What’s putting you off wearing bronzer?

Think cream bronzer isn’t for you? Think again

Cream bronzer has the potential to be one of the hardest working products in your makeup bag. A good one will bring life and vibrancy to your skin by enhancing or mimicking a sun-kissed glow. No matter your skin tone, previous experience with bronzers (or lack thereof) there’s a reason to give the category a second chance.

Are you… a bronzer novice?

Standing tentatively on the edge, not sure whether to tip your toe into the wonderful world of bronzer? Allow us to give you the nudge you need. Forget any preconceptions about complex application and an orange finish, introducing a bronzer into your routine doesn’t have to be scary. Cream bronzers offer an incredibly easy way to achieve that two-weeks-in-Santorini-glow in just a few taps and sweeps. This kind of formulation is perfect for beginners, as their soft texture makes it easy to build the intensity, as well as correct any mistakes. If you do make a mishap, simply blend over the area with a clean finger or brush. For the most convincing finish, focus your application on the areas the sun naturally shines on your skin. This tends to be the high points, like your forehead, the tops of your cheeks, nose and chin.

Are you… powder hungry?

In a committed relationship with your powder bronzer? We get it, but is it really ticking all your boxes? Powder is normally the first consistency that springs to mind when picturing a bronzer, but formulations have evolved over the years and it’s no longer the only option. The downsides of a powder bronzer are that it can make your complexion look quite flat, as well as clinging to dry patches. They also tend to be either very matte, or very shimmery, neither of which are believable as a natural sun-kissed glow. Cream bronzer has the upper hand here, delivering a fresh, radiant bronze that leaves your skin looking healthy.

Are you… convinced bronzer wouldn’t work for your skin tone?

Typically, bronzer comes in one shade. At a push, there might be a lighter and darker option, but that’s normally as far as it goes. What this has meant is that anyone with either a very deep or very pale complexion has been misled into thinking that bronzer isn’t for them. But actually, all skin tones can benefit from a bronzer to add depth, health and dimension to your complexion. Not sure how to find the right bronzer shade? Input your skin tone, alongside your hair and eye colour into our Match2Me tool to find your perfect bronzer hue.

Are you… a sun-worshipper?

No need to fake it when you’ve got the real deal, right? Wrong. Even if you’re a sun-worshipper (and we’d hope you are wearing and regularly applying a broad-spectrum, high-factor SPF) it's likely your face still will be paler than the rest of your body. Why is that? It can be for a couple of different reasons. Firstly, many of us take SPF more seriously on our faces, which means they benefit from extra protection and pick up less colour. Secondly, we tend to exfoliate this skin more regularly, which whisks your tan away faster. The answer to a consistent, head-to-toe-glow? Bronzer. By allowing you to build intensity in specific areas, it’s a far more natural-looking way to get your face to play catch up than dramatically deepening the shade of your foundation.

Are you… a ferocious fake-tanner?

Few people are on the fence when it comes to fake tan – you’re either all in or wouldn’t touch it with a bargepole. If you’re sitting comfortably on the love side of the fence, we’re willing to guess you’re pretty fanatical about your fake tan. You probably have a tanning schedule planned around key events, and will have stained your bed-sheets a murky shade of orange more than once. You’ll also know that even the best-laid, pre-exfoliated plans can lead to streaks, which is why a swish of bronzer offers a much speedier and lower-stakes route to a golden glow. Consider swapping your tanning mitt for a brush (or your fingers, it’s up to you) and using cream bronzer to build an all-year-round glow on your complexion. You can use bronzer, like fake tan, to add definition to your body too, imitating and amplifying any natural colour you’ve picked up.

Are you… yet to find a bronzer you love?

If you tried bronzer once, only to file it away under the category of “not for me”, it might be time to reconsider. You may have found that the shade didn’t match your skin tone, the application was too time consuming or you didn’t get on with the texture. Golden Glow is the antidote to these bronzer-based worries, making you fall in love with the category by delivering a healthy, natural-looking glow in an easy-to-blend formula.

Are you… too low maintenance for bronzer?

If you take a minimalist approach to makeup, e.g. anything more than a tinted moisturiser feels like far too high maintenance, we imagine that bronzer is not a part of your day-to-day routine. But what if we told you that it was possible to use cream bronzer to bring warmth to your skin in less than a minute, max. That’s less than the time it takes to boil the kettle. You don’t need a brush, or any other tools, just a pot of cream bronzer. Use one finger to pat onto your skin where the sun would naturally give you a glow (forehead, top of the cheeks, nose and chin) before using a clean finger to buff and blend. Easy.