ABCD: DEFINED
Members of the desi diaspora learn two meanings of ABCD as children. In kindergarten they learn that A,B,C, and D are the first four letters of the alphabet. When they visit their parents’ country origin they learn that these four letters form a pejorative acronym that stands for “American-born Confused Desi”.
The acronym allegedly captures the cultural turmoil faced by the diaspora because they are born and raised in a non-desi country but have desi origins. It is assumed that the diaspora is saddled with a mixed set of values that creates a confused identity. In plain speak, the diaspora is brown but acts westernised, i.e. white.
Funnily if a desi woman has white skin it is ideal but if her attitude is “white” then it is problematic. White is a particularly sensitive topic within the diaspora because colourism is rampant and people are assigned values and roles based on their skin colour. Typically, the lighter the skin colour the more likely you are considered to be beautiful. If your skin is dark, your attractiveness is questioned and people believe that you will have a difficult time finding a husband.
Consequently, many desi women have been trained to look as light as possible. Approved activities such as avoiding the sun, applying lemon to the skin, and using light-coloured powders, even if the skin is as dark as chocolate, are deemed to make you more attractive. Conversely, bronzer falls into the category of forbidden acts because it has the potential to darken the skin.
Ergo, applying bronzer is not merely a cosmetic act it is a rebellious one which I have come to embrace with great pleasure. However the road to enjoying bronzer was not an easy one but it was certainly worth the effort.
ACNE SAVED ME FROM COLOURISM… OR DID IT?
Suffering from acne as a teenager prevented me from wishing that my skin was lighter. From the age of 14 onwards, every morning I looked at my complexion and wished that I had clear skin. I wanted all of my busted pimples to fade into nothingness and to touch my face and feel flatness not bumps. My acne helped me to define a perfect complexion as having neither pimples nor scars, regardless of skin colour.
I was shocked when a high school friend who was dark-skinned and blessed with a lovely complexion, rejected my compliments. She explained that since she was not lighter-skinned like me that she was not considered to be attractive. I was aware that desi cultures preferred lighter skin, as I learned this value at my mother’s knee. I also knew that pimply, scarred skin was unattractive, and was puzzled at how she could reject my genuine compliments.
In my late teens I saw a dermatologist and was treated for acne. However the resulting low self-esteem stayed with me for years and affected the type of skin make-up I used.
BRONZER MADE ME ORANGE NOT DARKER
The disadvantage of having darker skin is that it scars easily and takes longer to heal. My scars and unevenness took years to clear-up. Moreover my skin was oily and loved to shine all of the time.
Consequently, I focussed on make-up that provided a heavier, matte coverage, to cover my scarred cheeks and prevent shine. When I was initially introduced to bronzer I was skeptical because I did not want my face looking lighter than my neck, and I did not want the bronzer’s particles to settle on my scars thus drawing attention to them.
When I finally applied bronzer I looked like a tangerine with oil slicks on my nose and cheeks. Aside from being advised to buy a bronzer that turned orange on my skin, I also over-applied it and looked like Mrs. Roper. The experience turned me off to bronzers for many years.
THE RISE OF JLO AND CONFRONTING MY OWN TRUTH
I steadily avoided bronzers even with the rise of Jennifer Lopez in the late nineties. However as my scars faded into nothingness and my cheeks felt smooth, the siren call of the bronzers became increasingly hard to resist. Yet I still hesitated to make the leap into the healthy glow look.
After a lot of reflection I realised that three reasons prevented me from trying bronzers:
- After years of struggling to obtain perfect skin I simply wanted to enjoy my even, scar-free complexion;
- I did not want to look unnatural because as much as I gawked at desi women who suffered from attah syndrome (i.e. a term I coined to describe a brown person who uses a pale powder in order to look lighter-skinned but in fact looks like she dipped her face in attah (flour)) I understood that applying bronzer and looking like a tangerine was no better; and
- I did not want to be told that my face was too dark by an aunty, in particular when my décolleté, which is covered for eight months of the year, is significantly paler than my face.
I was particularly disturbed by my third reason because I have always found light-and-dark skinned women to be pretty. However my fear of being criticised for my skin colour demonstrated that even though I managed to avoid the full weight of colourism it still impacted my worldview.
The question then became how do I deal with colourism and answer the siren call of the bronzer.
UNDERSTANDING BRONZER
I realised that I had to take a step back and understand what is bronzer, and below are my conclusions.
Thankfully since the nineties bronzers have evolved from shades of tangerine and orange to a plethora of rose golds and coppers that suit all skin tones. The belief that bronzer is merely brown powder that serves to make the skin darker is fundamentally incorrect. Bronzers like luminisers manipulate light to create a glow on the face. One could say that luminisers recreate the effects of moonlight, while bronzers do the same with sunlight.
Bronzers are designed to imitate the effects of the sun without harmful UV rays so that you look sporty, relaxed, and sun kissed. The colours are certainly in the brown family but they do not darken the skin per se. Rather they deepen the shade of skin located on the raised parts of the face.
Bronzer which darkens the whole face is bronzer that has been applied incorrectly. It is not meant to be applied like foundation, rather it should be judiciously tapped on the nose, cheek bones, chin and forehead.
A darker face requires a new foundation and this can happen if you are exposed to the sun’s rays. Even in such a darkened state, a bronzer can still add dimension and éclat to the darker face.
Consequently, bronzer should be classified as a subset of the blush category of cosmetics, rather than the powder or foundation categories. Bronzer enhances the skin’s beauty, it does not change its colour.
THE PERFECT BRONZING PRODUCTS FOR DESI WOMEN
The first step is to select the right shade. I am impressed by the Guerlain Terracotta collection which boasts of a host of bronzing liquids and powders that suit all skin tones. My preferred product is the Terracotta Light Sheer Bronzing Powder. These powders come in four shades that include Brunettes 03 and Sun Brunettes 05 (“Bronzer”). The powder is so finely-milled and luminescent that it is simply impossible to end up looking like Mrs. Roper. Each compact comes with a mosaic of earth tone colours that are designed to be swirled together and then tapped on the raised parts of the face. The bronzer will not cake on the skin and its light texture permits you to build intensity. It is simply idiot-proof and makes any desi woman look sun kissed.
The key to a successful application is picking a big brush that lightly deposits the bronzer. Big woolly brushes deposit bronzer lightly but they can also result in circular patterns being left on the face. I prefer the fan-shaped 134 Wavy Brush from Make Up For Ever (“Brush”). It fans out, grabs just a smidgen of product and deposits it lightly on the face. The bristles are soft and do not scratch the skin. It is as if this brush has been programmed to avoid the Mrs. Roper look. It is simply brilliant.
HOW TO BRONZE
Simply applying bronzer to the face and running out the door results in an unkempt look. The key is to create a frame within which bronzer glows. The frame is composed of lightly defined eyes and fresh lips which use colours that compliment the warmth of bronzers.
My favourite bronzer look involves the following:
1. Decide the level of skin coverage you need. Given that bronzer is supposed to make you look sun kissed focus on light coverage using a CC cream such as Bobbi Brown Color Correct Cream SPF 35 in Warm Nude or Golden Nude which are perfect for desi women;
Moi au naturel
Applying Bobbi Brown Color Correct Cream SPF 35 in Warm Nude
Skin is now even
2. Bronzer is an easy look, so construct a frame with lightly defined brows. I always fill-in my brows with Estée Lauder Double Wear Stay-in-Place Brow Lift Duo in 01 Highlight/ Black Brown. It is a thin, double-sided pencil which allows me to draw in individual hairs with the brown end and then I use the other end to apply a thin line of champagne under the brow for a lift;
Filling-in eyebrows
Filled-in eyebrows
3. Since bronzer adds a bit of shadow, bright eyes are key. I even-out my eyelids and prepare it to receive a neutral eye shadow by priming with Dior Backstage Eye Prime. It is a tad creamy to the touch and quickly dries when you tap it on the eyelid area. The colour is a soft nude and blends in easily while brightening the eye area. I then like to warm up my eyes with Givenchy Cream Eyeshadow in Beige Mousseline. This is a cappuccino-tinged cream-to-powder shadow that stays on for several hours and does not crease;
Eyelids are being primed
Eyelids are primed and ready for colour
Beige Mousseline by Givenchy
Applying Beige Mousseline to warm up the eyes
Warm eyes!
4. The eyes should be defined with a pencil like butter London‘s Union Jack Black Wink Eye Pencil which is unapologetically black and stays on all day! I line my upper and lower waterline, making sure that 1) the tip is soft, and 2) my eyes have no sensitivities. The double waterlining defines the eyes, and makes my lashes look thicker;
butter London Union Jack Black pencil with a softened tip
Gently lining the lower waterline
Gently lining the upper waterline
5. I line the upper eyes with a Chanel Stylo Yeux Waterproof Long-Lasting Eyeliner in Ambre-Doré making sure to define the inner-corner as this area is heavily recessed and prone to shadows. Ambre-Doré is a warm gold that twinkles and really opens up the eyes;
Applying Chanel Ambre Dore- creating soft metallic eye
Eyes are lined!
6. I apply Shiseido Sheer Eye Zone Corrector in shade 104 Natural Ochre. There are two more darker shades, 105 Beige and 106 Warm Beige, which would flatter many desi skin tones. I love that this thin liquid brightens and slightly covers my dark circles. I like the slightness because it gives me the control over the intensity of coverage. I can apply multiple layers, tap them in easily, and never have a heavy look;
Applying Shiseido
Blending Shiseido to mute dark circles
Shadows are now running scared and are in hiding;)
7. I curl my lashes with Kevyn Aucoin Eyelash Curler to further open the eye area;
Curling my lashes
Curled lashes open up the eyes
8. I prefer the drama of mamacita lashes and have been enjoying the thick, densely-bristled mascara brush of Burberry Volumising Lash Enhancer No. 01 Midnight Black. Interestingly, its hefty brush belies how little it deposits with each stroke. This mascara is about building your desired volume, rather than glooping on too much and then desperately combing out the excess;
Burberry brush is hefty but deposits mascara lightly so I control the volume
Applying the mascara
Lashes are ready for action;)
9. I swipe on a Sicilian blood orange lip colour which contains the richness of red but the warmth and exoticism orange. Red lips would make the look too eighties. I am enjoying Dior Addict Fluid Stick in 551 Aventure. The colour is bright without the neon connotations that tend to accompany the colour orange;
Applying colour to lips
Hot Lips!
10. I drag the Brush across the Bronzer a few times, I blow on the Brush to remove excess particles, and smile. I glide the Brush on the forehead, cheeks, chin and centre of the nose. I am bronzed!
Guerlain and Make Up For Ever bronzing products
Swiping Brush on the Bronzer
Blowing off excess bronzer
Bronzing forehead
Bronzing Cheeks
Bronzing the chin
Bronzing the nose
Bronzed and ready to glow:)
CONCLUSIONS
In hindsight, acne was a bit of a gift in that it taught me to appreciate skin not based on colour but on its actual quality, i.e. clarity and uniformity. I got in trouble when I forgot these criteria and allowed myself to be influenced by colourism.
Colourism not only holds people to unfair and cruel stereotypes and standards, it also discourages one from trying different looks for fear of looking darker. This is simply nonsensical because most desi women are darker-complexioned, and rather than suffering from attah syndrome, bronzers represent a great alternative that celebrates the warm undertones of the skin. The key is to pick the correct shade and invest in a good brush.
To keep the bronzed look from veering into sloppy territory, defining the eyes, and adding a pop of colour on the lips, creates a great frame for the face, which can then hold the colour.
Bronzer that is applied lightly and judiciously to the raised parts of the face, i.e. forehead, cheeks, centre of nose and chin, looks natural and fresh.
Bronzer is for everyone and is worth a second thought. If you are nervous about looking darker bronzer should not give rise to such fears. Bronzers aside from making you look sporty and healthy present an opportunity to challenge colourism in a small but significant way.
Beauty Tips for Desi Ladies in North America and Europe 