Photoshop :: Tool Color - Each Option Changes Burn Shade Slightly?

With the burn tool one can use it several ways.  The direct way is to just click on the tool and select whether you want highlights, mid-tones, or shadows.  Each option changes the burn shade slightly.  Also there are a host of blend modes which again changes the burn shade.
 
One can also create a burn layer and change blend modes, all with different effects.  Then you can also use the brush tool and select color burn or color dodge, with the foreground color changing the shade of the burn.So all of these options give a great deal of control, but frankly I am just burned out on the process.
 
All I want is to have the burn deepen the color to more closely match the color in the shadows of the picture.  It seems to work better on flesh and soft colors than on bright colors.  In those cases I give up and resort to a brush in normal mode with color selected by eyedropper.  But that can make the image more muddy as it covers up rather than intensify.
 
So wilh all the man-years of experience out there is there a more simple way to get the correct burn shade than going though 49 different variations? Or should I just stick with the brush and use a different blend mode?