Reviews and Other Stuff

bronzer

Guerlain Terracotta Light Healthy Glow Vitamin-Radiance Powder Review + Swatches

Guerlain Terracotta Light Healthy Glow Vitamin-Radiance Powder 01, 02, 03

 

Summer is almost just around the corner. I bet you guys are getting your bronzers and tanners ready. Speaking of Summer and bronzers, I have another bronzer to talk about. But before that, please do take a read of the amazing face bronzers I’ve tried and reviewed a couple of weeks ago, starting with the La Mer The Bronzing Powder (HERE) and the Becca Gradient Sunlit Bronzers (also HERE). Now, we have to talk about the very interesting Guerlain Terracotta Light Healthy Glow Vitamin-Radiance Powder (0.3 oz: $53). For the longest time, I’ve been trying to get my hands on these. Fortunately,ย I got lucky and found three shades that I’m about to review in this post.

 

guerlain terracotta light bronzers

The Guerlain Terracotta Light Radiance Powder is a vitamin-infused bronzer that is meant to be skin-loving and is composed of different colors that are sort of like a gradient and are almost complementary to each other. It has an absolutely beautiful presentation for a bronzing compact and it’s simply pretty to look at. Its overall packaging feels light and has a fantastic feel on the hands. It’s one of those most beautiful bronzers you could find nowadays. Looking at the compact, it resembles a color wheel with three shades alternating. In the middle, there’s a round shade that varies its tones from brownish beige to something of a dark brown. The bronzer has a nice floral-powder scent that spreads around you. It can be quite strong, but it smells really good. As for the texture, it feels really fine and has a luxurious feel on the face. I noticed at first glance that the shades seemed a lot lighter in real life than in the photos seen at Guerlain’s website or at Sephora. Upon application, the shades tend to be so light as well and that the varying colors on the compact tend to not make that much of a difference because all of them seemed quite too similar to each other, except for the pinks or peachy orange-golds you’d see on the compact. It’s a bit of a mixed feeling for me because I expected these to be more pigmented and the colors being much more distinctive to each other. But then again, the name of the compact says it all. It’s meant to be “light”, so don’t expect heavy contouring on these, unless you go for the darkest shades of this bronzer’s range. I find these compacts to be ideal for an everyday wear, just like the La Mer Bronzing Powder, although the La Mer one can double as a blush as well, while these Terracotta Lights seem to pull a single-tone with a spectrum that falls on the light peachy-orange side.

 

Guerlain Terracotta Light Healthy Glow Vitamin-Radiance Powder 01 clair dorรฉ

 

Guerlain Terracotta Light Healthy Glow Vitamin-Radiance Powder 01 light warm

 

01 Light Warm (Clair Dorรฉ) –ย This shade looks really light in reality. It’s has a light peachy color besides a shade that looks like a beige-brown and another beside it that looks like a matte light-medium brown. Then there’s another light matte beige-brown in the middle. There is very minimal glitter noticed on this compact and I could barely see this shade on my NC25/30 skin. I feel like this shade is perfect for those with very very fair or very light complexions.

 

Guerlain Terracotta Light Healthy Glow Vitamin-Radiance Powder 02 natural cool

 

Guerlain Terracotta Light Healthy Glow Vitamin-Radiance Powder 02 natural cool, naturel rosรฉ

 

02 Natural Cool (Naturel Rosรฉ) – A pretty blend of light pink shade with something that looks like a medium brown, a dark glittery brown beside it, another light brown as well, and another medium brown in the middle. When swirled, the shades still looked very subtle on me but at least I could see it on my face.

 

Guerlain Terracotta Light Healthy Glow Vitamin-Radiance Powder 03 natural warm

 

Guerlain Terracotta Light Healthy Glow Vitamin-Radiance Powder no 03

 

03 Natural Warm (Naturel Dorรฉ) – This shade has a golden-peach tone, with a matte light brown, a glittery dark brown, and another matte medium brown. It looks much more pigmented among the three compacts at a glance, but upon application, it still is very subtle on the face. It pulls off as a slightly pigmented version of the 01 Clair Dorรฉ shade above but with more glitter, even though the glitters don’t really show much on the face once applied.

 

Guerlain Terracotta Light Healthy Glow Vitamin-Radiance Powder 01, 02, 03

 

These Terracotta Light Bronzers can be blendable, but given the subtleness of their shades and their shimmers, you can only blend so much and still get the same color and intensity on the face. As I mentioned before, they tend to be on the light peachy side, which gives enough warmth and definition on the face. I cannot speak for the shades 04 and 05. Lasting power for these bronzers are good, they stay put as long as you avoid too much humidity and sweat. They tend to stay on my face even though I tend to have an oily skin type. Overall, it’s good to have a few of these depending on how you like to wear your bronzers. If you like them subtle and you wear them everyday, then you’re going to love the Guerlain Terracotta Light Bronzers.

 

Stay tuned for I’ll be reviewing a roundup of the best bronzers I’ve tried this Summer. Follow my Instagram for more details.

 

Happy Friyay!

 

The Guerlain Terracotta Light Healthy Glow Vitamin-Radiance Powder can be found at Sephora, Nordstrom, Saks Fifth Avenue, Bergdorf Goodman, Bloomingdale’s, Dillard’s, andย Selfridges,ย 

 

 

Becca Gradient Sunlit Bronzer Review + Swatches

becca gradient sunlit bronzers

 

Hey you guys, this season is definitely going to be a bronzer season for me. That’s because there’s been a couple of really gorgeous beautiful bronzers being released out there lately and I just can’t help but feel like I wanna try each one of them. So expect to see more bronzer stuff on my Insta and in my next future posts. A few weeks ago, I talked about the amazing La Mer The Bronzing Powder (seen HERE) and how it’s the perfect sheer bronzer for everyday use. Now, we’ll talk about a more pigmented bronzer that not only looks beautiful on the outside but also applies beautifully on the face. The Becca Gradient Sunlit Bronzer (0.25 oz: $38) is a love at first sight for me from the moment it was released. It was something I’ve been waiting from Becca Cosmetics even though they’ve already released their single-shade bronzers in the past, called Sunlit Bronzers (0.25 oz: $38). I’ve been wanting those bronzers for a long time but I just couldn’t make up my mind as to what shades I should get. I felt like there were too many beautiful shades to choose from and I ended up not being entirely sure as to which shade matches my skin tone. I thought “If only they’d make a combination of this stuff then I would be more inclined to buy them.” So finally, these Sunrise and Sunset Waves Gradient Sunlit Bronzers are just the perfect bronzers to have this summer especially if you’re looking for one that truly delivers in terms of pigment, lasting power, and natural effect.

 

These two bronzing compacts are limited-editions and each of them come in four different shades – combining one of Becca’s Shimmering Skin Perfector plus the three shades of their Sunlit Bronzers. Isn’t that amazing and convenient? You not only get one of Becca’s cult favorite iconic highlighters, you’re also getting three tones of their popular bronzers all in one single compact. Speaking of compact, the packaging comes in a signature Becca compact which looks well-made and is simply gorgeous. It comes in a rounded mirror and that pattern of gradient columns of bronzers surrounded by such flattering highlighters is very stare-worthy. You can’t help but think that you’ve made the right splurge.

 

becca sunrise waves bronzer

becca sunrise waves bronzer swatches

 

Sunrise Waves – Has three Sunlit Bronzers:

Bali Sands (soft golden-beige)

Capri Coast (warm golden brown)

Bronzed Bondi (medium amber)

 

One Shimmering Skin Perfector Pressed Highlighter:

Opal (golden opal pearl)

 

becca gradient sunset waves bronzer

 

becca sunset waves bronzer swatch

 

Sunset Waves – Has three Sunlit Bronzers:

Maui Nights (sienna-kissed bronze)

Ipanema Sun (medium auburn-brown)

Bronzed Bondi (medium amber)

 

One Shimmering Skin Perfector Pressed Highlighter

Rose Gold (soft gold infused with rose tones)

 

becca sunrise waves sunset waves bronzer

Both compacts retain that signature Becca quality when it comes to pigments. All shades show on my skin with the darker colors being more pigmented and staining than the others. The colors’ intensity varies depending on what type of brush to use. A loose powder brush applies some light pigments on the face and the dense brush creates a more contoured defined look. Whichever brush you’d use, you will still see the colors on your face. I find the Sunrise Waves compact to be perfect for my light-medium skintone and it gives that enough healthy glow on the face. Also, each of the shade in this compact can be worn alone or combined. You can even use the incorporated Opal highlighter as a facial strobe, while you can choose any of the individual bronzer shade (some matte and some shimmery) for contouring. Once swirled, the effect is kind of a light golden-brown glow, which is really pretty, a perfect blend of highlighter and bronzer in one. On the other hand, the Sunset Waves compact is also a pretty shade and one that I couldn’t ignore, even though it’s meant for someone with a deeper complexion than mine. Each of the bronzers in this compact is super pigmented and you could see that it starts with the Bronzed Bondi shade as its lightest color, which is also present in the Sunrise Waves compact as its darkest tone. The Rose Gold Highlighter is really pretty and once swirled with all three bronzers combined, the effect is dramatic and also very beautiful. On my skin, it looks quite too saturated given its strong pigments, so I try not to put a lot of it and the effect is interesting. It gave me a nice natural flush because of the terracotta-ish Maui Nights shade, and it’s also bronzy and shimmery. I quite like the combinations. It’s like a blush-highlighter-bronzer in one.

 

becca sunrise waves and sunset waves bronzers review

 

Overall, I love the look and feel of these two compact gradient bronzers. They have that same slightly powdery and velvety feel that can only be found in Becca’s products. The pigments are their best selling-point and once applied on the skin, the colors stay put and the effect is very natural. I highly recommend these and I think they are a much better option than the Sunlit Bronzers which only comes in one single shade per compact.

 

The Becca Gradient Sunlit Bronzer is currently available at Sephora, Ulta, and Revolve

 

La Mer The Bronzing Powder Review + Swatches

Hello guys! Happy Thursday to you all. My apologies for being kind of MIA lately. I’ve been down with a pretty strong cold and I didn’t wanna risk writing a review while being heavily medicated. LOL. God knows what I might have said, right? Anyhow, I got this really interesting La Mer product that I wanna talk about. It’s been released recently and it’s a limited-edition. The last time I check, this particular product is almost slowly getting sold out. Now that’s something. The latest La Mer The Bronzing Powder ($85) is a sight to behold. A vision in soft powdery pink and champagne waves embossed on a matte tan bronzer and encased inside a beautiful rose-gold pearly white compact. The packaging looks glam and luxurious though it can feel a bit delicate. The top half/cover of the compact can be used as a mirror since it’s quite reflective even though it actually houses a real mirror underneath once you flip it open.

 

la mer the bronzing powder review and swatches

la mer the bronzing powder

 

According to La Mer, this bronzing powder is meant to feel like a silky pressed powder that is infused with their famous Miracle Broth and is designed to give you that sun-kissed glow. According to my first impression, this bronzer gave me some mixed feelings. When I tried it at my local La Mer counter, I noticed that it had a very pleasant scent that’s typical of most La Mer skincare products, but this bronzer has some strong powdery notes to it, which I actually love and I could have just purchased it just for the scent alone, but I wanted to check if the product applies as beautifully as it looks on the compact. The La Mer S.A. gave me two brushes, one was a powder brush and one was a brush with more dense bristles. I first used the powder brush and swirled it around this bronzer which contains three shades; a slightly shimmery light baby pink (looks more like a blush), a shimmery champagne shade (a highlighter), and a matte tan or light brown shade (bronzer). After swirling all three shades, I then applied it underneath my cheeks. Much to my surprise, the product didn’t really show much on my face. It’s too close to my skin tone and by using the brush powder, there wasn’t much to see. I was a bit disappointed, but then I tried the dense powder and I finally I did see a light peachy sun-kissed glow on my face. I admit I still didn’t like this bronzer much even after trying it, it took me a couple of swatches and several glances at the mirror to realize that this bronzing powder really does show up my face. Also, the store that I was in had some really bad lighting, so that’s something to consider.

 

la mer the bronzing powder swatches

 

la mer the bronzing powder swatch

 

Fast forward, a few weeks later, I found myself really loving this La Mer The Bronzing Powder. For the record, I wasn’t really a bronzer fan, to begin with, and what little collection of bronzers I have, they’re mostly quite more pigmented than this La Mer. But, I’ve been really loving the sun-kissed beachy-look vibe lately, which calls for a slight application of bronzers, peachy blushes, and golden highlighters, so this La Mer Bronzer fits the bill. It really does give a sun-kissed glow without looking too contoured or overdone. Once all three colors are swirled, the effect looks quite peachy but still very light. You can build the shade but it still won’t be too pigmented especially if your skin tone is light-medium to golden-warm. If you’re fair or light in complexion, then you’re mostly going to love this, but with my NC25-NC30 skin, this looks very subtle.

la mer cool gel cream

I also tested the Lip & Cheek Glows from La Mer, but I skipped on those, I thought they looked so ordinary and they don’t warrant the price. Also, they could probably be easily dupable. What I did get as a sample from purchasing this La Mer Bronzer is a mini La Mer The Moisturizing Cool Gel Cream. Just to give you an overview of this gel cream, well, this doesn’t feel cooling at all, but it’s indeed lightweight and great for sensitive or oily-prone skin types. However, this isn’t so different from the La Mer Soft Cream in term of its lightweightness and texture, and you may have to use a lot of it to get enough coverage on the face. I still suggest using the original Creme de la Mer as it will give you the best bang for your buck.

 

la mer bronzer

 

Overall, if you like sheer bronzers and you have a fair to light-medium skin tone, then you’re gonna love this La Mer The Bronzing Powder. It will give you that subtle sun-lit glow while it defines and contours your face. With that being said, the sheerness of its pigments is not for everyone.

 

The La Mer Bronzing Powder is currently available at Nordstrom, Bergdorf Goodman, Neiman Marcus, Harrods, Bloomingdale’s, and Selfridges.