Hey everybody, how are you doing today? The week is almost over. Are you breathing a sigh of relief? It looks like Europe has been freezing over. It is -4 here at the moment (but according to the weather website it feels like -10), and by the end of the week it’s going to be -17. Looks like we’ve got some tough days ahead, but I try to remember a) at least it’s not snowing b) there isn’t TOO MUCH wind and c) all the bugs will die instead of coming out to mess with me when spring/summer comes. When times are hard, one of the strategies I employ is thinking positive thoughts!
Like most of us who live in the northern hemisphere, I haven’t seen much sun for a while. Since I am not a fan of tanning salons and self-tanning lotions, bronzer is my only salvation. I’m still relatively a newbie when it comes to bronzers, and the first one I own is Bobbi Brown Bali Brown. I still love it, but I think it works better with my summer skin tone (say NC35). Also, I personally don’t associate shimmery bronzers with winter. My goal is to have some credible color and put a bit of dimension back to my face after it has been “flattened” a little by foundation and finishing powder.
That led us to Estee Lauder Bronze Goddess Soft Matte Bronzer! I was looking for an item to balance the swap out when I saw this. After reading some (overwhelmingly positive) reviews, I decided to swap for it. It is probably a GWP (gift with purchase) size of 1.5 grams (0.05 oz). The full-size compact contains a whopping 21 grams (0.74 oz), which makes it 4 grams (0.14 oz) less than Cargo The Big Bronzer and much larger than most bronzers on the market. I was a bit surprised when I opened the compact, because it looked pretty shimmery to me! If you enlarge the picture above you can see some shimmer, but the real thing shimmers to a point that I would not call it matte! Oh well, since I’ve got it, I might as well give it a try.
I wasn’t too sure what to think about it when I swatched it on the back of my hand, because once sheered out it literally disappears into my skin (I had to choose the swatch picture with indoor lighting so that you can see it better. In natural lighting you see nary a thing). One good thing is that the shimmer is so fine and understated that it is not noticeable. What I didn’t remember was my face is slightly lighter, so I was pleasantly surprised the first time I used it on my face! It makes me look very healthy and just a teeny little bit darker, and I doubt very much anyone would be able to detect the bronzer even in person. The shimmer also disappears, leaving just a bit of healthy glow. It is not exaggerated, so if you want to look obviously bronzed or tanned this might not be your thing (of course it also depends on your natural skin tone). If you’re looking for a soft way to enhance your skin tone however, this bronzer does a perfect job! The pigmentation is decent. I don’t easily find myself risking overdoing this, but there is no need to pile it on either. It doesn’t oxidize on me, and the staying power is decent. I normally use some in the hollows of my cheeks, temples, forehead, and jawline. You can click here and here to see it in action, or just click on the Estee Lauder Bronze Goddess tag.
My only concern when it comes to recommending this product to people is that this definitely won’t work “across all skin tones.” I’ve read about lighter lassies (NC 10-15) raving about this bronzer, but if you are say NC 40 or above it probably won’t do too much for you. I still have to experiment with it in summer, but I have the feeling that I won’t be able to see much difference.
Bottom line: Depending on your natural skin tone, you might find this bronzer enjoyable. The price tag might seem big, but the quantity and quality it provides make it worthwhile. It’s definitely worth checking out if you have light-to-medium skin tone and are looking for a bronzer to counter a bit of that winter paleness, or to contour your face since it’s matte and should do the trick!
