For the uninitiated, "blonzer" is a portmanteau for the makeup mash-up of blusher and bronzer. It might sound technically challenging, but it's deceptively easy.
According to Google, searches for sunkissed makeup that blends the best blusher and bronzer have boomed 89% in the last year. Blonzing adds a touch of depth and contour without going full Kardashian, can be customised to every skin tone and dialled up or down in intensity. In short, blonzing is the clever makeup artist’s technique we need to know.
It’s how I’ve been wearing colour on my face, too, but I didn’t know until recently that blonzing was the name for it. “It really is the best of both worlds,” enthuses makeup artist Kenneth Soh, who tends to famous faces from Hayley Atwell to Naomie Harris. “It’s a beautiful method of makeup application that brings health and colour into the face." Who doesn’t want that?
How to 'blonze' your skin, step-by-step
- Start with your bronzer: “I like using a buffing brush and work it into the temples, cheeks, jawline, across the nose and into the hairline,” instructs Soh. “This is exactly where the face tends to catch the sun, so it will look very natural.
- Follow with a fluffy brush for your blusher: With a light hand, sweep colour high onto cheeks just under the outer eyes. Blend it gently into the bronzer and away towards the ears so there are no hard edges.”
- Create a '3' shape: Bell suggests starting at the forehead, curving bronzer underneath the cheekbone, back towards the ear and down along the jaw. “The bronzer will help sculpt the face before you sweep the blush from the apple of the cheek towards the hair for colour,” she explains.
What shades and textures should you 'blonze' with?
And what are best bronzers and blushers for the job? While Soh and Bell both suggest sticking to the same consistency to get a seamless finish, you can mix and match with one caveat.
“Always start with the ‘wet’ textures,” advises Soh. “That means using cream or liquid bronzer where the sun hits naturally, followed by the same texture of blush high on the cheeks, or follow with a dusting of powder blusher to enhance.” If cream blusher is your go-to and you love a bronzing powder, then simply swap the order.
When choosing complementary shades for blonzing, “The easiest combination is warm blush and bronzer together, or cool and neutral together, whichever matches the undertones of your complexion,” says Bell.
"But if you want to create a more dramatic effect, choose shades that contrast with your skin tone. The look is really going to pop with an intense colour payoff.”
Our favourite buys for the bronzer step
RRP: £18
This glide-on stick couldn’t be easier to apply over cheekbones and temples, plus the pigment has a high colour payoff, so one swipe and you’re good to go. It’s also packed with moisturisers, giving a luscious, lightly shimmering finish in four shades. Works a treat over lips, too.
RRP: £38
Finely-milled for a silky texture and weightless finish, this bronzer has reached icon status for a reason. The colour is held in micro-spheres, meaning it applies smoothly and evenly, delivering sunshine without looking heavy – and in nine different shades.
RRP: £38
Available in golden Bronze and richer Bronze Intense, this buttery balm allows you to build up layers of subtle, beachy colour until you get the depth and velvet finish you want. Smooth and pliable, it won’t sit in lines or pores and blends easily with fingertips or a buffing brush.
Our favourite buys for the blusher step
RRP: £36
This soft caramel shade (there are 12 others) works beautifully on medium complexions with warm or neutral undertones. The creamy consistency melts into skin with a velvety finish and can be layered to go from a sheer tint to a bold, intense effect.
RRP: £28
A silky powder that comes in eight colours, such as this punchy, cool pink. Each is a swirl of two subtly iridescent tones to give colour depth rather than looking flat, while the pigments are intensely rich, so start lightly and build up.
RRP: £24
Not just for cheeks, this brilliant multitasker is gorgeous on lips and eyes too. The four shades, including pretty peach Spring, will give skin a natural-looking flush that’s just matte enough. It glides on lightly but has all-day-long staying power.
Tools for blending
RRP: £28
With short, stubby bristles, this brush will buff any complexion product, in any texture, into skin, ensuring no lines or layers show. The vegan hairs are extra soft, too, so it’s gentle enough to use on sensitive skin.
RRP: £36
The rounded-out shape lets this blusher brush sweep evenly over a wider area, making it ideal for cheek colour, although you can use it for bronzer too. Designed to pick up just the right amount of make-up, you can use it with creams and powders.
RRP: £22
With a bronzer end and a blusher end, this dual makeup brush seems perfectly formed for blonzing. The more dense, compact bristles are ideal for smoothing creamy colours over the apples of your cheeks, while the fanned-out end will impart a sunkissed glow where you want it.
What are the benefits of blonzing your skin?
“You get warmth and sculpting from bronzer to frame the face and to see where you need to add that pop of colour next,” explains Amanda Bell, global makeup artist at Pixi Beauty.
“Then think about blusher as essentially gilding the lily, adding vitality. Using them both together gives a really three-dimensional, cohesive finish to your look and makes it incredibly nuanced.”
Soh agrees: “When I do blonzing, I’m trying to bring a healthy flush of colour that evokes a little bronze from being in the sun with a natural flush on the cheeks to create the effect of a healthy, glowing complexion.
It’s a great between-seasons transition look, too, as it helps bridge a paler winter complexion into a sunkissed glow. Mixing bronzer then blush takes that paleness into a summer tan without making it too jarring.”
