I am unwavering in my opinion that I look and feel better with a bit of a tan. A real suntan is out of the question, so the only answer is a good bronzer – and today, luckily, we’re spoilt for choice. From the finest glow-giving powders to illuminating creams that are almost impossible to detect. What makes one bronzer brilliant and another makes you look like a disco ball? The answer is below, says editor Trudi Brewer.
Jane Iredale Finishing Touches Face Palette, $95.
I think I gasped when I first saw this limited-edition natural makeup palette. It houses a soft caramel, latte Bronzer, golden coral, and dusty rose Blush. The standout champagne sheen and golden peach sheen Highlighter. While you will love these shades, this makeup is good for the skin too. The formula is made with nourishing shea butter.
pine bark extract to calm skin. While pomegranate and jojoba seed oils help fight free radicals and soften the skin. Once you dust this combo on the skin, you will look like you have been on a tropical escape without leaving home.
PAT MCGRATH LABS Divine Blush Duo in Paradise Glow, $91.
This limited edition powder is almost too pretty to use but too tempting not to. The two colours are designed to blend or use alone. The bronze roses work well as a contour, and the illuminating sun rays as a highlighter buffed just where the sun would naturally hit your skin. Made with natural mica and zinc pigments, it’s also alcohol and paraben-free.
HUDA BEAUTY Glowish Blush Powder,in Sassy Saffron, $37.
This shade looks so pretty on the skin, and it’s full of skin-loving anti-oxidants, salicylic acid, and vitamins. The two-tone colour is ideal for adding instant warmth by sweeping across the apples of the cheeks and up into the temples.
NAPOLEON PERDIS Mosaic Harmony Bronzing Powder, $49.
This clever quilted bronzer allows you to have a blend of colours in one swipe. Each complementary hue can be swept over the top of blush or worn alone to give skin a flattering, natural-looking tan. made with mica, and golden iron oxides as well as silica, it’s ultra-fine and ultra-flattering.
MAC EFFERVESCENCE EXTRA DIMENSION FACE COMPACT, in deep, $118.
This limited edition party-time compact houses a blush, highlighter and bronzer in a unique hybrid formula that is as smooth as a cream but with the lasting finish of a powder thanks to the blend of zinc and titanium dioxide powders. There are three shades, light medium and deep.
NARS Laguna Bronzing Cream, in Laguna 4, $65.
New shade alert in the famous bronzing cream lineup. The silky texture glides on seamlessly using fingers or a fluffy brush, delivering a long-lasting, almost second-skin-like colour that leaves a warm, natural-looking bronze finish on the skin. Made with coconut oil, flower extracts, and vitamin E and it’s scented with Monoï de Tahiti Oil, which smells like summery tropical gardenia.
We ask the experts.