little white truths

I'm currently using this bronzer daily as part of Project Dent, so I wanted to jump online and post about it now while it's front-of-mind.

Long story short, it's a great bronzer and I really like it. Indeed, it made my yearly favourites last year and while it's not quite as good as my HG Hourglass bronzers, it's definitely up there and I absolutely recommend the formula.

First up, the packaging. I've always liked Becca's flying saucers and I also like that the brand has finally moved away from packaging everything in that standard matte chocolate brown and silver arrangement they've been doing for years. Reason being, I like being able to look at my Becca compacts and know which one's what.

The bronzers have a similar look to the old products, but the body of the packaging is bronze plastic (instead of the old rubber) and the centrepiece is golden bronze and has more of a metal look and feel. The compact is sturdy and well-made, and it has some weight to it but not too much. I like it.

Becca claims/product details:

The product has a nice-looking wave pattern on the surface and I do enjoy it when brands go into detail with things like this. Sure, it doesn't mean that the product is any better - but who doesn't like to look at something pretty?

The compact comes complete with a mirror, and while I always appreciate having a mirror, the reality is that I'll almost always use a larger one that I have lying around at home. Still, it's good for emergencies I suppose.

There's a shot of the pan in direct sunlight:

And again, stronger sunlight (you can really see the golden undertone here):

One more:

Natural light:

There's a heavy and a blended swatch, indirect sunlight:

And direct sunlight: 

  

Now for comparison swatches. 

Below I've swatched this alongside bronzers from Bobbi Brown, Benefit and Kevyn Aucoin (listed below).

Indirect sunlight: 

  

* L-R: Becca Ipanema Sun, Bobbi Brown Bronzing Powder in Medium 2, Benefit Hoola, Kevyn Aucoin The Matte Bronzing Veil in Desert Nights

Verdict

This is an excellent bronzer. I'm sure you've probably heard people rave about the formula before and I have to agree: it's great. It's one of my favourites.

The formula is soft, smooth and silky - and it blends and applies like a dream. Yes it's super pigmented but I can always diffuse it, even if I've applied too much. That's a huge plus for me and it shouldn't be overlooked.

Indeed, I last dented Benefit's Hoola and while I love the colour of that product, I find that the formula won't blend well over my tinted moisturiser unless I set it really well (a lot more than I normally would). I have dry skin and don't like powdering myself too much, so I'm pleased to say that I never need to do that with this Becca product.

As you'll see in the comparison swatches above, Ipanema Sun is a lot more golden in tone than the other three bronzers: that's what I wanted and that's why I bought it. Even though it's darker than I would normally go in bronzers, the golden undertone is something I've been missing ever since I finished my Stila Sun Bronzer in Dark (which has sadly been discontinued), so I'm pleased to have something similar back in my collection.

The other thing to note is that the product does have fine golden shimmer running through it. This isn't my preference (if it's going to be glowy, I want a sheen and not visible glitter), but thankfully the shimmer doesn't translate to the face and I've never noticed it when applied - and I can't say that for all shimmery bronzers so that's worth mentioning.

Overall I think this is a fantastic product and I recommend it. While 7.1g isn't a huge amount of product for a bronzer, I don't think that matters in this case because it's so pigmented that I hardly use any each time. It's smooth and silky, it blends and applies well, and it lasts beautifully on the face.

Love.