Bronze Goddess.

I don't know about you, but whether it's spring, summer, fall or winter, contouring and bronzing powders have always been part of my daily makeup routine because I feel like I have a fat face. Yes, fat....well okay, more like a wide and flat face :$ I've always been envious of those who have nice defined facial features, especially nice cheek bones - so thankfully, there's makeup to the rescue! Don't have it? Fake it.

ELF Studio Contouring Blush & Bronzing Powder

One of those heated products all over the internet because gurus found a cheap dupe to Nars's Orgasm & Leguna duo. I wish I could give you a comparison but I don't have it plus, I'm sure you can find those reviews easily yourself or you've probably seen them already. My thoughts on this duo is that, I'm actually not that amused. Yes, the bronzer is super pigmented but to me, that's also the downfall of the product as well. It's hard to NOT look like hey-everyone-I've-abused-my-face-with-bronzer kind of look. In flash photography, if you have too much on you'll look like you have an orange face and a ton of makeup on - not attractive. So a word of advice: beware. I mean, if you can control it well, then this bronzer isn't too bad. I usually just dab my brush in once and gently sweep it on to get a boost of definition for my cheeks. The blush is a nice peachy pink with gold shimmers, but personally I'm not a fan of blushes with glitters cause I like the healthy glow/sheen instead of sparkly face look. Overall, this is an "okay good" product for me.

The Pros
- cheap and affordable ($3 from ELF website)
- travel friendly
- has a big mirror
- packaging is pretty sleek

The Cons
- overly pigmented
- not very accessible outside of the US
- shipping is expensive if you do not live in the States so you need to buy A LOT to even out the prices or combine orders with friends

Overall Rating: 6.5/10

ELF Studio Bronzer in Warm

I think this bronzer is perfect for those who are after the subtle summer glowy look. This is the least pigmented out of all of the bronzers I have, but not in a bad way because it's for the satin finish. In the swatch below, you can see that it gives you a nice sheen and not a glitter finish. I don't have much against this powder, but as mentioned earlier - I look for bronzers for contouring and defining purposes...so this isn't what I was exactly looking for even though it's a pretty good and affordable product. 

The Pros

- very affordable ($3 from ELF website)

- travel friendly

- gives you a nice sheen 

- can use the colours individually or mix it together

- big mirror

- packaging is sleek

The Cons

- if you mix the colours together, you'll ruin the highlighting shade (as seen in the photo)

- not very accessible outside of the US, shipping is expensive if you do not live in the States so you need to buy A LOT to even out the prices or combine orders with friends

Overall Rating: 8/10

NYC Matte Bronzer in Sunny and NYX Blush Powder in Taupe

As you can see from the picture above, I love these two to death. NYC Sunny looks a little crazy but that's because this was my first bronzer and my only bronzer for the longest time (~2 years?). I admit that when I first got it, I thought I wasn't a fan because it has more of an orange tint to it. But it started to grow on me as I've used it more and more. Compared to other bronzers I've swatched and tested in stores, this one actually isn't all that bad, in fact it's good. I literally use this every day - so it's no surprise that I've hit pan now. There's been rumours that this is going to be discontinued :( I really hope not. So the next time I go to the drugstore, I'm definitely buying backups.

I bought the NYX Blush Powder last year at IMATS as a contouring powder, and yes, I use this every day too - underneath NYC. For my light-medium skin tone, this is my perfect contouring shade. It is a matte taupe brown color with absolutely no trace of orangeness to be found. It's pigmented but subtle at the same time, with a bit of blending it really looks like a natural shadow on my face. Besides the face, I sometimes use this to contour my nose with a small fluffy blending brush. The reason why I love these two powders so much is not only for the colour matching my skin tone well, but also because the powders are moderately pigmented so there's no hassling application concerns. I like no brainer products.

The Pros

- products are affordable (NYC ~$4, NYX ~$5-6 CDN)

- moderately pigmented

- lasts for a long time, even with everyday use

- matte powders, good for contouring

- colour is generally good for wide range of skin tones 

The Cons

- NYC packaging is really cheap (but i guess you can't complain for the price)

Overall Rating: 10/10 (for both powders)

Shu Uemura Bronzer in 02 Warm Sun

The newest member to my little collection of bronzers. I take back a little something I've said in the previous post (here) and that is: it's not matte. I thought it was, but after I calmed down from my excitement of receiving free makeup...upon closer inspection of the product in the pan, I realized there are tiny scattered silver glitters in it. On the face it's not very noticeable, so it's no big deal but I just wanted to make that little correction :P If you disregard the glitter particles, the color may seem similar to NYC Sunny but this has more of a reddish hue whereas, NYC is more of an orangey-brown colour. And this Shu Uemura bronzer is slightly more pigmented but not overboard like the ELF duo. So far, I can't say if I like this more than my NYC matte bronzer because I've only had it for a week or so, but it is a genuinely good product.

The Pros

- travel friendly

- packaging is sturdy

- moderately pigmented

- the product/colour is good for a wide range of skin tones

The Cons

- it contains small silver glitter

- expensive (I think this might be ~$39)

Overall Rating: 10/10

L to R: ELF Studio Contouring Blush & Bronzing Powder, ELF Studio Bronzer in Warm,
Shu Uemura Bronzer in Warm Sun, NYC Matte Bronzer in Sunny, NYX Blush Powder in Taupe

In terms of....

• Pigmentation: ELF Blush & Bronzer Duo > Shu Uemura > NYC ~ NYX > ELF Studio Bronzer
• Packaging: Shu Uemura > ELF > NYX > NYC
• Product Quality: Shu Uemura > NYX > ELF > NYC
• Overall Product: NYC ~ NYX ~ Shu Uemura > ELF Studio Bronzer > ELF Blush & Bronzer Duo

I know I already have quite a few bronzers and contouring powders but there's still one more that I want to add to my collection....Too Faced Chocolate Soleil Matte Bronzing Powder. I've looked at it in Sephora already and oh dear, I love the smell of cocoa powder! Yummmm....if you have tried it, let me know what you think about it! Or, let me know what are your favourite bronzers and recommendations so, I can go check them out. :)