One of my earliest makeup memories is watching my mom apply bronzer to her cheeks for the ultimate sunny glow. I remember how gorgeous she looked. She was fresh-faced with no foundation, which allowed the freckles on her nose to stand out. With some black liner and false eyelashes, she was stunning.

I was in middle school around the time Love Story came out (starring my beauty muse, Ali McGraw), and with my mom’s permission, I borrowed her bronzers. Ali had a just-back-from-the-beach tan… and I wanted it too. Using my mom’s bronzer was quick and easy to apply, and I loved the way it made me look.

Bronzer soon became my secret weapon to fake a tan when I didn’t think I got enough sun while on vacation in Florida, but still wanted to show up to school looking well bronzed. (This was pre-SPF awareness, by the way; sun safety wasn’t even a discussion back then. Remember baby oil and iodine? Or Bain de Soleil SPF #4, which was actually orange? I can still smell it.)

Flash forward to the ‘90s when I was a freelance makeup artist. My love for bronzer was still going strong. I always included bronzer in both my personal and professional routine, with a full range of shades in my makeup kit. But as a makeup artist, I discovered that bronzer could do way more than just bronze: It could color correct, and actually fix the old type of foundation that always looked pinky or pasty. 

Today, bronzer remains among my go-to staple products. Since Jones Road launched, I’ve always used Miracle Balm in Tawny or Sunkissed, or even The Lip and Cheek Stick in Chocolate, to achieve a sunkissed look. But I always knew that we needed our own powder bronzing product, which is where The Bronzer comes in.

What I don't like about some bronzers is that they are often too dry, too orangey, and way too shimmery, which can make them difficult to blend and can sometimes make you look dirty. With so many different formula options available on the market, we believe a great powder bronzer is something everyone should have in their bag. So we knew we wanted to reinvent this staple product and make a clean powder bronzer that was sheer and buildable with the right amount of color payoff to tint the skin.

Once we had a formula we loved, we needed to create our shade range. With the help of our Jones Road retail artistry team—consisting of seasoned makeup artists who are all of different ages and skin tones—our work began.

We’re proud to launch seven versatile shades (spoiler alert: we have a few more in development):

-Dusty Rose - tawny pink (doubles as a blush; good for fair to light skin with pink undertones)
-Light Tan - lighter warm bronze (great to minimize redness; good for cooler undertones)
-Tan - golden bronze (good for warmer undertones)
-Medium Tan - cool bronze (good for cooler undertones)
-Golden Tan - warmer bronze (good for warmer undertones)
-Cinnamon - deep bronze (has hints of red; good for cooler undertones)
-Terracotta - warm deep bronze (has hints of gold; good for warmer undertones)

The Bronzer is foolproof in its application. It offers light, buildable coverage so you don’t have to worry about going overboard with color. Plus, since it’s akin to a tint, it’s perfect for everyday wear to look healthy, warm, and generally better. An accidental bonus: For those with oily skin (or if you’ve used too much emollient on your face), the talc-free, silky powder acts as a mattifier, eliminating shine and oil without looking powdery or irritating drier skin types. (We love multi-use products.) 

I like applying The Bronzer where the sun naturally touches your face: the forehead, apples of your cheeks, and bridge of your nose, bringing it down to your neck to align the color from your face to your body. Apply using The Bronzer Brush, a wide, fluffy brush we made specifically for this product.

Here are a few final tips to find the right shade, and incorporate The Bronzer into the rest of your Jones Road routine:

-Take The Bronzer quiz to find your ideal shade.
-To hide blemishes, spot-treat with The Face Pencil. You can apply Bronzer before or after it, as desired.
-Apply Bronzer before The Best Blush or the Lip and Cheek Stick to get a base glow before an extra pop of color.
-Apply Bronzer before Miracle Balm so you can still benefit from the magic of our bestselling, emollient product.
-The beauty of Bronzer is that it’s sheer and subtle. If you want illumination, apply Shimmer Face Oil on top of it.

I’m confident that you’re going to love our Bronzer, and that it’ll find a happy home in your makeup bag. It’s a simple staple to color correct, warm up, bronze, and most importantly: instantly make you look and feel better.