little white truths

* L-R: ABH Saddle, Becca Ipanema Sun, Kevyn Aucoin Desert Nights, theBalm Bamama Mama, Benefit Hoola

Verdict

I think this is a lovely bronzer and I do recommend the formula, it's just that it's not my favourite in terms of colour (it's a little too warm for me) so I'll be happy enough to pan it and move on to something else.

It's a smooth powder that's finely milled, silky and creamy. I love the texture but I do find that it's a little powdery so I get quite a bit of kick-back when I stick my brush into it, and while that doesn't bother me because I just use the loosened powder next time, I know it will bother some.

It applies and blends well, 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. Not all powders blend well over tacky bases, but this one does and that's a huge plus for me because I have dry skin and don't like to powder myself too much before I go in with my coloured products.

The other thing I like about this is that it lasts well throughout the day and it's also not a completely flat matte so it doesn't look dry on the skin, which some bronzers can do if I try to build them. I don't have that issue with this formula, and for this reason it also works well on the eyes.

The other thing to note is that it does have a slight airbrushing effect (all Kevyn Aucoin powders do, in my experience), and while it doesn't airbrush as well as my Hourglass powders do, it still smooths out the look of texture and makes my skin look a little younger.

As for the colour, while it looks like a warm-but-not-too-warm brown in the pan, once it's on it does look too orange/red on my colouring (light/medium to medium, yellow-based skin) so it's not my favourite and I prefer it for summer. Still, I can get away with it and I'll be happy enough to pan it.

In other news it's pigmented and I find that because it's quite a loosely packed powder (hence why it kicks-back a bit), I do get a lot of pigment on my brush when I use it. Thankfully I can always blend it out because it diffuses so well, but I would approach this with caution and I do need to be more careful with this than I do with my other bronzers.

Overall I think this is a really lovely bronzer and I enjoy the formula - it's a pleasure to work with, it blends beautifully and it looks natural on the skin - but it's not my favourite due to the colour and I wouldn't buy it again. 

Lovely, but not my favourite.