Name: Glam Bronze Duo Sun Powder
Brand: L’Oreal
Size: 9g
Price: €15.00
From L’Oreal’s website:
Blonde, brunette, fair or dark skin: our first bronzing powder to help you achieve a natural-looking tan to suit your natural colouring. Use the lighter shade to highlight the temples and bridge of the nose and the darker shade to apply shadow underneath the cheekbones for a contoured-looking effect.
What I liked:
– natural tan finish
– blends easily
– finely milled
– sheer color payoff
– nice pattern
What I didn’t like:
– too shimmery to contour
– too subtle to highlight
– doesn’t last all day
– the price
Truth be told, I have no idea why I bought L’Oreal Glam Bronze Duo Sun Powder. Maybe because it was summer and I looked like a corpse next to all the very tanned people around me (not that I want to look like an orange like them), maybe because the lightening in the shop made the powder look like it could work well for me or maybe it was just the pretty sun design that got me.
Whatever it was, now I’m stuck with it and the powder has been laying in my drawer for months cos I’m not really sure what to do with it. L’Oreal Glam Bronze Duo Sun Powder is a bronzing powder available in two versions: one for blondes and one for brunettes. I’m not a blonde, but that’s the one I got cos the colors of that duo are paler and so suit me better.
(from left to right: highlighter, bronzer, shades used together)
The duo features a light beige shade to highlight and a light brown shade, which is the bronzer. Both of the shades are slightly shimmer and have a sheer color payoff. The powder is soft to touch, finely-milled and blends easily onto the skin. On the top, there’s the pattern of a sun that looks very pretty but also fades with use.
L’Oreal says the shades can be used together or separately, but they don’t work well on me when used alone. The pale beige shade provides a very subtle glow. So subtle, in fact, that you can barely notice it. If you like your highlighter to provide a very natural effect then this is great, but on me, it looks like I haven’t applied anything at all and I don’t really like that.
As for the bronzer shade, I was hoping to use that to contour, but I find it is too shimmery for that. Just like in the highlighter shade, the shimmers are very subtle so for emergencies it could work, but I just prefer to use a completely matte shade to contour. I think it looks much better that way.
The powder works much better when the two shades are used together. Then, the powder will slightly darken your skin, giving you a subtle and natural-looking tan with a subtle glow. It didn’t make me look orange or some ugly muddy color like most bronzers do and if I were into the bronzed look, then this duo would suit my pale skin beautifully. As it is, I love my fair complexion too much to darken it, so I have no use for this powder. I really should stop buying makeup on impulse!
The staying powder is ok. It doesn’t last all day on me, but I’ve had to do a touch-up only once towards the middle of the day. The packaging instead could use some work. It doesn’t look too bad, but it’s not great either. Under the powder, there’s another layer where a small mirror and a brush are housed. As usual, the brush is totally useless. The bristles are so hard that, if I used it, they would scratch my skin. Ouch!
Summary
Overall, L’Oreal Glam Bronze Duo Sun Powder is just average. The powder is finely milled and easy to blend and, when the shades are used together, they provide a natural-looking tan with a really subtle glow that lasts for hours. Used alone, however, they’re useless.
Rating: 3/5
Disclaimer: the item was purchased by me for both personal and review purposes. The review is based on my own personal and honest experience with the product. For more information, please see my disclaimer.
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
I can’t remember if I saw this in the drugstore but like you, I prefer my bronzers to be matte or satin. Shiny bronzers can make you look very sweaty and are not so photogenic.
.-= Dao´s last blog ..How to Get Celebrity Cascading Curls =-.
Dao, I agree with you. Shiny bronzers can make you look really bad. I think this is a good product for those with pale skin that want a subtle tan, but otherwise it’s useless.