I can admit when I’m wrong, and so here’s my confession: I’ve been wrong about bronzer. In the past, this product always mystified me. I never understood how these over-sparkled powders were sold all over the place, and always in shades that resembled various stages of rust corrosion more than any natural tan I’ve ever seen. In my defense, genetics and diligent use of sunscreen have kept my skin eight shades lighter than pale, so bronzer was never on my radar as something I could actually use convincingly (Incidentally, I feel the exact same way about scrapbooking: it’s great for some people, but just not for me). Turns out, I have been wrong, wrong, wrong – not so much about scrapbooking, but definitely about bronzer. It is an amazing and versatile addition to anyone’s makeup collection, and I’m here to sing its praises.

Part of my initial dismay with bronzer rested in the overwhelming amount of options out there. Gels, sticks, matte and shiny powders, liquids with and without shimmer, even aerosol sprays – I was curious, sure, but just had no clue where to begin. So while I recently sorted through some stock here in the office (we have a mind-boggling array of just about every product imaginable) my curiosity got the best of me, and I found myself elbow-deep in the bronzer box. Right away, I couldn’t help but notice that many of the colors looked far more natural than I remembered. I opened up a Sonia Kashuk Matte Bronzer and swept some on. Suddenly, I had a cheekbone where there once was just a cheek! And, to my surprise, it did meld nicely with my fair skin after all. Gingerly, I continued, careful not to create the intensely over-sculpted faces I see so often on TV. With an angled brush I managed to create a convincing glow, accentuate my bone structure and camouflage discoloration all with one product. Color me bronzed and impressed!

Since my conversion, I’ve been intermittently using Paula’s Healthy Tan Pressed Powder SPF 15 as a bronzer, but I’m still on the lookout for some bronzing options that might impart a hint of shine in addition to a sunless glow. As much as I like the look, sometimes a matte finish feels too flat, especially in the summer – something Paula understands, thank goodness! So far, Benefit’s highlighter/bronzer powder 10 has performed excellently, M.A.C.’s Bronzing Powder more than impressed me at the counter, but the sleeper hit of the bronzer line-up has to be Wet ‘n Wild’s Ultimate Bronzing Powder – only $2.99, with a silky feel and a lovely natural finish, it’s an enduring Paula’s Pick (and bona-fide beauty steal) for a reason! I’m not sure if I will keep up the bronzing after summer ends (this is Seattle, after all, where the resident skin tone is best described as “pallid gray”), but I am pleased to find myself on the other side of a makeup rut. Now, who’s up for some scrapbooking?

On a recent trip to Sephora to gather ingredient lists for a couple of products, a saleperson approached me while I browsed the blushes. The young man was wearing a fitted black tee shirt and a spiky Mohawk, what has become the standard Sephora uniform (well at least in Seattle). Before I knew it, I was somehow sucked into an on-the-spot makeover! He escorted me over to a well-lit mirror, where he began going through the array of makeup brushes he wore on his belt, placing one after another them on the small table like serious medical tools. Even as I protested, he continued, saying that he just wanted to show me what a good bronzer could do — that alone made me very nervous because my complexion is extremely fair! I wanted to leave, to run away screaming as soon as his kabuki brush hit the bronzer, but by that point I felt bound to humor him, imagining this is exactly how many women feel when they are corralled into mini-makeovers either willingly or unwillingly like me who succumb under sales pressure.

When he finished my face, I was visibly unimpressed. I looked 10 years older and like I’d been streaked with lines of brownish gold. Personally, the only makeup I really needed was a new mascara and even though I knew I should consult Beautypedia.com before I hit the stores, in a desperate move to end the makeover before things went from bad to worse I blurted out that all I needed was a new mascara. Before I knew it, he had lead me to the cashier to purchase an $18 tube of Bare Escetuals’ Buxom Lash Mascara, an “amazing” lengthening and volumizing mascara, he explained, with a “ridiculous” oversized rubber brush and intense black color that doesn’t budge. “You’ll love it,” he promised. I was so flummoxed I paid for the mascara and went to get the ingredient information I needed from another store.

When I got it home, it turned out the mascara brush was indeed ridiculous, but not in a good way. Applying the product felt like a circus act, the brush so unwieldy that I couldn’t keep from getting mascara on my upper lids no matter how hard I tried. Even worse, the sheer size of the brush made any discrete application to the corner of my eye impossible. As the day wore on, I noticed the mascara had flaked and smudged below my eyes. Turns out, the product was anything but amazing and I certainly didn’t love it. I was angry at myself for letting the Sephora salesperson have his way with my face and I felt silly and bamboozled into an overpriced and inadequate product. And I know better than this!

After I calmed down, I decided to look up Bare Escetuals’ Buxom Lash Mascara on the web site I work for, Beautypedia.com, just to see what Paula thought of the product, and wouldn’t you know it… Paula’s review voiced every single problem I’d encountered! If only I’d referred to it first, I would’ve saved time, money and could’ve told Mr. Sephora salesperson to get a hair cut and leave me alone!