Selenators, rejoice! If you were not able to make it to the Revival Tour, do not fret. You can now steal one of the queen’s looks thanks to this Instagram post by the one and only Selena Gomez and her make up artist. AHHHH!!! This is not a drill. You can look just like Selena freaking Gomez! Here’s what to do.
First, take a metallic eye shadow. They used copper.
If you identify as a woman of color and you possess a skin tone other than “Alabaster” or “Porcelain”, shopping for cosmetics that aren’t too chalky, too orange, or too ashy can be a struggle, to say the least. The problem becomes even more challenging with picking out a bronzer shade, as some brands don’t even keep WOC when formulating their products. But bronzer is great at providing an extra boost of healthy color to your face as well as defining certain features.
Unfortunately, many makeup brands fail at making bronzers for WOC that don’t turn us into oompa loompas or just simply fall short of providing enough pigment for our darker tones. Lucky for you, FIERCE has compiled a list of 17 bronzers perfect for women of color in all of our beautiful shades, from caramel to ebony. Take a look!
1. Milani Baked Bronzers
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Milani’s baked bronzers have developed quite the reputation in the makeup community for being glowy, buildable, highly-pigmented, and of course, affordable. Their shades range from “Glow” to “Dulce” and they are perfect for medium to dark-skinned beauties. By here.
2. Fenty Sun Stalk’r Bronzer
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We’re not the only ones that have to sing the praises of Fenty Beauty’s Sun Stalk’r bronzer. Rihanna’s groundbreaking bronzer is creamy, long-lasting, and comes in 8 versatile shades that work with every skin tone. Buy here.
3. Bobbi Brown Bronzer
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Bobbi Brown’s makeup is a line that accomplishes exactly what it sets out to do, and its bronzer is no exception. This bronzer is frequently mentioned on many “favorite” lists for bronzers that work great on darker skin tones. Bobbi Brown Bronzer is available to buy here in 6 shades.
4. Black Radiance Artisan Color Baked Bronzer
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Black Radiance is a cosmetics brand specifically formulated for black and brown skin tones, so you know their bronzer will show up (in more ways than one). Fans of the Artisan Color Baked Bronzer call it “smooth and buttery” as well as “underrated”. Buy here.
5. Becca Sunlit Bronzer
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This neutral bronzer with subtle hints of shimmer has a silky texture that fans love. It comes in 5 versatile shades. Buy it here.
6. Rimmel London Natural Bronzer
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Rimmel London Natural Bronzer is a great, affordable bronzer that is perfect for deeper skin shades. Fans say that it’s easy to blend and lasts all day. Buy here.
7. NARS Sunwash Diffusing Bronzer
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NARS’s Sunwash Diffusing Bronzer is specifically formulated to “capture light” and “blur imperfections”, and since it’s NARS, its shades are always perfectly pigmented and complementary to every skin tone. Buy here.
8. Iman Sheer Finish Bronzing Powder
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Iman cosmetics was created by supermodel Iman specifically for WOC skin. Their bronzers are both glowy and affordable. Buy here.
9. bareMinerals Warmth All-Over Face Color Bronzer
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According to one Reddit user, Bare Minerals is the perfect bronzer to go to when every other option has failed you: “I use bare minerals faux tan, which is not orange and not ashy but still deep enough to look like a shadow on my face)”. Buy here.
10. BH Cosmetics Brilliance Bronzer
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BH Cosmetics describes their bronzer as a “silky, blendable formula” that has “lightweight, buildable coverage with a satin finish”. It’s no wonder so many WOC reach for this bronzer for a natural sunkissed glow! Buy here.
11. The Lip Bar Fresh Glow Bronzers
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The Lip Bar is a black-owned cosmetics company that prides itself to catering to a variety of skin tones. They’ve recently released a line of bronzer/blush duos called Fresh Glow which boasts the tagline: “Bronzers for every shade”. Buy here.
12. Anastasia Beverly Hills Powder Bronzer
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Anastasia Beverly Hills is one of the premier go-to makeup brands for both amateurs and professionals. Their powder bronzers are in a league of their own with shades that range from Light Golden to Mocha. Buy here.
13. TheBalm’s Bahama Mama
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The Balm’s Bahama Mama bronzer markets itself as the “anti orange” bronzer and has been slowly developing a cult-following in the beauty world. Buy here.
14. Guerlain Terracotta Bronzing Powder
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Megastar beauty guru Jackie Aina calls the Guerlain Terracotta Bronzing Powder one of her favorites, describing it as “the perfect amount of neutral” that’s “not too warm.” Buy the high-end bronzer here.
15. Sleek MakeUp Face Form Contour And Blush Palette
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Sleek Makeup is has become a sleeper hit on the internet, regularly being praised as one of the best brands out there for women of color. Their highly-pigmented bronzer/blush palette is a cult favorite and you can now buy it at your local Target or online.
16. Lancome Le French Bronzer
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Lancome has recently stepped up their makeup game for WOC and now, many of their products look great on darker skin. That includes their limited edition Le French bronzer that has four different shades in one compact for a range of skin tones. Buy here.
17. Inglot x J.Lo – Boogie Down Bronze
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That’s right–now you can own the J.Lo glow. The much-talked-about J.Lo X Inglot collab birthed the Boogie Down Bronzers that seem to have a color for every skintone. Buy the bronzers here.
Selena Marie Gomez (born in Texas in 1992) has been in the public eye for as long as she can remember. She has been a role model for young girls as a singer and an actress and now is involved in more risqué films such as Spring Breakers, a delirious film by indie filmmaker Harmony Korine. Besides having a strong onscreen persona, Gomez has been in relationships with the likes of Justin Bieber, which of course turned the paparazzi attention and cameras to her. Suddenly, when she was barely a teenager her every move was being followed. Her life was sort of predestined to be great when she was named after the great late Selena Quintanilla. However, she has had to deal with divorce (her parents separated when she was five-years-old) and with weak health, as she was diagnosed with lupus, an auto-immune disease, which ultimately forced her to get a kidney transplant. She found strength in her mom. Gomez has said that her mother “was really strong around me. Having me at 16 had to have been a big responsibility. She gave up everything for me, had three jobs, supported me, sacrificed her life for me.” That must provide so much strength for a woman of barely 26 but who has gone through more in her lifetime than many 50-year-olds.
This must not be easy for anyone, even more so for a Latino woman. Gomez knows that she has a microphone and that she can get to other girls and women. “The older I get, the prouder I am to be a woman in the industry. When I was younger and running around all the time on tour, I don’t think I took the time to notice how being a woman in my position is really a gift. I want to make sure I utilize all that power,” the young Latina star told Into the Gloss. She has used this position of privilege to raise awareness on mental health issues, including suicide prevention, both as a celebrity and as a producer. She is also a supporter of associations such as Make A Wish (which grants children diagnosed with life-threatening conditions), the Alliance for Children’s Rights and the Ryan Seacrest Foundation.
Selena Gomez fights for friendships above anything else: girl power.
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Gomez values friendship and spreads the word. She has such loyal friends that one even donated a kidney when Gomez needed a transplant. She says: “People are put into your life for seasons, for different reasons, and to teach you lessons”: Selena, we couldn’t agree more.
She gets politically enraged when it matters.
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Gomez knows that a lot of mental health issues concerning young women are related to the policing of their sexuality and reproductive rights. She gets political when she feels the need to, particularly with issues concerning the mental health and general wellbeing of young women like herself.
She asks her fans to be strong, but to also look for help when needed.
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Her advice: “I’ve learned there’s power deep down inside yourself, and you can find it when you don’t give up on yourself and when you ask for help.” This is so real it hurts: even someone like her, who in the eyes of her fans might seem to have it all, needs to be humble and honest in reaching out to others when the world seems bleak. There is always someone who cares if you are OK.
She stands up for migrants.
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Gomez doesn’t get political often, but when she does she always stands up for the minority communities. She has been a vocal advocate for migrant rights and the rights of women. She even wore a 1973 necklace as one of very few Latina celebs speaking up for abortion rights.
She even takes a stand from DACA recipients and Dreamers.
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She has used her social media accounts, which have followers in the millions, to call her fans to action. She is clearly showing the world that she does care and she is paying attention.
She delivers a message of self-acceptance, which led her to produce 13 Reasons Why.
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Gomez’s mother, Amanda, had her when she was just 16, and then raised her by herself. She was also the one that gave Gomez the book on which the Netflix show 13 Reasons Why is based. The show was controversial because it spoke about mental health issues and suicide, topics that are fundamental to discuss with young vulnerable populations but that remain a taboo. However, Gomez’s message is optimistic. She has said: “I promise you that each and every one of you is made to be who you are and that’s what’s so attractive and beautiful.” Preach!
13 Reasons Why put mental health issues at the forefront of public media debate.
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“I get it all day, every day, that I’m not sexy enough, or I’m not cool enough, or if I did this I would be accepted… I promise you that each and every one of you is made to be who you are and that’s what’s so attractive and beautiful. Please don’t forget that, even when it gets hard,”she said in an interview for the Huffington Post. And this is exactly the message that she conveys in her project. Taking on Jay Asher’s literary world, she and the series creative team were able to show mental health and suicide from all possible angles.
She takes fame with a grain of salt.
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She has been famous for a big portion of her life, but she knows that todo es pasajero, and that at the end who you are does not depend merely on adulation: “You are not defined by an Instagram photo, by a ‘Like,’ by a comment. That does not define you.”
Body positivity is her mantra.
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“I feel very empowered and confident and comfortable with where I am. And I think it took me a long time to get there because, you know, the past year was so interesting because I’ve never been body-shamed before… I did gain weight, but I don’t care,” she said at On Air with Ryan Seacrest. This is a great, positive message for someone who is followed by millions of young women throughout the world, particularly in a day and age when standards of beauty are twisted and self-love is hard to achieve.
She is an active advocate of girl power.
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Perhaps following the example of her mother, who basically raised her alone while holding down as many jobs as necessary to make ends meet, Gomez says: “I don’t want to become little or hurt or a victim. I want to be strong for girls…I just want them to know that there is an option of standing up for yourself.” Additionally, she was named a United Nations Ambassador in 2009, and in this role, she has worked particularly in empowering vulnerable children by helping provide clean water, education, and medical services.
You learn from your mistakes.
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Perhaps most importantly, she knows that many see her as a role model and that this brings a huge deal of responsibility. “I’m human, I’m not perfect. I make mistakes all the time, but I guess my job is to keep those mistakes to myself, which I’m already fine doing and just try to be the best I can be for those kids,” she told E! Online.
