little white truths

Bobbi Brown claims/product details:

• Achieve the most natural-looking, 'just spent three weeks in Tahiti' glow with a dusting of this soft matte bronzing powder
• Drench skin in a veil of sun-kissed bronze with this lightweight, mica-free powder
• Carefully crafted with the perfect balance of red and brown hues, the tones of a true tan, to grant the most natural-looking bronzed effect
• Glides on effortlessly and blends seamlessly with a soft matte finish, free from shimmer and tell-tale faux bronze signs
• RRP $69 AUD for 8g, but do shop around

There's something about the packaging of Bobbi Brown's products that I don't like. While there's some weight to it, there's not a huge amount because it's plastic and it doesn't feel as luxe to hold as my other high-end products. 

I also think the design is on the chunky side so it doesn't look as sleek and streamlined as my other products. Sure, it's not as bad as Laura Mercier's packaging, but I dislike them for the same reasons and while packaging of course isn't the main thing, when it takes away from the experience of using something, then I think it matters at least a bit.

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

And in natural light:

Heavy and light swatches, indirect sunlight:

Below I've done comparison swatches alongside some other popular matte bronzers, so you can see the differences in undertone.

Direct sunlight:

* L-R: Bobbi Brown Medium 2, Kevyn Aucoin Desert Nights, Benefit Hoola, theBalm Bahama Mama

Verdict

This is a nice bronzer and I do like it, but the formula isn't my favourite so I'm looking forward to finishing mine so I can move on to something else. Still, panning it will be fun because it's my favourite of the four bronzers I've panned this year and it's easy to work with.

It's a smooth powder that's finely milled although it's quite dry and dusty, which isn't my preference for powders: I prefer something more soft and creamy.

Still, it applies and blends well so that's the main thing, and I appreciate that I can apply this over a tinted moisturiser that's still a little tacky and it will blend and diffuse beautifully, so it's never looked patchy on me. I can't say the same of Benefit's Hoola, for example, and the fact that this blends over dewy bases is a plus for me because I have dry skin and I don't like using too much setting powder.

Do note, though, that it doesn't last as well on the skin as I would like, and I think that may be because the formula is on the dry side so it doesn't adhere to the skin as well as other formulas. It can also look dry on the skin if I use too much, and for this reason I tend not to use it on the eyes. This isn't a good thing for me because I love using bronzers through the crease and it's important to me that I can double-purpose them in this way.

I think it's also worth noting that this is a medium-pigment, buildable formula - which is something I appreciate because I don't like face products that are too pigmented (more room for error) - although in this case the fact I need to build it, coupled with the fact that I need to reapply it and that you only get 8g of product, means I'll get through it faster than I would like, given how much I paid for it.

'Medium 2' is an interesting colour and I don't have anything else like it. Yes it has a red undertone but it also has a slightly violet-taupe undertone too, and I think this is why it's more of a natural colour that's a good match for my light-medium to medium, yellow-based skin.

Overall I think this is a good product and I can see why so many people rave about the formula, but it's not perfect for the reasons I've mentioned and while I'll certainly enjoy using mine until it's gone, I wouldn't buy it again.

Nice but not my favourite.