Whether you want to sculpt or add a natural sunkissed effect lightly, everyone should have a cream bronzer in their makeup bag which is why we've found the best ones to suit every skin tone and budget
Cream bronzers are having a serious moment, and rightly so. Not only are they a great way to add glow and warmth to your skin but what a cream bronzer can do, compared with a powder variety, is sink into the skin becoming part of your complexion and creating a far more natural look. As though you have been kissed by the sun, whereas the reality is you’re wearing your daily face SPF, right?
But why choose a cream bronzer over a powder or liquid?
“If I had my way everyone would use a cream bronzer,” says Sir John, who is one of Beyoncé’s regular makeup artists and is brilliant at teaching everyone how to contour. “They are much easier to manipulate and you can move it at any point. Whereas powder bronzers are far more permanent in their positioning.”
A sentiment celebrity make-up artist, Lan Nguyen-Grealis agrees with and adds, “they’re also pretty fool-proof, especially if you are a bronzer beginner. It’s far easier to buff away excess cream bronzer than powder. And it’s really easy to build up to the level of bronze you want with a cream, layering it as you go until you’re happy with where it’s at.”
With all of that in mind, we have rounded up the best cream bronzers on the shelves so you can find the best one for you and add it to your makeup bag immediately.
How to choose the best cream bronzer
“These days considering your budget is key,” says Lan. “There are some great, affordable options out there so don’t think that expensive automatically equals better.” And whilst you might not think about shade matching a bronzer as you would a foundation there are enough differentials in shade for that to be a consideration. “Whilst bronzer is thought of as one unified shade there is nuance within in,” says Lan. “For example, fairer skins suit lighter, warmer tones. Medium skin tones can pretty much wear whatever they want but golden tones will look brilliant and darker skins look amazing with the warmer, chocolate toned bronzers.”
It’s also key to consider the type of finish you’re after. “Generally cream bronzers will create a more dewy, luminous finish because they will also create a slight reflection from being creamy. However, you can get matte finishes in a cream texture and are a great addition to your make-up bag not only as a bronzer but to use as a contour too.”
How to apply cream bronzer
Sold on the concept of cream bronzer? Here are Lan’s tips for applying it like a dream every time.
- Warm it up. “I like to warm the product up slightly between my fingers before applying it, this ensures that it glides on really well and you can buff it in easily.”
- Choose your tool. “I use fingers and brushes to apply cream bronzers, it just depends how I’m feeling. Fingers are great when you’re working in smaller areas, so if you just want to add some extra bronze to your cheeks, nose or even on the eyes. A brush will cover a larger area quickly. A brush does also sheer the product out more, making it easier to create a super natural effect. I use a dense, soft brush when applying cream blusher - Real Techniques Expert Face Brush, £8.99 is one of my favourites.”
- Placement is key. “Think about where the sun naturally hits your face. That’s where you want your cream bronzer to go - across the top of the forehead, down the nose, across the chin and on the high points of your cheeks.”
- Slow and steady. “Remember, you can always add more so start with a light layer and check how it looks in daylight. Then you can always take it up a notch.”
14 of the best cream bronzers
1. Best for travel: Pixi Beauty On-the-Glow Bronze, £18
Shade range: 4 (but really 3)
Available in three bronze shades and one glowy pink tone, this handy-sized bronzer is ideal for travelling or keeping in your handbag. Simply twist the base and swipe the solid format (but it’s most definitely a cream finish) over cheeks, chin, nose and forehead and blend in with either fingers or a brush.
2.Best for multi-tasking: Stila Blush & Bronze Hydro-Blur Cheek Duo, £27
Shade range: 6
A clever dual-ended product that has a cream bronzer at one end and a complimenting cream blusher at the other. Both have a creamy consistency that glides onto the skin and easy to buff in, simply choose the shade of blusher that works for your skin tone and you get a blusher to match.
3. Best for natural look: Iconic London Sheer Bronze, £21
Shade range: 6
Quite sheer and dewy in finish, this is a cream bronzer that’s going to make your skin look naturally bronzed rather than looking like you're wearing a bronzer. It melts into the skin for a completely seamless finish but you can build and layer it up if you want more impact. We recommend applying a few dabs onto the cheeks and buffing with a brush.
4. Best stick cream bronzer: Merit Bronze Balm, £32
Shade range: 5
Merit is all about creating easy and effortless makeup looks so it makes sense that their cream bronzers come in a handy stick, almost crayon-like, format. Simply sweep it wherever you want some glow and then buff it with your fingers or a brush. The formula is really creamy so this is easy to do and the colour is ultra-natural too.
5. Best cream bronzer for shade range: Rare Beauty Warm Wishes Effortless Bronzer, £25
Shade range: 8
From Selena Gomez beauty range, Rare is this brilliant stick cream bronzer. It’s super chunky making it easy, and speedy, to apply and has a non-greasy and non-comedogenic formula meaning it won’t clog pores. It is also water-resistant making it a great option for packing on any summer trips where you don’t want your sun-kissed glow to fade when you’re lounging around the pool.
6. Best cream bronzer for a subtle, everyday glow: Rose Inc Solar Infusion Soft-Focus Cream Bronzer, £30
Shade range: 4
Looking to extend your sun-kissed glow beyond summer but want something ultra natural-looking? Rose Inc's Solar Infusion Cream Bronzer is the answer to maintaining a subtle warmth to your complexion as we bid farewell to the summer (sob!). It's buildable, making it easy to add the perfect dusting to your cheeks, temples and forehead (and we'd argue virtually mistake-proof). There are four shades, ranging from Parrot Cay on the lighter end of the spectrum to Capri, the deepest bronze (Rosie HW's fave is Kauai, right in the middle).
7. Best cream bronzer for Laguna obsessives: Nars Bronzing Cream, £31
Shade range: 5
Laguna obsessives, listen up! Nars has dropped a creamy version of its cult bronzing powder and, frankly, we're impressed. It's always going to be hard to live up to a classic, but with five sunkissed shades inspired by the iconic Laguna, this adds extra versatility in finding your perfect hue. It's also enriched with monoï de Tahiti oil to give you all the holiday feels (and smells), while the silky texture leaves a gorgeous dewy finish.
8. Best luxury cream bronzer: Chanel Les Beiges Healthy Glow Bronzing Cream, £46
Shade range: 3
This is arguably the most iconic cream bronzer that exists. Make-up artists rave about it. Beauty editors can’t be without it. This is in part because its been around for so long - over a decade - but also because it strikes the perfect balance between offering up enough colour payoff to make it look like you’ve been on holiday whilst also enhancing your natural skin tone. In short: you put this one and your skin looks like the best version of your skin. It is now available in three shades to cater for all skin tones and all bronzing proclivities.
9. Best budget cream bronzer: Elf Putty Bronzer, £6
Shade range: 5
Brilliant for so many reasons, but the standout being it’s unique consistency. On first touch it feels just like putty (hence the name) and is really easy to apply and buff into the skin, but it dries down to a slightly powdery finish, which also gives it great longevity. There are five shades to choose from all of which create a really gorgeously natural sun kissed glow.
10. Best cream bronzer for everyone: Charlotte Tilbury Beautiful Skin Sun-Kissed Glow Bronzer, £44
Shade range: 4
Is there a dud Charlotte Tilbury product? We don’t think so, and this newbie cream bronzer might have topped the leaderboard. It has a super silky consistency making it really easy to move around the face - FYI Charlotte also recommends using it on the body too. And it contains very clever resins that make it sweatproof and humidity proof (we tested it in 30-degree Corfu and it stayed put!). There are four shades to choose from ranging from fair to deep.
The rest of the Get The Gloss team loves this cream bronzer too!
11. Best cream bronzer for fair skin: Refy Cream Bronzer in Sand, £18
Shade range: 3
With a perfect blend of warming golden tones and a light bronze base, this is a great buy for fairer skins who want to bronze without looking overdone and unnatural. In terms of finish, it sits somewhere between being matte and glossy - creating enough glow without being too shiny but with a hint of matte that doesn’t look flat. If your budget can stretch to the Refy Duo Brush as well, then we’d highly recommend purchasing both as it makes application an absolute dream.
12. Best cream bronzer for medium tones: Trinny London Golden Glow, £25
Shade range: 4
Trinny describes this as ‘holiday in a pot’ and we concur wholeheartedly. It has a super creamy consistency and feels really hydrating on the skin, as if you’re applying a hit of moisturiser and delivers a sheer but natural looking wash of bronze. There are four shades ranging from a light golden hue to a deep mahogany bronze. Our only complaint? We wish it came in a bigger pot!
13. Best cream bronzer for dark skin tones: Makeup Revolution London Ultra Cream Bronzer, was £6
Shade range: 5
Not only does this gorgeous buttery bronzer work perfectly on darker skin tones but you get change from a tenner too. It has a balmy consistency that glides over skin really easily and delivers a wash of bronze that isn’t too sheeny but also doesn’t look flat and one-dimensional.
14. Best matte cream bronzer: Milk Makeup Matte Bronzer, £22
Shade range: 5
This cream bronzer comes in a handy stick applicator making it a great option for travelling. Whilst it is a matte finish, it doesn’t feel drying or cakey. In fact it has a velvety feeling to it. We like to apply the stick directly onto the skin and buff in with a brush but you could also apply a brush to the stick and then to the face. It also doubles up as a great contour for days where you’re more focused on the structure to the face than being sunkissed.
15. Best luminous cream bronzer: Jones Road Miracle Balm, £34
Shade range: 5
There are 5 shades of bronze (there are also some blusher shades) ranging from a light caramel gold to darker shimmering deep bronze, but they all create a dewy, glowy effect thanks to the volume of light-reflecting particles it contains. At first glance as you will notice a wax-like film across the top of the product that you need to break. If you don’t, you get zero colour payoff. To break it, use the end of a make-up brush or a spatula and rub it all over to ‘ignite’ the product. Then it’s as simple as using your fingers or a brush to dab it wherever you want a bronzed glow to appear.
16. Best cream bronzer for on the go: Fenty Beauty Cheeks Out Freestyle Cream Bronzer, £29
Shade range: 7
Whilst you could argue that a stick formulation is easy to use on the go, the fact that this portable compact has a mirror in the lid makes it the ultimate winner in our eyes. And the product inside is amazing too. It has a light, sheer consistency that Rihanna was insistent that it didn’t leave a hint of greasiness on the skin (it doesn’t) and as with all things Fenty, inclusivity has been done correctly with seven shades to choose from.