The Balm "Bahama Mama" bronzer

Regular followers of my blog will know I have a bit of a bronzer obsession.  It is the staple of my make-up routine, and it's crept right up there with mascara as my desert island make-up item.

Thing is, I also have a bit of a phobia of orange bronzers.  I know they can be brilliant at warming up certain complexions, but on a bleached-blonde-fake-tanned young lady like myself, an orange bronzer can take you into territories you just don't want to go with your 'look'.

Up until a few months ago, I swore by Benefit's Hoola bronzer (you can see my mega bronzer post here), but the £23.50 price tag always depressed me a bit.  Especially as the design of the packaging means it is tricky to use all of the product.

Then I was watching a YouTube tutorial one day by SMLXO (such a good make-up vlogger, check her out here....SMLXO) and she was using The Balm's "Bahama Mama" bronzer.  She made a flippant comment about it being an "anti-orange" bronzer, and BAM, my little ears pricked up and I was on Google before she'd even finished her sentence.

Now it is an American brand I think, but it isn't one of those annoying US brands where you have to spend your life savings just to get it shipped over here.  I found it really easily on feelunique.com for £13.50.  OK, so we're not talking mega cheap, high street prices here, but at a whole ten pounds less than my Benefit old faithful, I figured it was worth a punt.

And worth it, it was. 

The product itself comes in a credit-card sized 'book', with a flip lid that has a mirror inside.  When I first got it, I was like wow that's small. But the Bahama Mama one is 7.08g compared to Hoola's 8g, and as I said, you struggle to get all of the product out of the Hoola tub because it is so deep.  However this is completely flat, so I think it will be easier to use all of the powder.

(This is a photo of the product after I've used it several times!)

A lot of reviews said not to freak out at the colour when it is in the palette, as it does look very muddy and dark.  I'd agree with the dark bit, but I was a bit like "hmm, it still looks more orange than I expected".  But looks can be deceiving and this certainly was.

The tone of the bronzer is definitely more cool than warm.  It is quite a sludgey colour, with a more yellowy undertone.  You can get a better idea of the tone when it is swatched alongside my other bronzers - Benefit Hoola and Sleek Contour in Light.

You can see the tone is quite similar to Hoola, but even less orange, and WAY more pigmented.  That's the only issue I have with this, it is very pigmented.  It would be amazing for hardcore contouring, but for a bit of a bronze glow you do have to give it a good old blend.  It's probably not ideal for bronzing novices, as it can look quite scary when you first apply it, and it does sometimes have a tendency to collect a bit, but I think that's because I have dry skin and I always use very moisturising foundations.  I use my Real Techniques blush brush to apply it, and I would recommend using a bigger, fluffier brush like this.  I think smaller, tight packed ones might load the colour way too much (unless you're contouring of course).

Despite the bicep power needed to blend it in, it does mean you barely use any product (whereas with Hoola I was always giving my brush a good old swish around the tub to get plenty of colour).  I use this everday, and have been for 3 months, and I have barely made a dent in it.  Plus I just love the tone of the colour.  I always go for yellow based foundations, and this compliments them perfectly.  I think it would look a nightmare on a pinky-toned complexion or base, as it would make it look a really dirty, muddy colour.  But blended in with a more yellow-toned base, it looks really flattering.  It matches the colour I go when I tan naturally much better than any other bronzer, which means I think it will be awesome in  the summer too.

Despite the lack of orange, I do still find it to warm my complexion up, and it's bloody good at sculpting your cheek bones.  It's definitely not completely devoid of any orange - I think it's a bit like any tan product, you're always going to have that orangey presence - but this is 100% the least orange one I have found.  It reminds me a bit of the new generation of olive-based fake tans out there (i.e. Xen Tan) as it definitely has the same effect. 

So if you are ok with a generous amount of blending, and you tend to go down the yellow-based route with your foundation, then I'd definitely recommend it.  I'm quite pale skinned (NC25) and this isn't too overpowering and it doesn't look like I'm trying to achieve a face colour that's just isn't natural for me.   It lasts for ages and it isn't crazy expensive.  If you've made it this far down my blog post then well done, you have way more will power than me!!