2011 may have been the year of the highlighter for me, but it was also the year of the bronzer. I started using bronzer regularly not only to add colour to my face, but also to contour my forehead, cheeks and jawline. I never used to use bronzer for fear of looking orange, and I know from time to time I may somewhat resemble an Oompa Loompa, but I've learned to embrace it ;] I went from owning 2 bronzers to several, in a variety of shades and both cream and powder textures. Here are some of my favourites from the past year:
Essence Sun Club Matt Bronzing Powder is a fairly recent acquisition, and in an upcoming post I'll gush all about my new found love for Essence. I've been absolutely loving this bronzer recently, using it on my cheeks everyday during my Red Lips week. It's the lightest bronzer I own, so I prefer it for adding colour and warming up the face rather than contouring. It's a light warm brown with a hint of orange.
Benefit Hoola - forgive me, I forgot to include this in the first couple of photos! In the pan this looks like a boring matte yellow-tinged brown, but when swatched against my other bronzers it looks positively green! I prefer to use this one for contouring, as it's a bit dark for me to use as a blush/warm up my face. I have this in my Powda Wowza palette and individually, and it's definitely worth having the backup!
MAC Springshine Blush Ombre was limited edition with Spring Colour Forecast, and was sadly overlooked by many. I received this as a gift from the lovely Kim Porter, and I've actually hit pan on it! I use the darker portion of this to contour, and the lighter portion to add colour to my face. I also use this to tone down my brow highlight when I've gone a bit overboard (read: every.single.day.) There's a bit of shimmer in the pan, but I've never noticed this translating to the face.
MAC Equilibrium Blush was limited edition too, this time with the MAC Me Over collection. I ordered this online, hoping it'd be the answer to my pinky-brown-nude-blush dreams. Unfortunately in real life it was much more brown and much less pink than I'd have liked, but it works well as both a blush and bronzer! The subtle shimmer in the pan translates to a pretty satin finish on my skin.
MAC To The Beach Cream Bronzer in Weekend is looong gone, having come out with the To The Beach collection in Summer 2010. Mine is starting to dry out and I can't recall what the texture felt like originally, but these days it almost feels like a dry oil when I rub it between my fingers. I went through a phase a while back where I was obsessed with using this as a creamy base under my cheek colour. It worked nicely with peach and coral blushes, not so much with pinks. In the pan it's a deep reddish brown with a pink flash, but on the skin it's an orangey brown with pink shimmer.
Chanel Soleil Tan de Chanel also appears to have a green tinge in my swatches like Benefit Hoola, but I actually think of this as a cream sister to the Essence Sun Club bronzer! It's a light, slightly orangey brown which I prefer to add colour to my face, as it's not quite dark enough for me to contour with. It has a cream-meets-mousse texture, and glides on the skin likebuttah silk. I also used this during my Red Lips week as a cream blush, and dusted the Essence bronzer over the top for a deeper bronze cheek.
Now I do also own NARS Laguna and Casino Bronzers, but they didn't make the list for different reasons. I only recently acquired the NARS Danmari Palette with Casino, and I haven't had a chance to use it in a makeup look yet. I also have NARS Laguna in my Blush/Bronzer Trio, but I never fell in love with it the way I've fallen in love with these bronzers. It's an odd colour on me, it's not quite dark enough for me to use as a contour, and it's not quite light enough for me to use to warm up my face. The shade itself doesn't work all that well with my skintone either, I find I have to really work with it to not look dirty. But who knows, maybe something will change and I'll be singing its praises next year!
What are your favourite bronzers? <3
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| Clockwise from Top Left: Essence Sun Club Matt Bronzing Powder in 01 Natural/Blondes - Lighter Skin, MAC Equilibrium Blush, MAC Springshine Blush Ombre, Chanel Soleil Tan de Chanel, and MAC To The Beach Cream Bronzer in Weekend |
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| Same order as above. |
Essence Sun Club Matt Bronzing Powder is a fairly recent acquisition, and in an upcoming post I'll gush all about my new found love for Essence. I've been absolutely loving this bronzer recently, using it on my cheeks everyday during my Red Lips week. It's the lightest bronzer I own, so I prefer it for adding colour and warming up the face rather than contouring. It's a light warm brown with a hint of orange.
Benefit Hoola - forgive me, I forgot to include this in the first couple of photos! In the pan this looks like a boring matte yellow-tinged brown, but when swatched against my other bronzers it looks positively green! I prefer to use this one for contouring, as it's a bit dark for me to use as a blush/warm up my face. I have this in my Powda Wowza palette and individually, and it's definitely worth having the backup!
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| L - R: Essence Sun Club Matt Bronzing Powder in 01 Natural/Blondes - Lighter Skin, Benefit Hoola, MAC Springshine Blush Ombre, MAC Equilibrium Blush, MAC To The Beach Cream Bronzer in Weekend, Chanel Soleil Tan de Chanel |
MAC Springshine Blush Ombre was limited edition with Spring Colour Forecast, and was sadly overlooked by many. I received this as a gift from the lovely Kim Porter, and I've actually hit pan on it! I use the darker portion of this to contour, and the lighter portion to add colour to my face. I also use this to tone down my brow highlight when I've gone a bit overboard (read: every.single.day.) There's a bit of shimmer in the pan, but I've never noticed this translating to the face.
MAC Equilibrium Blush was limited edition too, this time with the MAC Me Over collection. I ordered this online, hoping it'd be the answer to my pinky-brown-nude-blush dreams. Unfortunately in real life it was much more brown and much less pink than I'd have liked, but it works well as both a blush and bronzer! The subtle shimmer in the pan translates to a pretty satin finish on my skin.
 |
| L - R: Essence, Benefit Hoola, MAC Springshine, MAC Equilibrium |
Chanel Soleil Tan de Chanel also appears to have a green tinge in my swatches like Benefit Hoola, but I actually think of this as a cream sister to the Essence Sun Club bronzer! It's a light, slightly orangey brown which I prefer to add colour to my face, as it's not quite dark enough for me to contour with. It has a cream-meets-mousse texture, and glides on the skin like
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| L - R: MAC Equilibrium, MAC To The Beach, Chanel Soleil Tan de Chanel |
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Now I do also own NARS Laguna and Casino Bronzers, but they didn't make the list for different reasons. I only recently acquired the NARS Danmari Palette with Casino, and I haven't had a chance to use it in a makeup look yet. I also have NARS Laguna in my Blush/Bronzer Trio, but I never fell in love with it the way I've fallen in love with these bronzers. It's an odd colour on me, it's not quite dark enough for me to use as a contour, and it's not quite light enough for me to use to warm up my face. The shade itself doesn't work all that well with my skintone either, I find I have to really work with it to not look dirty. But who knows, maybe something will change and I'll be singing its praises next year!
What are your favourite bronzers? <3
