Bronzers - Too Faced, Hoola and Sleek Face Contour Kit

I decided recently to do a bit of a bronzer post, as I'm definitely a bronzer girl rather than a blusher girl, but I'm also very fussy with my bronzers.

 

My pet hate is orange bronzers.  Get them in Room 101, I hate them.  I've seen other people suit them, but for me they are the devil of the make-up world.  I think it is partly because I don't have very smooth, even skin, so highlighting all my bumps and dry patches with an interesting shade of satsuma is not ideal.

 

For the same reason I hate sparkle.  Whyyyy do bronzers always have to be sparkly.  No, they don't give me a post-holiday glow, they give me a circa-1990's body glitter look. It is almost like I'm saying "did you not see my spot? Hold on, let me stick some glitter on it so you can see it better" No. Naughty sparkly orange bronzers. 

 

So my bronzer needs to be matte, and it needs to be non-orange.  And this is not an easy ask if you're looking for high street bronzers.  I'll be honest, I've never dabbled in higher end bronzers like Nars or Chanel, because I can't afford them so why even open that box.

 

But on my ultimate quest for the perfect bronzer, I have found 3 little beauties which satisfy the high-maintenance bronzer-diva in me.  They are the Sleek Contour Kit in 'Light', Benefit Hoola and Too Faced Chocolate Soleil. Ta daaaaa....



 

These differ significantly in price.  Sleek is £6.49, Benefit Hoola is £23.50 and Too Faced Chocolate Soleil is £25 (and quite tricky to get hold of in the UK - I found it on ASOS.com)

Up until about 2 weeks ago, this post would have entirely been about Hoola.  I am a self-confessed Hoola addict.  I love it. 

The powder is completely matte (absolutely noo sparkle) and is a really complimentary coffee/chocolate shade.  It almost looks like a creamy coffee or a hot chocolate type colour.  It is very slightly muddy in colour, which may put some people off, but I love it for it. I use it more as a contour than a blusher/bronzer, but this is always where I apply my bronzer. It goes on quite pigmented and you do need to give it a good buff and blend, but stick with it, keep buffing and you'll be left with a really natural glow.  I'd especially recommend the shade if, like me, you prefer yellow-based foundation - it compliments it so much better.  I wear this to death in the summer as I think it genuinely gives me a natural looking tanned face when dusted on my 'sun catching' areas.  It lasts quite a decent amount of time too, but when you get to the stage mine is at in the photo above, it gets difficult to get the product out from the edges of the box. I normally scrape a bit of powder off with a hair grip then dust that on.

But for 100% definite, this is my beloved no.1 bronzer. Anyone who is orange-phobic like me, I'd definitely recommend it. 

Another bronzer I enjoy is the Chocolate Soleil Medium/Dark by Too Faced.

I came across this after a LOT of research online and bought some in House of Fraser.  This has a delicious chocolate scent and a big mirror in the lid.  Again, the colour is (as the name suggests) a very chocolate-y hue.  It is extremely similar to the Hoola bronzer and the only thing that would stop me repurchasing is the price.  I'd say the texture is creamier and smoother than Benefit Hoola, but the pigmentation is just as strong and again I'd recommend much buffing.  Again though, the colour is just so much more reminiscent of a natural tan. Of the three, this is maybe ever so slightly more orange based, but it only means the colour is a bit warmer than the Hoola.  It blends really nicely and is an excellent contour shade.  It is also 100% mattte and lasts well on the skin.  If this were cheaper than Hoola I'd probably buy it more, but there's nothing about it that makes me want to spend the extra £1.50 to get it.

My final bronzer of the pack is a new addition to my collection and is the Sleek Contour Kit.

This first dropped on my radar whilst watching a blog video by Zoella, and the name rang a bell which means it must have twigged my interest before as well.  I am ever on the search for a cheaper version of Hoola for 'everyday' wear, so I decided to buy this at £6.49 from the Sleek website.  First things first, I'm not going to be talking about the highlighter side of this product.  It massively upsets me.  It is SO shiny and pink, and it takes up over a 3rd of the palette and it needs to be gone.  If you wear highlighter, then I think as highlighters go it is pretty okay, but my fear of sparkle prevails.

I bought the kit in the 'Light' shade and was worried it might be too light, but my fears swung the other way when I opened it as the bronzer bit looks DARK.  It also looked quite orange (oh god). But I have genuinely been quite pleasantly surprised by this.  I'll be honest, you can tell from the consistency that it is cheaper than the other two.  It isn't as smooth or creamy and feels a bit drier. But the colour is actually not too orange, and it is completely matte which I love.  I think the cheaper texture means it does take a LOT more blending.  The first time I put it on I was like 'oh god, I look like a child has wiped a chocolatey finger down my face' but keep blending, keep buffing, and the end result is even and a really nice gentle brown. I've been wearing this as my everyday bronzer and will now be keeping Hoola for special occasions.  It 100% isn't as good as Hoola, but as a cheaper but viable alternative, it is a winner.

Here is a little photo of the Sleek bronzer on....

With regard to difference in colour, I swatched the three below and you can see there really isn't much difference in shade.  Hoola is probably the most yellow-based and you can see from the swatches what I mean about the Sleek one being slightly less refined in terms of texture and blending. But bearing in mind the £18 price difference, you can't really argue it.

So, if like me you aren't a fan of a sparkly orange bronzer and want a more natural tan shade, then these are my recommendations.  I've tried many other bronzers - Body Shop, Rimmel, Clinique, L'Oreal - the only one missing from here which is maybe eligible for my club would be the Bourjois chocolate bronzer, but I still found this a tad on the orange side.

With regard to application you can see where I apply it under my cheek bones, and I swear by my Bare Minerals blusher brush which is small enough to get a defined area, but still big enough to buff and blend.  I can't get on with big ol' kabuki brushes as they cover too much of my face.  Generally I'd say bronzer takes practice, but persevere..it really warms your face up and defines/slims it.  And the three bronzers above are much easier to blend colour-wise if you're a novice. Just remember blend, blend, buff, blend, buff......