where clothing will be rubbing it. Especially if you will be wearing white! A white collard shirt can quickly yuck up if you pull your bronzer down your neck a little too far. Just be mindful and careful with this.

That's all for my do's, and don'ts. Let me know if you have any other tips or tricks that you use when applying bronzer!

Review: Pixi Beauty Bronzer in "Subtly Suntouched"

Welcome to bronzer week! I absolutely cannot live without bronzer. I think it is a total game changer when it comes to making your face look finished. So, this week I'll be posting something new every day that has to do with that bronzed summer glow! I have an excess of bronzers in my makeup collection. Like, way too many. And today I'll be reviewing one of my favorites, the Pixi Beauty Bronzer in "Subtly Suntouched".

This bronzer is a skin finish and subtle shade. It is great for fair skin, or if you just want a quick and easy glow. There is no shimmer to see when looking at the product in the pan, but when swatched you can detect that "dewy" finish that honestly just looks like skin.

It comes in a mint green container that has a screw-top lid that is see through. It's very sturdy and I've had this bronzer for months and have had no problems whatsoever with is scratching or scuffing.

This product retails for $18.00 and comes with a kabuki brush. It is sold at Target stores and target.com, as well as on Pixi's website. I use this bronzer a lot, and think it is a great product. There are no bad things to say about it.  The product pictured is from an ipsy bag a while back, so it is not full size and didn't come with a brush.

Overall, I think this is a stellar product that, if you have fair to light skin-tones, will work very well for you! I give it 5/5 winks!