Top 5 Favorite Bronzers ~ Mini Review, Photos, Swatches (Benefit, Nars, Cargo, Palladio, MAC)

Today's post will be about my top 5 favorite bronzers. I am always up finding a great new bronzer, but these are the ones I currently own and am loving! All of them are different in their own way. These are in no order. Here we go...

Benefit Hoola

I love this bronzer! I've used this for years and have repurchased. The packaging is cute but I don't like that the lid stays attached. The old packaging one was able to remove the lid completely. The product retails for $28 at Ulta, Sephora, department stores, etc. Make sure to check for gift with purchases and value sets...Benefit does them a lot!

This color is a matte brown that has a slight yellow undertone. This meaning that there is no red or orange undertones at all in this product. This is rare to find! The texture of the powder is also very buttery and smooth. 

I use this almost daily to contour my cheekbones (I make the fishy face and put the product in the hollows of my cheeks). The color is perfect for my skin so it doesn't look overdone or fake. With that said, I still make sure to use a lighter hand when applying. My favorite brush to use with this product is the MAC #168 angled brush. One can use any brush, but I find a fluffy angled brush works the best (and does a lot of the work for you!)

Nars Laguna

I've known about this bronzer for a long time (rave blog reviews, YouTube, makeup artist, etc). I never picked it up until a few months ago. The packaging is sleek looking and simple. The compact itself opens and closes easily as well. The product retails for $34 and you can find it at Sephora or department stores.

The color is a shimmery (not overly so) light warm golden color. This does not lean orange or red at all either. It's a balance of gold & brown warmed up together if that makes sense. I find on my skin (warm medium about NC30-35) I have to build this up quite a bit for it to show on my skin. Still, the texture is smooth and blends well. 

I like to wear Nars Laguna over my contour (Benefit Hoola) or as a simple wash on my cheeks if I need some color in my face. I use a lot of different brushes to apply this product so I don't have a favorite. 

(L to R) Nars Laguna & Benefit Hoolah

Cargo Bronzer (Medium)

I got this product in a "flawless face kit" from Cargo that I purchased because of their blu_ray pressed powder (click here for that review). I like Cargo's packaging a lot and how they use the tins. The lid is removable and the packaging itself is sturdy but not heavy. This product retails for $29 at Ulta, Cargo's website, etc. Also, of course the full size product is a lot bigger than the photo at the top! 

Upon looking at this product in the tin, I was like ohh wow this is orange (and it will look really orange when photographed). I promise you this is not a scary pumpkin orange when on your face! When I wear this on my face it really does give my skin that sunkissed look. It never looks overdone unless I put too much on. I like to pair this bronzer with Nars Laguna as they work well together! I want to note too that you can get this in a "light" option as well and that Cargo actually has a ton of bronzers in their line.

I always use a lighter hand when applying this because I have a lot of red in my cheeks. I tend to usually pair this with other bronzers, contour or do a soft wash on my cheeks. I prefer to use a fluffy brush but the MAC #168 has worked well in the past too.

Palladio Mosaics (Sunkissed)

This was a completely random purchase at Bed, Bath, Beyond. I was quickly checking out the makeup section and stumbled upon this line. I mostly looked at it because BBB was having a great sale on the Palladio line. The product normally retails for $5-7 as it depends where you purchase it because it's a drugstore makeup product. I believe I did get it on sale for about $4 though! I'm so glad I picked this up because it has become a favorite even more so because it's such an affordable product.

The color is awesome! It has 4 different cubes and when they are swirled together it creates a lovely soft warm bronze that leans a light brown.  The color is a little similar to Hoola in the face that it is a more yellow brown (love this). There is shimmer when you sweep this on your brush but it never looks overly shimmery at all on your face. Rather, I would say it adds a nice glow. 

I use a big fluffy brush when applying this. It works well over contour (Benefit Hoola) or just by itself. It's not a dark shade so it doesn't ever look overdone on me. I think this would work great for light to medium as well as medium skintones alike!

MAC Give me sun!

Click here to see Temptalia's review (Photos & Swatches)

This is the last bronzer in the roundup. I will be honest and say it was hard to pick a 5th favorite because I like the other ones so much. I will admit I don't wear this shade as much as the products talked about above. Give me sun! is a product from MAC in their mineralize skinfinish natural permanent line. I purchased the product because of a rave review off Temptalia's website. The product retails for $29 but I did get 40% off because of my MAC Pro Card. 

The color is a warm orange/peach tone. There is no brown in it, but it still works with the redness in my cheeks. The color blends well and doesn't look chalky on my skin (this line by MAC is a fan favorite). 

I again prefer to use a fluffy brush so I don't over apply. I think this shade works better paired with another blush or bronzer, but it for sure could be worn alone. I think this would look best on medium skintones and some light skintones. Lighter skintones may have to have a very light hand when applying though!

(L to R) Cargo Bronzer (Medium), Palladio Mosaic (Sun Kissed) & MAC Give me sun!

So you might be wondering which one is my #1 huh? I would pick Benefit Hoola as my number 1 bronzer for contouring! I highly recommend giving the Palladio bronzer a look though. It's affordable and you can find it at a lot of stores too. The color is excellent and pigmentation is awesome. I really feel like I got a great deal when picking this up. Also, I would have probably walked right past this line if I didn't see the sale sign. I am so glad I didn't overlook the brand this time. It's a sleeper hit product for sure, but I wanted to share how awesome it is with everyone!! If you are just getting into bronzers then I would definitely recommend getting this one first!

Thanks for reading,

Carly