3 Easy Ways to Use Liquid Bronzer

I prefer sheer cream or liquid makeup (and sunscreen) to powder or opaque paste-like creams. Even my concealer is pretty sheer, but this summer’s string of liquid bronzers, from brands like Maybelline, Dr. Hauschka, and ByTerry, stumped me. It was Armani’s Maestro Liquid Summer ($64), a deep, golden bronze formula in a beautiful glass bottle, that finally sent me in search of answers. I really wanted to use it—if only I could figure out how. So I asked Tim Quinn, Armani’s VP of Creative Artistry to tell me the easiest way to work the summery glow into my routine. Turns out, there are three.

Mix it into your foundation or BB cream. “You can add as much or as little as you need to reach your desired summer glow,” Quinn says. You’ll get the coverage you need without having to brush on bronzer post-application.

Add a couple of drops to your sunscreen. If you skip foundation in the summer, Liquid Summer will help even out your skin and give you an overall glow instead of selective highlights. “Apply with your fingertips as you would your sunblock,” Quinn says.

Brush it on. If you just need a boost of color on your cheekbones or at your temples, release a few drops into your hand via the glass eye-dropper-like application. Then, Quinn says, “Swirl a large powder blush through, and sweep across and down as you would a powder bronzer.”

I chose option two, and probably won’t stop even when summer does.