A good bronzing powder is a must for me and in the past few months I have tried out a serious amount of them. I am quickly running low on them all at the same time and so I started to question what one I would repurchase and why! I am finding it very difficult to pick between three of the many I have tried and so I thought it would be a great opportunity to share with you all my thoughts on some of the best bronzers on the market while at the same time it might make me a little clearer on which one I want to repurchase.
When I talk about Bronzer I am only talking about a powder that is applied to the face in the areas where the sun would naturally hit your face and not a contour powder (although if you want me to do a post on my top contour products please let me know below). People do use bronzers as contours and there is no rule to say you cannot do this but personally I like a more ashy, greyish toned powder to add contours to my face. So with all that said the powders I will be reviewing for you all today are ones I use solely as bronzers but most of them can be used as a contour shade too.
First up is one that I used many moons ago and still to this day repurchase it every so often and am never dissapointed with it. The Benefit Hoola bronzer is on the market a very long time and has alot of fans around the world. It is a completely matte bronzer and although it can look very natural on the skin if you apply with a very light hand it can also be built up to a deep colour. I love this as I feel it suits a variety of skintones even up as far as fairly tanned. This does have a greyish undertone so it is also a good option as a contour shade and I know alot of makeup artists do use it for this purpose but it is equally as stunning swept over the face for that bronzed goddess look. If I had to say one bad thing about this product it would have to be the pacakaging. It’s cardboard and so it gets very grubby very quickly and although there is a mirror inside the case I would never use it as it is always dirty from the dust of the bronzer. This bronzer costs €34 for 8g of product. The other powders I am going to talk about are similar in weight but for some reason I feel I get so much more from Hoola and it lasts a really long time. As it is matte it doesn’t create too much of a sheen to the skin nor does it make your skin look oilier than it already is. I think this is simply a good all rounder and is a great one to add to your collection. I would say though if you like a more golden colour bronzer this wouldn’t be for you but some of the ones below might suit you better. Benefit is available nationwide so go check this out the next time you pass a stand.
Another Cult classic would have to be Nars Laguna Bronzer. This again is 8g in size and costs €37. I definitely don’t feel I get as much time out of this bronzer as I do from Hoola and I think it is because Hoola is so pigmented that a tiny amount goes a very long way. Laguna is a much lighter bronzer. It is a very golden shade which is very flattering on us Irish gals. It does contain some shimmer in the powder and although it is minimal and not very obvious on the skin I woud avoid using this as a contour shade as it can look muddy and unnatural. I always feel my skin looks flawless and luminous after using this bronzer and that is mainly down to the shimmer particles in the powder which reflect light onto the face creating a beautiful look to the skin. I love this bronzer for during the day as the shade isn’t too dark for my skin and so just adds a slight amount of colour. These powders do come in different lighter and darker shades but this shade is the most universal and the one loved by many makeup lovers. The packaging of this is the typical Nars black matte packaging and to be honest it is not my favourite as the velvety texture of the case gets very grubby which really bothers me! It does come with a big mirror though which is great for on the go. This bronzer can be bought from Nars counters which is in Brown Thomas and it is also available in some Space NK stores. You can also check out their European website where they deliver to Ireland.
My final bronzer pick of the day is the Too Faced Chocolate Soleil Matte Bronzing Powder. I have shade Light/Medium in this and it also comes in Medium/Deep. This bronzer, as the name suggests is, for the most part a matte powder but in close detection I did notice the tinniest amount of shimmer in the powder but it is in no way detectable on the skin. It looks beautiful on the skin and gives a similar luminosity as Nars Laguna but in a more golden shade. This is a beautiful bronzer and it lasts very well on the skin. There is very little bad to say about this products and I even like the packaging on the one as it is plastic and shiny so doesn’t go all ugly like the others mentioned above do. I do have the old packaging but the newer version is even prettier. If there was one criticism it would have to be that I feel you need to really build up the intensity of the colour by layering the product and so the 10g’s of powder (2g bigger than the others mentioned) doesn’t seem to last very long. This could be down to the fact that I bought the lighter of the shades so I think next time I will definitely buy the darker shade and this will more than likely last longer as a little will go a much longer way. This costs €36 for the 10g so when comparing the three gram for gram this is the best value. I buy mine from Boots and it is also available on their website.
Overall, I loved all of the bronzer’s mentioned above. They all have their own little perks and downfalls. Which one I will buy is still not very clear to me but I think it will either be Benefit’s Hoola Bronzer or the darker version of the Too Faced Chocolate Soleil Bronzer. Hoola although it isn’t very fancy and the packaging drives me mad I do love the look it gives to the skin and it does double up as a lovely lighter contour shade while the darker version of Too Faced’s Chocolate Soleil is definitely one I would be interested in trying as I loved the lighter version even though it was probably too pale for my skin but if I got the darker shade this would clear this issue up and hopefully make me use less and hence get more for my money. Once payday comes I think I will need to invest in one of these beauties! I will keep you updated on which one I add to my collection. Truth is, you will probably see all of these featured in my makeup collection at some stage in the future. What can I say? I am makeup obsessed!!!
Which one of the three bronzers above do you like the look of? Have you tried any of them before?
Thanks for stopping by. Until next time, Happy Shopping.
Anita XXX
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