Just like liquid blushes, liquid bronzers have become another obsession. While cream products are still my jam, liquid products can feel thinner and are sometimes easier to use. There aren't that many brands that carry liquid bronzers, but I think I've found some amazing picks from drugstore to luxury price points.
Charlotte Tilbury Hollywood Contour Wand in Light to Medium | $38 for 0.40 oz / 12 mL
To be honest, I had low expectations for the Charlotte Tilbury Hollywood Contour Wand and then gave into the hype during the 2017 yearly favorites posts when every blogger couldn't stop raving about this product. I wasn't a fan of the cream or powder bronzers from the duo palettes since they were so light even for my light-medium skin tone. They also didn't seem to stick on my face for a long time too and so you can see why I wasn't a fan of CT bronzers. If I look past the bad packaging of the Contour Wand, holy smokes this is amazing! It's worth every bit of hype and I'm so happy that I have it. I have the Light-Medium shade and it works really well on my skin tone. I mostly use this as a bronzer since it's more on the slightly warm side. I've seen many YouTubers with lighter skin tones than mine use this shade though. What's even better about this is that there's a 2nd deeper shade! It's odd, but most companies only have 1 bronzer shade and so it's kind of exciting when I see brands with more than one bronzer with the second one being targeted towards those with medium-dark skin tones. It dries/sets a bit quick and so I recommend going in sections rather than applying it everywhere and then blending it in. It's very pigmented, but I'm able to blend and manipulate the opacity really easily without it getting patchy.
Wet n Wild MegaCushion Contour - Cafe au Slay! | $6 for 0.24 oz (according to Target) / 0.18 oz (according to Ulta)
I'm so very very pleasantly surprised with this product! It's on the neutral/warm side and so it works as a bronzer and contour on me. The product is really thin as well with a buildable formula and so I'm able to really build the definition around on my face if I wanted that contoured look but I mostly use it as a bronzer. I kind of gave the Tony Moly Crystal Mini Cushion Blushers a lot of shit in my liquid blush post and I'm also going to give the packaging of this cushion a lot of shit. Instead of being a flip out middle lid, the separator of the product and puff completely lifts off. When you put it back on, the pressure makes a bit of the product spurt out. I would think it gets better after using it more, but it annoyed me so much that I've thrown away that separator and it's been so much better. It does have a twist off lid though and so that's also weird. The puff didn't give me that much control either and so that was also tossed. The actual product is amazing. I do use a brush to blend it out and it blends so well into the skin and maintains the natural glow or appearance of skin. With the amount of product in this cushion, it might be better to get something else in this post but I've been using the same cushion for awhile and it's still going strong. It also helps to flip the sponge upside down since a lot of product collects at the bottom with use.
Giorgio Armani Neo Nude A-Line in 21 Dark | $38 for 0.13 oz / 3.9 mL
Yeahhhh, this isn't dark. I'm only looking at online swatches, but 20 seems more pink or cool toned and 21 looks more neutral to warm. The whole Neo Nude line is supposed to look really natural on your face and I 100% agree. I love the blushes as well and the watercolor quality of all of the Neo Nude A-Line products just melt into your skin to look seamless and beautiful. This contour/bronzer shade in 21 is no exception but it's so sheer and light that it's only a touch of color on my skin. It's also in a really tiny bottle compared to the Charlotte Tilbury Contour Wand, NARS Laguna Liquid Bronzer, and Drunk Elephant D-Bronzi Anti-Pollution Sunshine Serum for about the same price that this product is an easy pass. I do like how it looks and wear, but this is the definition of luxury product. It's not better or worse than the other bronzers mentioned in this post. If you have the disposable income, it's nice but not worth saving and splurging on.
NARS Laguna Liquid Bronzer | $40 for 1 oz / 30 mL
Laguna is a cult favorite shade for light-medium skin tones and so I wasn't surprised when a liquid version came out. It comes a huge and kind of nice big bottle with a pump and it's very liquidy. While the pump is appreciated, the product is too liquidy and so I do have to be careful when I pump out product. Like how I mentioned in my liquid blush post here, a doe foot applicator seems to be a bit easier/better for me since it's not as messy and there's more control. The golden sheen initially looks more apparent, but it diffuses so beautifully once it's blended out. It looks like my skin's own natural glow and so it still looks good even when I only use it around the perimeter of my face. It's a very sheer product and like the bronzer, it looks best on light to medium skin tones. I like using this product around my forehead to blend my natural skin tone and foundation together since my forehead is pretty much 2 shades darker than the rest of my face. I also like to put it on my cheek bones for added warmth.
Drunk Elephant D-Bronzi Anti-Pollution Sunshine Serum | $36 for 1 oz / 30 mL
I'm always intrigued when a skincare company comes out with makeup-ish items. Right after I purchased the Laguna Liquid Bronzer, I saw that Drunk Elephant also released the D-Bronzi Anti-Pollution Sunshine Serum. Since I have low impulse control, I probably waited a week before getting it. The packaging is a pump tube and I don't mind it since it's more of a cream / thicker liquid and doesn't splatter everywhere. Initially, it does look like it'll be darker than Laguna but it sheers out so much that I think it's slightly lighter than Laguna. I have not tried mixing it with moisturizers and other stuff like recommended though since I like only placing this product on specific parts of my face. It does give my face a beautiful bronze glow with the added dewiness of it being a serum and so I can see why people that are more fair than me like to use it all over.
L'oreal Havana x Camila Cabello Sun-Lit Liquid Bronzer in Light-Medium | $14.99 for 1.35 oz
This product came out right as I was finishing this post and so I decided to pick it up for another drugstore option. I also like Camila Cabello and so I was pretty excited for her Havana collection. I opted to get the Light-Medium shade, but I feel like I should've gotten the darker shade. This product completely sheered out to be barely a bronzey glow on my face. Which could be good or bad depending on what you're going for. If you wanted something like the Drunk Elephant D-Bronzi Serum, I would say that this is a less pigmented alternative since L'oreal also states that this is supposed to be a hydrating product as well. The formula kind of reminds me so much of the True Match Lumi Glotion Natural Glow Enhancer that I'm kind of wondering if they're the same product but maybe repackaged. I'm personally not a huge fan of that product because it didn't look like much on my skin and I did feel the same disappointment from the Liquid Bronzer version. I should also be clear that this is probably my own personal problem though since I went in expecting a more pigmented liquid bronzer. The darker shade might be better for my wants/needs but for now, I'm not into this.
I didn't really touch on it in the individual mini overviews, but all of these products kind of set to be a satin/dewy finish. The thinner formulas like the NARS Laguna Liquid Bronzer and Giorgio Armani Neo Nude A-Line are the most skin like in finish, but you can also buff the others in more to get the same effect. I guess from thinnest to thickest, it'd be - Giorgio Armani, NARS, Wet n Wild, L'oreal, and Drunk Elephant and Charlotte Tilbury are tied.
If I had to really choose between all of these, I think I would definitely keep/repurchase the Charlotte Tilbury Hollywood Contour Wand and NARS Laguna Liquid Bronzer. The CT Contour Wand is absolutely amazing at bronzing and contouring my light-medium skin tone and it's so easy to use. I initially liked the Drunk Elephant D-Bronzi Serum more than the Laguna Liquid Bronzer, but I wear so many moisturizing layers that it feels like a little bit too much adding another cream just on the perimeters on my face. I might change my mind during winter though when my skin is more dry.
Have you tried any liquid bronzers? Have you tried any of these products? What's your favorite bronzing product?
Drunk Elephant D-Bronzi Anti-Pollution Sunshine Serum | $36 for 1 oz / 30 mL
I'm always intrigued when a skincare company comes out with makeup-ish items. Right after I purchased the Laguna Liquid Bronzer, I saw that Drunk Elephant also released the D-Bronzi Anti-Pollution Sunshine Serum. Since I have low impulse control, I probably waited a week before getting it. The packaging is a pump tube and I don't mind it since it's more of a cream / thicker liquid and doesn't splatter everywhere. Initially, it does look like it'll be darker than Laguna but it sheers out so much that I think it's slightly lighter than Laguna. I have not tried mixing it with moisturizers and other stuff like recommended though since I like only placing this product on specific parts of my face. It does give my face a beautiful bronze glow with the added dewiness of it being a serum and so I can see why people that are more fair than me like to use it all over.
L'oreal Havana x Camila Cabello Sun-Lit Liquid Bronzer in Light-Medium | $14.99 for 1.35 oz
This product came out right as I was finishing this post and so I decided to pick it up for another drugstore option. I also like Camila Cabello and so I was pretty excited for her Havana collection. I opted to get the Light-Medium shade, but I feel like I should've gotten the darker shade. This product completely sheered out to be barely a bronzey glow on my face. Which could be good or bad depending on what you're going for. If you wanted something like the Drunk Elephant D-Bronzi Serum, I would say that this is a less pigmented alternative since L'oreal also states that this is supposed to be a hydrating product as well. The formula kind of reminds me so much of the True Match Lumi Glotion Natural Glow Enhancer that I'm kind of wondering if they're the same product but maybe repackaged. I'm personally not a huge fan of that product because it didn't look like much on my skin and I did feel the same disappointment from the Liquid Bronzer version. I should also be clear that this is probably my own personal problem though since I went in expecting a more pigmented liquid bronzer. The darker shade might be better for my wants/needs but for now, I'm not into this.
I didn't really touch on it in the individual mini overviews, but all of these products kind of set to be a satin/dewy finish. The thinner formulas like the NARS Laguna Liquid Bronzer and Giorgio Armani Neo Nude A-Line are the most skin like in finish, but you can also buff the others in more to get the same effect. I guess from thinnest to thickest, it'd be - Giorgio Armani, NARS, Wet n Wild, L'oreal, and Drunk Elephant and Charlotte Tilbury are tied.
If I had to really choose between all of these, I think I would definitely keep/repurchase the Charlotte Tilbury Hollywood Contour Wand and NARS Laguna Liquid Bronzer. The CT Contour Wand is absolutely amazing at bronzing and contouring my light-medium skin tone and it's so easy to use. I initially liked the Drunk Elephant D-Bronzi Serum more than the Laguna Liquid Bronzer, but I wear so many moisturizing layers that it feels like a little bit too much adding another cream just on the perimeters on my face. I might change my mind during winter though when my skin is more dry.
Have you tried any liquid bronzers? Have you tried any of these products? What's your favorite bronzing product?
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