There is nothing third place about choosing the best bronzer for your skin tone and complexion since bronzers can take your entire look up a notch and make you look ageless. Celebrity makeup artists worldwide swear by the sculpt, dimension, and glow that the correct application of bronzer can add.
In makeup terms, a bronzer is used to mimic natural-looking, sunkissed and glowing skin. Top bronzer products enhance a woman’s healthy, natural, warm, radiant, and very casual-looking face. Unfortunately, finding good bronzers hasn’t always been easy, but do not fear; help is on the way.
21 Best Bronzers For A Sunkissed And Glowing Look
Before getting into the meat of the best bronzers, let me explain more about bronzers. Typically paired with blush, bronzers are intended to light. To develop that sun-kissed look, bronzers are used after foundation and are a highlighter that dusts ultrafine pearls onto the highs of your face, cheeks, forehead, nose, and wherever else you want. Make sure to blend bronzer well so that it appears to melt into your skin.
In addition to blending, knowing that incorrect application of bronzers can make your face look unnaturally dark or dirty. Pick the right product and remember that most bronzers are buildable. That means, start with a little on your brush or fingertips and build on that. Again, the right product and use will enhance and make your face glow.
Bronzers come in several different formulas – creams, powders, liquids, and gels. Many can be used all over the body and some are for the face only. They come shimmer or matte for a more natural finish. Below are the 21 top bronzer products, with information from everything, including consistency, where to purchase, and price point.
1. L’OREAL Bronze Please La Terra Bronzer
This beautiful bronzer comes in three luminous shades, Portofino is the lightest, Amalfi is medium, and Taormina is the darkest shade. This bronzer is excellent for use on the face and body. Nice and lightly shimmered with all-day staying power in any weather, this buildable product provides the perfect shimmer for a natural sunkissed glow. L’OREAL’s Bronze Please La Terra Bronzer can be purchased at drugstores.
2. Milani Silky Matte Bronzing Powder
This bronzing powder is silky and matte. It goes on smooth enough to seamlessly create a long-lasting glow. Perfect for cool undertones, this bronzer comes in three shades; Sun Light (light brown), Sun Kissed (medium warm brown), and Sun Tan (medium warm brown) for excellent color payoff. Although neutral, these colors pop on the skin. Among the best bronzer on the market, Milani Silky Matte Bronzing Powder can be found at Ulta.
3. NYX Professional Makeup Matte Bronzer
As one of the best bronzers on the market and another cruelty-free and PETA-certified product by NYX, this matte finish product is excellent on top of a dewy foundation for a natural, healthy look. With their top bronzer products, NYX goes beyond being just a good bronzer; with three russet shades that boost skin to radiant while highlighting bone structure since it doubles as a contouring powder for a defined glow. Purchase NYX Professional Makeup Matte Bronzer.
4. e.l.f. Cosmetics Primer-Infused Bronzer
This bronzer is infused with primer powder and made to give a beautiful, sunkissed-looking glow all day. This gem is beautifully packaged and comes in three glowy shades; Forever Sunkissed, Constantly Bronzed, and Perpetually Tanned. Reviewers consistently give this bronzer five stars for its color, price, formula, staying power, and consistency.
5. Essence Sun Club Matt Bronzing Powder Palette
One of the only bronzers in a palette puts this in the best bronzer category. Essence Sun Club Matt Bronzing Powder Palette is perfect for customizing shades based on your complexion. This palette is ideal for fair-skinned women or dark-skinned women. The palette is also perfect for dual use as a contour to sculpt and shape the face.
6. BH Cosmetics Weekend Vibes Belgian Waffle 6 Color Baked Bronzer & Highlighter Palette
This six-color palette shimmers, highlights, and leaves skin glowing with its warm and cool hues meant to build and layer. Complete with shades in the colors Buttermilk, Batter, Cinnamon, Powdered Sugar, Syrup, and Maple. These customized colors are meant to sculpt and highlight your features.
7. Maybelline City Bronzer
Getting a soft, natural bronze is easier with Maybelline’s City Bronzer. As a multi-tasking bronzer and contour, it leaves the skin with a sculpted and sunkissed glow. Made using cocoa butter for a velvety matte finish, this bronzer is great for creating several natural and different makeup looks.
8. Wet n Wild Colour Icon Bronzer – Sunset Striptease
Wet n Wild has packed the pigment in this gel-infused and long-wearing bronzer. It applies to the skin like a cream and sets like a powder for a luxurious and elegant feel. This groundbreaking formula can be used to shadow, shade, contour, and sculpt for the perfect glow that is not limited to the face.
9. Physicians Formula Butter Bronzer
Indulging in this luxurious bronzer will leave your skin radiant, moisturized, and brightened in a rich bronze finish. As a highly pigmented finish, you’ll have a tropical glow and refined pearl finish. The Physicians Formula “Butter Bronzer” contains essential fatty acids, is hypoallergenic, paraben-free, cruelty-free, and dermatologist-approved.
10. BENEFIT Hoola Bronzer
This award-winning bronzer comes beautifully packaged with a mirror and a perfectly designed bronzing brush. The finely milled powder comes in four shades for a natural-looking tan all year. Users rave that a bit of product goes a long way and about this buildable bronzer being a staple in makeup bags.
11. Nudestix Bondi Bae
This outstanding award-winning bronzing product is a long-wearing, soft, matte, multi-tasking makeup for eyes, cheeks, and lips. For a medium golden brown, this bronzer is weather-resistant, easy to apply, and leaves skin with a dewy, lightweight, elegant finish. Nudestix is a stick product at one end and a blending brush at the other. It is formulated with no parabens, sulfates, or phthalates.
12. Nudestix Terracotta Tan
This warm bronze formula by celebrity makeup artist Jose Corella is another in this line of color sticks. Created to swipe and go, Nudestix products deliver healthy, glowing skin that can provide bronzer or contour skin—as with other Nudestix products, formulated without parabens, sulfates, or phthalates.
13. FENTY BEAUTY by Rhianna Sun Stalker Instant Warmth Bronzer
Rhianna and Fenty Beauty have created a luxurious product in groundbreaking shades for all skin tones. Coming in beautiful packaging, a variety of versatile shades, this product makes skin look sun-soaked, vibrant, and full of life. It is creamy, easy to apply, light as air, and leaves a matte finish. This product is cruelty-free, called the best bronzer on the market, and available at Sephora.
14. HUDA BEAUTY Tantour & Bronzer Cream
Whether you are a pro or an amateur makeup applier, this ultra-pigmented contour and bronzer are versatile and luxurious. It applies as a cream to powder to create healthy-looking, naturally beautiful skin. This product comes in five lovely shades with undertones meant to take the foundation base of your makeup up a notch. HUDA BEAUTY Tantour & Bronzer Cream is vegan and cruelty-free.
15. Tower 28 Beauty Bronzino Illuminating Cream Bronzer
If you are looking for a bronzer that treats and moisturizes the skin in addition to illuminated and bronzing, look no further than Tower 28 Beauty Bronzino Illuminating Cream Bronzer. It comes in two lovely shades, West Coast for medium bronze with neutral undertones and Best Coast for deep bronze with red undertones. Packaged to perfection, this bronzing balm contains green tea extract to calm skin and acts as a natural antioxidant. It also contains mango butter to nourish and add moisture for healthier-looking skin.
16. MILK MAKEUP Matte Cream Bronzer
This bronzer, made to blend into the skin, has mango butter and apricot oil to hydrate and nurture skin. It is buildable with a rich color payoff and packaged beautifully. The formula is thicker than many other bronzers, is easy to blend, and stays put all day. As with all MILK MAKEUP products, the Matte Cream Bronzer is vegan, cruelty and gluten-free.
17. FENTY BEAUTY by Rhianna Cheeks Out Freestyle Cream Bronzer
Reviewers compare this product to the best bronzers on the market. Coming in seven natural finishes, it delivers a natural, sheer glow. Effortlessly buildable and impossible to overdue, this bronzer is light, water-resistant, and melts into the skin to bronze, contour, and define. Like all FENTY BEAUTY by Rhianna products, Cheeks Out Freelyle Cream Bronzer comes in a range of undertones for all skin complexions. This bronzer can be purchased at Sephora.
18. NARS Bronzer Powder
This award-winning bronzer powder comes in five shimmering shades of beauty; Casino for a diffused deep brown with golden shimmer, Punta Cana for a diffused rich mahogany brown with the shimmery look, Laguna gives a diffused brown with golden shimmer and San Juan for a diffused light bronze with golden shimmer. Long-wearing and, it delivers an indispensable glow to any skin tone for a Vitamin D kissed look. Nars’ Bronzer Powder is free of sulfates, parabens, and formaldehyde.
19. Charlotte Tilbury Airbrush Bronzer
As one of the most luxurious brands in makeup, Charlotte Tilbury adds four shades to the market of tantalizing bronzers. This next-generation bronzer leaves skin flawless. The Airbrush Bronzer is hydrating, leaving skin softer and smoother, and has a blurring effect with its rich-velvety texture.
20. LILAH B BRONZED BEAUTY BRONZING DUO
LILAH B bronzer duo highlights and contours leave skin with a sunkissed glow. This duo is multipurpose for radiance and beauty. Leaving skin extra moisturized, this bronzer is enriched with natural products including aloe and other botanicals to deliver a healthy glow, soft, and beautiful finish.
21. TOM FORD Shade and Illuminate
In line with this Italian-American fashion brand, this top-notch bronzer is packaged as a duet for shading and highlighting to contour, sculpt, and turn the face into a beautiful piece of art. The duo is super sheer, defining and contouring bone structure while drawing light to the face. Tom Ford products are gluten-free, paraben-free, and cruelty-free.
FAQ About Bronzers
What is the most popular bronzer?
The most popular powder bronzer is also one of the most affordable: it is the Butter Bronzer by Physicians Formula. It is a creamy, rich powder that has a summery coconut scent. For lovers of cream products, Milk Makeup's bronzer stick is also highly recommended.
What is the best natural bronzer?
Hourglass bronzers look incredibly natural on the skin, especially if you are on the mature side. The powders are finely milled and have a luminous quality that blurs fine lines and texture.
How do I choose a bronzer?
The best way to choose a bronzer is to consider how your skin naturally looks after some time in the sun. There are bronzers with yellow, orange, and even red undertones to match everyone's natural tan.
Does bronzer look natural?
Whether the bronzer looks natural depends on how you apply it. It is common to use bronzer to contour, and while this looks beautiful, it is not especially natural. We suggest applying it at the high points of the face where the sun naturally hits, such as the cheekbones and the nose.
Can you wear bronzer without foundation?
You can absolutely wear bronzer without using any base products. For application over bare skin, we recommend a cream bronzer like the previously mentioned one from Milk Makeup. You might also want to try Soleil Tan De Chanel, a luxury cream bronzer with a devoted following.
21 Best Bronzers For A Healthy, Natural, Warm, Radiant-looking Face
Good bronzers don’t have to take third place in your makeup stash any longer. They are the perfect complement to your stockpile of makeup and all complexions. Bronzers will always serve – giving skin the look of a healthy dose of Vitamin D regardless of the time of year.
Sitting high at the top of the makeup chain, bronzers take first place for creating a woman’s healthy, natural, warm, radiant, and very casual-looking face. The right color, formula, and application of bronzers will always win in creating a sunkissed glow that is sure to turn heads.
