The bronzer for super-pale skin

For all those women whose complexion is Casper-like, wearing a faux glow on the face may often become a faux pas. Many of us fall into the trap of using a bronzer that is too dark for their skin tone, either badly assisted by the usually wearing-too-much-make-up beauty consultant, or inspired by this or that v-blogger who uses bottles and bottles of self-tan and then with her, most of the times moon face, starts praising the chocolate brown bronzer of a cult brand saying how much it changed her life. But what if your face is not round, you apply fake tan once in a year and you don’t want to look like a mask?

Personally I don’t need sculpting, I don’t like brown, I prefer a natural-looking make up to an over the top.  And honestly, I haven’t tried many bronzers in my life. But if I had to recommend one that works really well on super-pale complexion, this would be for sure The Body Shop Honey Bronze in the shade #01 Light Matte.

I know you would have expected from me a more pricey choice, but now I’ll explain you why this product will not make you regret much higher brands.

First up the packaging looks really lovely. There’s something of Estée Lauder Bronze Goddess in it. It’s equipped with a big mirror and is very travel-friendly. Sadly it’s not equipped with a brush, but this is the only minus I can think of.

Coming to the formula of the bronzer, it’s honey enriched, as one could expect from the name and here’s the list of the ingredients, as reported on the producer’s site.

Full Ingredients

Talc (Absorbent/Bulking Agent), Silica (Absorbent), Nylon-12 (Absorbent/Bulking Agent), Zea Mays Starch (Absorbent/Chelating Agent), Mica (Opacifier), Neopentyl Glycol Diheptanoate (Skin Conditioning Agent – Emollient), Lauryl Methacrylate/Glycol Dimethacrylate Crosspolymer (Film Former), Magnesium Myristate (Opacifier), Barium Sulfate (Opacifier), Squalane (Hair & Skin Conditioning Agent), Soybean Glycerides (Skin Conditioning Agent – Emollient), Sclerocarya Birrea Seed Oil (Skin Conditioning Agent), Pentylene Glycol (Solvent), Tocopheryl Acetate (Antioxidant), Butyrospermum Parkii Unsaponifiables (Skin Conditioning Agent), Polyglyceryl-3 Diisostearate (Skin Conditioning Agent/Emollient), Cera Alba (Emulsifier/Emollient), Benzyl PCA (Humectant), Lauroyl Lysine (Skin Conditioning Agent), Tocopherol (Antioxidant), Mel (Natural Additive). [+/- CI 77492 (Colour), CI 77491 (Colour), CI 77499 (Colour), CI 77742 (Colour)].

The expert tip to wear a bronzer is to use it with a big and fluffy kabuki or powder brush, wherever the sun naturally catches you: temples, chin, top of the cheekbones, forehead, tip of the nose, depending on the shape of your face.

The Body Shop Honey Bronze comes in four shades, meaning that even those a little bit more colored than me have the chance to find the one that works for them as well.

What I love the most of this product is the fact it’s a true ‘light cookie brown’ with no hint of orange whatsover and it goes on sheer enough that it would be difficult to overdo it.

Here’s a swatch for you on the inner side of my arm, without blending, so that it will be even easier to understand how soft this bronzer looks like, even at first touch.

But isn’t the first touch, the one that counts the most?