Mineral bronzing powder betrays me

Because I grew up in a generation that recklessly tanned between the hours of 11:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m., using nothing but tanning oils that you could also have probably used to make pancakes or popcorn or fried chicken, I now have patches of sun damage on my face that make me very unhappy. Girls of today, be ye not so stupid. Because someday, you will be forty-something and looking in a mirror and disconsolately saying to yourself, "I did this to myself on purpose? Plus I smelled like a Mai-Tai without the benefits of actually drinking one?"

So now when I go to the pool, I always wear SPF50 sunscreen, plus huge sunglasses, plus a big hat. I look like the World's Largest Celebrity, but that's okay. Everywhere else, I usually wear SPF3o all summer long. This creates a discrepancy between the color of my head and the color of my rest of me. I even my facial skin tone out with a slightly darker foundation than I use, say, in January, but I also have experimented with bronzing powders in the past and have achieved limited success.

I bought a new bronzing powder a few weeks ago, having used up my previous one, which lasted for something like four summers. I bought it at that really fancy cosmetics boutique, the name of which escapes me at the moment. Oh yeah. It was Wal-Mart. Anyway, I can't remember the brand name of it because it is upstairs in my makeup bag and I am downstairs and it is five o'clock in the morning and if I went upstairs to do my proper research for a product review, I would wake my husband, who does not wear bronzer and would understandably be annoyed at being awakened so that I could find mine, so whatevs.

Anyway. I've been using this bronzing powder, applying it carefully with a big, fluffy brush, but I haven't really been all that happy with it. When I look in the mirror, I can't decide if I have a suntanned glow or if I just look dirty.

This is a probem with bronzing powders, I find: there is a very, very narrow margin between that healthful sun-kissed look and significant glances from strangers indicating that you look like you've been dumpster diving.

Here's an article I found on E-How that gives some tips for using mineral bronzers.