4 Cream Bronzers for Fair Olive Skin (swatches & review)
I don’t own a lot of cream bronzers, but these four are currently in rotation and I thought I’d share quick reviews plus swatches to show what they look like on someone with fair olive skin tone. Typically when I do these roundups, it’s always mix of products gifted in PR and products I purchased myself, but this time they just all happen to be gifted.
NARS Cosmetics Bronzing Cream in Laguna 01 ($40) – The ‘bronziest’ without going overboard. Laguna is an iconic NARS bronzer shade and I love that it was expanded into a whole collection. For my fair olive skin, Laguna 01 works the best, and it’s also the most tan-like of the bunch. When I still tanned intentionally, this is the color my skin would naturally look by the end of summer. I don’t miss the act of tanning, but I sure miss that golden glow and this bronzer is the absolute perfection in a jar. This shade has a neutral undertone so it’s universally flattering, plus the formula boasts comfortable non-dry matte finish and impressive longevity for a cream product, even on sweaty skin. It’s so pigmented that it actually stays on like a powder bronzer. This is definitely my universal go-to for any occasion.
Simihaze Skin Suede Melting Bronze Balm in 01 Sycamore ($25) – You’ve got to give Simihaze credit for some of the cutest packaging out there, it’s right on par with Asian beauty brands you see all over your TikTok feed. With that said, Simihaze is also notorious for skimping on actual product – their full-sized offerings look like travel samples and GWPs. This bronzer is the same size and volume as a large Morphe eyeshadow pan, so if you use it often, you’ll run out pretty quickly. But the size is not my big issue with this bronzer, it’s the shade. According to Simihaze, Sycamore has a neutral undertone. Excuse me, is ‘neutral’ in the room with us right now? This shade is giving a solid peach/orange/red tone that is anything but neutral. Obviously, I can’t use it on its own, but I like to mix it with cool-toned blushes so they neutralize each other. The formula is great though – it blends well and has good longevity with a semi-matte finish. I think this might be the first and the last time I get PR from this brand because of my negative public remarks regarding this unrealistic shade.🫠
Ere Perez Cacao Bronzing Pot in Playa ($38) – If the previous two bronzers had a matte finish, here’s something for my dewy dumpling girlies! Ere Perez is a natural makeup brand that makes high-performance botanicals-based formulas for anyone who prefers to go the natural route. This bronzer feels creamy, balmy, buttery, and very moisturizing on the skin. It gives the skin a beautiful sunkissed glow for that effortless ‘clean girl’ look. Playa has a perfectly neutral undertone and subtle pigment that works very well on fair skin, so you don’t need as much blending. Also, it has that sweet chocolatey scent of cocoa butter, all-natural of course! I use this on no-makeup days to give my skin some definition and it just makes me feel pretty, period.
Milk Sculpt Stick in Toasted ($24) – Let’s talk about utility bronzers. This creamy stick is not really a ‘St. Tropez vaca’ bronzer but more of a ‘let’s re-sculpt those cheekbones’ bronzer. It’s richly pigmented, cool-toned, and has that muddy, slightly greenish, taupe greige color to mimic the look of shadows on the skin. It works wonders for visually altering your bone structure, and adding subtle shading that looks completely natural. It applies smoothly and blends out seamlessly, so there won’t be any harsh lines either. If you want to try the buccal fat removal look without actually physically altering your face, this is the perfect product. Milk gets the same criticism as Simihaze here for this ridiculously tiny ‘full-sized’ product, but at least they claim it will last over 1000 swipes. I can live with that.
Swatches L to R: NARS Cosmetics Bronzing Cream in Laguna 01, Simihaze Skin Suede Melting Bronze Balm in 01 Sycamore, Ere Perez Cacao Bronzing Pot in Playa, Milk Sculpt Stick in Toasted.
Have you tried any of the products mentioned here? Are there any cream bronzers that you like?
