| Review | Charlotte Tilbury Beautiful Skin Sun-Kissed Glow Bronzer

| Review | Charlotte Tilbury Beautiful Skin Sun-Kissed Glow Bronzer

I could not resist the release of this cream bronzer formula! Charlotte Tilbury has been hit or miss since they were sold to a larger company and I am very concerned about how this formula will work out. It looks incredibly promising and if you are familiar with the new Charlotte Tilbury branding, they have gone down the route of creating insane hype and delivering over-the-top promises about the performance of their products. This type of marketing makes me very wary about the product but as a huge fan of cream bronzers, I had to test out for myself as soon as possible! 

The Charlotte Tilbury Beautiful Skin Sun-Kissed Glow Bronzer retails for $55.00 USD and is available at Charlotte Tilbury and other retailers. These are packaged in very large round plastic compacts with a large mirror inside. The packaging is significantly larger than my hands, which is not necessarily a bad thing. It's just not as ideal for traveling with for most people because it is so large. I appreciate the large size of the mirror for makeup application but it is quite large for traveling with. The compact is a lightweight plastic that feels nice, nothing that exciting or luxurious. The compact is a reflective rose gold with a sunburst design on the front. The reflective finish makes this compact a fingerprint magnet. The compact just simply snaps open and close but it is not magnetic. 

SHADES 

This cream bronzer currently comes in only four shades, which is a pretty small bronzer range. I definitely feel there are some gaps in the range that need to be filled. Bronzers are intimidating for most people and I find the best way to alleviate that feeling is to offer more shades, which will help people ensure they have the right shade for their skin tone and alleviate feelings of bronzers looking bad on the skin. I hope they will consider a shade expansion soon. I ended up selecting two shades because my light-medium skin tone can possibly wear both light and medium shades. 

Light - This shade is a light, cool, tan shade that will definitely flatter any fair to light-medium skin tone. This shade works best for me right now, as I am still in my winter coloring but, once I get a bit more color on me, this will be too light to show up on my skin. The shade is quite cool, which means you don't have to worry about it turning orange on you but it does lack the warmth I want from a bronzer. It still provides some dimension and warmth but I think it can go a bit warmer. 

Medium - This shade, especially when placed next to the Light shade, it is significantly warmer. It is a warm medium tan shade, that isn't too warm but it just adds the right amount of warmth for a bronzer. This shade is a deeper jump from the light shade and it will suit light-medium to olive skin tones. This is more of a summer shade for me but right now I can mix it with the light shade for the perfect bronze glow. I prefer the warmth of this shade but with my winter-spring skin, I find that using only this shade is too much bronze for me. I really wish there was a shade in-between the two. 

Swatches from left to right: Light, Medium

FORMULA

This cream formula is quite unique. It is somewhere between a balm and a cream-to-powder formula. It glides on very easily with a surprising amount of pigment. I would say this formula is quite pigmented and I would recommend picking up a lot less than you think when starting out. Also, while you could spend money on the Beautiful Skin Bronzing Brush designed for this product, it's nothing special and it's just a small buffing brush. I have received these free with some products and considering the price, I would have expected a free brush that looked exactly like this. I wouldn't waste my money on purchasing this brush and instead find a dense buffing brush that is similar in your collection or from another brand. 

The product, because it has this creamy-powder balm consistency picks up a bit unevenly on a brush, which means it can apply a little patchy initially and will require a bit of buffing to blend out. This may affect your base underneath, which may be moved around, if the product is thin and emollient. 

This formula can best be applied a variety of ways. The first way is directly from a brush, which is clean and ideal but I would recommend selecting a brush that isn't too large because the formula does spread easily and you still want some precision to your placement. Also, because the product can pick up a bit un evenly, you may want swirl the brush into the product then, tap the brush around on the back of your hand to more evenly distribute the pigment. This will ensure an more even application and prevent the application of the bronzer from moving around your base. 

Alternatively, If you feel you aren't getting the precise placement you desire or you find the direct application too patchy, you can use your fingers to pick up the product and swipe it on the cheeks. Then, go in with the brush to blend it out. If you want to apply it with a sponge, I would also recommend apply the product on your skin first with your fingers and only using the sponge to blend. 

The formula is pigmented but also very buildable so, there's no reason not to start with less product and build it up. The formula requires very little effort to blend out and it looks very seamless on the skin. The Charlotte Tilbury brands touts a lot of amazing claims about this formula including: 

• Lasts for up to 16 hours!
• Sweat proof + humidity proof!
• Skin is 2 x more hydrated in 1 hour*
• My thoughts -  This one is a hard to test claim, as most people wear skincare underneath their makeup on a daily basis so, you can't claim that this product is the reason why your skin feels hydrated. It is very likely due to other products already on the skin. 
• Skin looks smoother by up to 42% (in 28 days) **
• 99% agree the product gives the skin a healthy-bronzed glow***
• My thoughts - This is a stupid claim because of course people felt their skin has a healthy-bronzed glow, that is the entire purpose of any bronzer. This is not an impressive statistic.

• 92% agree the product improves the look of skin with each wear***
• 93% agree the skin feels intensely hydrated***
• My thoughts - Again, like the previous hydration claim, this is a hard to test claim, as most people wear skincare underneath their makeup on a daily basis so, you can't claim that this product is the reason why your skin feels hydrated. It is very likely due to other products already on the skin. 

Most of these "statistics" are bogus and inflated statements to make this cream bronzer seem way more impressive than it actually is. I'm not saying it's a bad bronzer but why go through all the trouble of pushing these claims so hard, It feels like there's an infomercial printed on the back of my bronzer. If you product is truly exceptional, let it speak for itself! 

However, I will say that the cream bronzer is impressive with its ability to blur texture and imperfections on the skin as you are wearing it. It really does look seamless and makes your complexion look more perfected. The bronzer feels thin and light on the skin, which is nice because it doesn't move around on the skin and doesn't transfer easily. 

The finish is very natural and soft, you can see it's truest finish when applied to your dry skin. It almost looks my a soft and creamy powder. When applied over your base, you base will help dictate the finish of the product. The more luminous your base, the more luminous the bronzer will appear but it will still somewhat remain that soft powdery finish. This versatile finish and formula means that even oily skin types can wear this cream bronzer without it looking too dewy throughout the day and the long-wear formula keeps it on the skin despite the oil on the skin.

This formula is designed to be sweat and humidity proof and while I don't live in a particularly humid climate, I am a fairly sweaty person. I find that this formula wears well through sweat and water! I applied the product on the back of my hand ran it under water and rubbed the bronzer but it didn't budge! Not until I used soap did the bronzer come off of my hand. I notice this in the wear of the bronzer, which I would say goes beyond eight hours if you're not touching your face too much. Keep in mind that if you are wearing a particularly emollient base, that the bronzer will not adhere to the skin as well and may have a tendency to move, despite the long-wear and water-resistant formula.

THE LOOK 

You can see how natural this formula looks on the skin. It looks really seamless, natural, and adapts to the texture of my foundation underneath. It adds a very natural dimension, definition, and color to my complexion. I applied mostly the light shade then, I swiped on a bit of the medium shades where I wanted more definition and color. 

FINAL THOUGHTS 

I own and have tried many cream bronzers. This one is by far one of the most unique formulas and textures. While I really like this formula, I don't think I love it and I think it comes down to a matter of personal preference. I really like a dewier finish and creamier formula, however; this is a fantastic formula for all skin types. The versatile cream to powder formula with the adaptable finish is what makes formula so amazing. I find myself really enjoying this formula every time I use it. It not only looks beautiful on the skin but also applies very effortlessly. I will say that I really love the packaging, which makes it so great for travel and on-the-go applications. I also really love the longevity of this formula and the sweat-resistant formula. I have been looking for a long-wearing cream bronzer for a long time now and this is the only one I consider truly long-wearing. For hot weather, long days, and events, this is the perfect alternative to a powder bronzer. I personally prefer a cream bronzer to a powder bronzer 90% of the time and I only really turn to powder when I'm looking for longevity but with this formula, I don't have to use powder bronzers. I can get the look and feel of a cream but with the longevity of a powder formula. While I don't love the excessive over-the-top marketing, I must say this is a fabulous product and well worth a try! I highly recommend it for everyone and especially, those who aren't really cream bronzer fans or who haven't tried a cream bronzer before because it is so versatile and is much closer to a powder formula. 

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