Hourglass Luminous Bronze Light Bronzer

The Hourglass Luminous Bronze Light bronzer is something that I have had on my wishlist for quite some time. I purchased the mini size bronzer, as the full size is really large and Hourglass powders last forever. There are two bronze shades offered: Luminous Bronze Light and Radiant Bronze Light. I chose Luminous Bronze Light - partially because I thought the lighter color would suit me better and also because the other shade is not yet available in the mini size. 

Luminous Bronze Light is described as a medium tan shade fused with Luminous Light, a champagne pearl powder, for a softer, candlelit warmth that is for fair/light complexions. Radiant Bronze Light is a warm bronze shade fused with Radiant Light, a golden beige powder, to mimic a summer glow that is suited for medium/deep complexions.

I really love Hourglass highlighters and had high hopes for the bronzer. Let me start by saying that it does not disappoint. The packaging is consistent with other Hourglass powders and comes in a great gold case. The marbling effect in the pan is similar to the blushes and is always so pretty to look at. The powder is extremely blendable and gives a very nice soft finish. Below is an extreme close up of the pan so you can see the beautiful shimmer and marbling:

I pulled a few other bronzers from my collection to see how it compared color-wise. It seems to be one of the lightest bronzers I own, which I think will be ideal for giving a bit of glow, especially during the winter when I lose my tan.

Comparison swatches below. All swatches are in the order of the first photo.

Outdoors in full sunlight:



Outdoors in shade:



Indoors (no flash):



I am really happy with this purchase and have yet to meet an Hourglass powder that I don't like. I may eventually get the darker shade if they come out with a mini size of that, as I think it would be a nice, more dramatic summer bronze for me. The mini size retails for $24 (0.05oz/1.4g) and the full size retails for $50 (0.39 oz/11g). They are sold at all Hourglass stockists. What is your favorite bronzer?

rms beauty Buriti Bronzer

rms beauty is a new-to-me brand. I only discovered it recently, even though it seems they have been around for a few years now. The Buriti Bronzer is my first purchase from the line. It is a cream bronzer that comes in a small frosted glass pot with a metal lid. I have tried to show a few angles and with different cameras, as this bronzer does change significantly in different lighting. Based on the swatches below, you can see how it wears in various lighting situations.

This is outdoors, but not direct sunlight. Here it is more difficult to see the shimmer.



The following is outside in direct sunlight. You can see all of the shimmer and gold flecks.



Below is the bronzer in indoor natural light. You can still see that there is a shimmer, but the gold flecks are not as prominent.



The bronzer has a great, creamy consistency that makes it very blendable.  I found that I needed to put a small amount of setting power over it in order to ensure it did not transfer onto anything else. Once it was set, it did not budge. If you have oily skin, I can definitely see this sliding around the face a bit, especially if you do not use powder over it. I generally have used a normal setting powder (Laura Mercier, L'Oreal, etc.) to set, but one day I used the Hourglass Radiant Light Ambient Lighting powder to set it and that gave a very nice glow to the skin.

The bronzer does contain coconut oil as a main ingredient. There is definitely some controversy over coconut oil and whether it causes/cures breakouts. Some sites say it can cause breakouts, but the rms website says the that coconut oil can help cure acne. I have combination/sensitive skin that is often prone to breakouts, but the bronzer did not make me break out. If you are worried this may be an issue, you may want do a spot test to see if you are sensitive to it. If you are aware that coconut oil affects your skin in a not so nice way or if you are allergic, you may want to avoid this one.



I paired the buriti bronzer with a nude eye and lip for a more monochromatic effect. I used the Urban Decay Naked 2 palette in shades Suspect and Snakebite and Urban Decay 24/7 glide on eye pencil in Hustle on the eyes. For lips, I wore tarte Amazonian butter lipstick in Park Avenue Princess. Swatches of all shades below.



I really like the buriti bronzer and have used it quite a few times since purchasing. The overall glow it gives to the skin is really quite beautiful and it also layers well with blush or other glowy powders. I am interested in buying more products from the rms line, especially the luminizer. The bronzer retails for $28 and is available at Beauty.com, Beautylish, and Sephora.