NARS Bronzing Powder: Laguna - £25
Victoria Jackson Shimmer Powder Brush: Bronze - Various prices online
MAC Powder Blush: Coppertone - £17.50
e.l.f Contouring Blush & Bronzing Powder: Blushed/Bronzed - £3.50
NYC Sun 2 Sun Bronzing Powder: Terracotta Tan - £2.99
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| Left to Right: NARS Laguna, Elf Bronzer, NYC Teracotta Tan (1st Lighter Shade, 2nd Darker Shade), VJ Bronzer, MAC Coppertone |
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| NARS Bronzer: Laguna |
From the swatch above and the image, you can see that 'Laguna' is a mid-tone brown which isn't too cool or warm with subtle shimmers. Although the shimmers are apparent on the swatch, when applied on the face it isn't too apparent and the bronzer appears matte. The finish is really smooth and easy to apply and buildable. It can be used to warm up the whole face or to contour with. I usually contour with this (as you can see it's 2 shades darker than my skintone which is perfect). For the summer it can be a bit too light to contour with but when I build it up it's fine. I'd like to try 'Casino' as I think that would suit my skintone best. At £25 it is a little pricey but you do get quite a fair amount of product and I do feel it is quite luxurious and applies smoothly in contrast to other bronzers. As you can see I've hit pan on it as I enjoy it so much, I most likely will repurchase it, but probably try it in 'Casino' first.
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| e.l.f Bronzer: Blushed/Bronzed |
The e.l.f contouring blush and bronzer contains two products - the blush we will ignore (it's bleugh anyways). The bronzer on the other hand I LOVE! Although there are gold sparkles that are apparent in the pan, they do not appear when applied on the face, which for me is a delight - since I contour with it. Again I've hit pan on it and in the summer time when I'm more tanned I use this practically everyday! Not only do I love it because of the matte look and the deep colour but also because it's a much more cooler brown than the other bronzers it's perfect for contouring with.The finish is not as smooth as the NARS bronzer, it can be a little streaky, but once you've gotten used to applying it with your brushes, you get a sense of how much to apply and how to apply. That doesn't bother me too much since I can work with it and it comes at a brilliant price! e.l.f are also notorious for their sales and promotions, so you can probably even pick it up for less than £3.50!! All in all it's a great bronzer for bronzing and contouring and can be used on a wider variety of skintones.
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| NYC Sun 2 Sun Bronzer: Terracotta Tan |
The Sun 2 Sun Bronzer comes in 2 different shades, which is great since you get more for your money. Superdrug are offering it at a great price of £2.99, I believe it used to be £4.09, regardless it is a low cost bronzer with quite a good amount of quality to it. To begin with, it is matte (which is great for drugstore) and surprisingly isn't chalky and has good saturation to the product. The lighter shade for me is too light for a contour but can be used as a blush, for lighter skintones it would made a lovely everyday bronzer/contour. The darker shade (used with a light hand) dusted across the face gives a lovely warm glow, it may be a tad too orange for contouring with. It applies smoothly and both colours can be mixed together and used if desired.
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| Victoria Jackson Shimmer Powder Brush: Bronze |
The VJ shimmer powder bronzer is the only shimmery bronzer of the bunch, (if you haven't been blinded already by the swatch of this bronzer) as you may recognise. Unlike the others it comes in a tube with the powder loaded and a fitted brush. I actually don't like this concept, since the brush isn't very soft and I can't really control how much product comes out - therefore I don't use it much. However you can open the bottom of the tube and dab your brush into the product, which I find much useful! Since this product is shimmery it's uses are not for contouring, but instead giving a bronzy/glowy look to the skin. You only need a small amount with this, since it is very pigmented and extremely shimmery. I think this would look best in the summer/with a tan, or going out. It gives a beautiful glowly look. You have to be very careful with this product, you can easily apply too much, which ends up making you look like an overdone caked disco ball - not a good look! I brought this product with other Vicotoria Jackson Cosmetics in a promotion, therefore I'm unaware of the price. It's available online (including ebay) and I've seen prices from £5 all the way to £20!! I wouldn't say it's a must-have, since it may be hard to get hold of and the colour is a bit too strong and the packaging is a nuisance I would give this a miss, unless you're a shimmery bronzer fanatic.
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| MAC Blush: Coppertone |
This may be a surprise entry. Although a few MAC blushers are used for contouring and bronzing with, 'Coppertone' is not famous for that. I actually was in two minds whether to include this or not, it's a very weird shade. It's more copper than bronze (hence the name) and more warm toned. It has a smooth matte finish, which is why I first used this as my contour and blush and thought it looked alright. It's less warm toned when applied on the skin. When the product is built up the colour is more truer on the skin. Now I'm more tanned I use it as a warm blush on my cheeks, but I feel that with a heavier hand it would give glow, warmth and colour to the skin just like a bronzer - therefore I included it in this overview. MAC blushers are £17.50 and I think are a little pricey but it is worth it since it has a beautiful smooth luxurious feel and application on the skin and a good amount of product too.
