A Glossier bronzer has long been on our wish list – and the gel-creme texture was well worth the wait
Glossier’s first-ever bronzer, Solar Paint, £17 , finally launches today and we’re not the only ones who are excited. According to the brand, it’s the most requested Glossier product ever. “We’ve spent years finessing this formula: finding the right balance of warmth and dimensions to make your skin look like it was actually kissed by the sun,” they say.
The vegan gel-creme texture comes in four shades and is a weightless, luminous bronzer that is basically summer in a doe-foot wand, delivering a sun-kissed glow in five seconds flat. Rather than being shimmery, it captures the glow you get after spending a day basking in the sun; warm, healthy and natural-looking.
Like all Glossier products, this is simple to use. It glides on and melts into the skin and can be blended with just your finger, leaving no tell-tale lines, just a sun-kissed luminosity. The four shades have been tested by the Glossier community and suit everyone from fair skin types to deep tones.
What are the Glossier bronzer shades like?
Flare is formulated for fair to light skin tones and provides a neutral bronze with a subtle gold pearl. Ray is for light to medium skin tones and is a subtle medium warm bronze with gold pearl. It’s ever so slightly pearlier than Flare, which is more matte. Heat was created for tanned to deep skin tones and is a rich, brown bronze with gold pearl, while Volt is for deep to rich skin tones and has a red tone to its bronze shade, with copper pearl.
What’s the Glossier Solar Paint formula like?
Not only does it look 10/10, Solar Paint is kind to your skin too, infused with Glossier’s Desert Milk, which is a blend of plant oils and extracts such as jojoba and aloe to condition and nourish the skin. It’s this concoction that gives the formula its blendable feel and seamless look. Once it’s applied you can’t feel the bronzer, it just feels like your own skin. The botanical ayursense is also in the mix, which is known to boost the luminosity of skin for a lit-from-within glow.
What does Glossier Solar Paint feel like?
It has a sort of whipped mousse texture, which makes it a joy to apply. It’s weightless and even when we layered it on thick to swatch it we could still hardly feel it. There’s no dryness of heaviness, even when it’s set.
Glossier Solar Paint reviews
Victoria Woodhall, editorial director
"Glossier Solar Paint, as the name implies, is all about a subtle natural sun-kissed look. I tried two shades, Flare and Ray; Ray is a warmer, sunnier copper with slightly more sheen while Flare is a cooler tone. Both suited my light and self-tanned skin. The sponge-tipped wand and thicker texture (a little thicker than the brand’s Cloud Paint blush) takes the spills out of applying a liquid bronzer (I have messed up many a white T-shirt with rogue drops of liquid bronzer in the past). The satin finish and lack of shimmer make it really easy to achieve a natural skin-like effect, without the muddiness that can come from a powder bronzer. If you want to warm up your whole face you can dot it lightly straight over moisturiser. I love a liquid blush so these textures marry perfectly."
Jemma Thompson, graphic design and social media manager
"Unpopular opinion: I’ve never been a fan of Glossier’s liquid blush Cloud Paint or liquid bronzers in general, but this new release caught me off guard. I’m a sucker for a good bronzer; even on no-makeup days, I can’t stop myself from sprinkling some on and I can see me doing the same with this new gel formula. I tried the shade Heat an it’s like a second skin, blending in and out seamlessly and it’s buildable too. It’s extremely comfortable and lightweight to wear (as you’d expect from Glossier) and it gives you the most beautiful summer glow thanks to light-reflecting particles that pick up the light exactly where you want it. The warmth of the tone is on point too, it looks like you’re always in golden hour." Buy Solar Paint, £17, now