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Cream bronzer is the easiest way to look instantly radiant: here are 12 of the best
2 years ago
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4 min read
Consider this your curated edit of the best cream bronzers to emulate a healthy glow – no sun required.
Cream bronzer is up there with the most divisive of beauty products. Even those who are devout users of powder formulas can’t always be swayed to the dark side, but once a convert, there’s no going back.
Choose the right product, apply it with the right tool and you’ve got the perfect way to help perk up your face that’ll give you a healthy-looking glow with minimal effort required.
Carefully buffed onto cheekbones and temples, perhaps even across the nose for good measure, cream bronzer melts into the skin and provides a supremely natural finish that adds a luminosity that you wouldn’t be able to achieve with a powder bronzer.
But, we get it, knowing which cream bronzer is best isn’t always easy. You want something that’s going to complement your skin tone in a subtle way that doesn’t look orange or dirty. So, consider this your carefully curated edit of the best cream bronzers that promise to emulate a healthy glow, no sun required.
The best cream bronzers 2023
Vieve Modern Radiance Cream Bronzer
This buttery cream bronzer is perfect for building up colour – whether you want a subtle warmth or a deep ‘just back from holiday’ glow.
Available in four shades.
Rose Inc Solar Infusion Soft-Focus Cream Bronzer
With a cream-to-powder formula, this velvety soft bronzer helps to blur the look of pores and texture for a soft-focus finish.
Available in four shades.
Shop Rose Inc Solar Infusion Soft-Focus Cream Bronzer at SpaceNK, £28
Charlotte Tilbury Beautiful Sun Sun-Kissed Glow Bronzer
Brand new, this Charlotte Tilbury cream bronzer is a skincare-make-up hybrid. Infused with hyaluronic acid for dewy, moisturised skin, the bronzer blends into a softly diffused glow – able to be built up swipe by swipe.
Available in four shades.
Shop Charlotte Tilbury Beautiful Sun Sun-Kissed Glow Bronzer, £45
Anastasia Beverly Hills Cream Bronzer
With a rich colour payoff and ultra-blendable formula, this luxurious cream bronzer buffs into bare skin leaving it with a seamless, warm glow.
Available in eight shades.
Nars Laguna Bronzing Cream
Nars’s bestselling cult bronzer is now available in a cream formula. Enriched with Tahiti oil to help lock in hydration, it leaves your skin smooth with a seamless natural-looking warmth.
Available in four shades.
Reeson Bronzing Balm
Not quite a cream but definitely not a powder, the texture of this unique bronzing balm is like nothing you’ve ever tried before. Its buttery-soft formula melts seamlessly into the skin, leaving behind a natural-looking sun-kissed warmth. Plus, it’s enriched with skin-loving ingredients like hyaluronic acid, squalane and jojoba seed oil.
Available in two shades.
Refy Cream Bronzer
A firm favourite of the Stylist beauty team, the Refy bronzer is smooth and creamy with rich pigment payoff. Best used with the Refy Duo Brush, the stippling end helps to blend out the colour to a truly natural-looking bronze.
Available in three shades.
Chanel Healthy Glow Bronzing Cream
A cream-gel bronzer, the Chanel Les Beiges Bronzing Cream is a lightweight, velvet-finish glow with a cult following. Able to be used with a beauty blender, fingers or kabuki brush, it’s now available in three shades.
Available in three shades.
Shop Chanel Healthy Glow Bronzing Cream at Harvey Nichols, £46
Milk Makeup Matte Bronzer
A cult cream bronzer, the fact that it’s packaged in stick form makes application easy. Swipe straight onto the face or dab onto a brush for a matte, hydrated glow.
Available in five shades.
Glossier Solar Paint
A whipped-gel crème formulation, the Glossier Solar Paint comes with a small, doe-foot applicator to make applying the right amount a doddle. Highly pigmented, dotting a small amount and then buffing out will create a natural-looking tan that can be built up depending on preference.
Available in four shades.
Fenty Beauty Cheeks Out Freestyle Cream Bronzer
Resistant to sweat and water, the Fenty Beauty bronzer works well for warm weather, when humidity and heat-induced drizzle threaten to ruin your make-up. Soft, sheer and creamy, it defines the face in a natural, subtle way.
Available in seven shades.
Shop Fenty Beauty Cheeks Out Freestyle Cream Bronzer at Boots, £29
Westman Atelier Face Trace Contour Stick
Another brilliant stick cream bronzer, this luxury product melts into the skin, helping to sculpt and warm the face. Packed with hydrating, protecting ingredients like jojoba oil and China clay, it comes with a slew of celebrity fans including Jennifer Aniston and Cameron Diaz.
Available in three shades.
Shop Westman Atelier Face Trace Contour Stick at Cult Beauty, £44
Images: courtesy of brands
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