Concealer? Check. Blush? Check. Highlighter? Double check. Something still missing? The best bronzers may be the missing puzzle piece to your look—a few swipes of which can impart skin with a sun-kissed glow on the face, décolletage, arms, and even legs. At times when sunshine is difficult to come by, bronzers can be a speedy way to make skin look healthy with little effort. Even as we bask in sunny days through the end of summer, it amps up the warmth with ease.
Plus, a good bronzer does more than just deposit a luminous sheen—with proper placement, it can enhance cheekbones, define the jawline, and add dimension to collarbones. Playing with light and shade allows you to create depth for a lit-from-with-radiance that looks deceivingly natural.
Whether you’re searching for a shimmering golden hue that doubles up as a great highlighter, or a matte brown ideal for contouring, find Vogue’s pick of the best bronzers below.
Vogue’s Favorite Bronzers
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Best Stick: Merit Bronze Balm Sheer Sculpting Bronzer
Merit
Bronze Balm Sheer Sculpting Bronzer
- Why We Love It: Beloved for its easily blendable texture, Merit’s Bronze Balm is one of the simplest beauty products to apply, enriched with emollient fatty acids to aid in skin’s moisture levels. Given the semi-sheer finish, it’s pretty hard to mess up the blending of this balmy stick—there’s no fear of muddy 2016 era-overdone bronzer here. Swipe it along the cheekbones, forehead, and even nose for a slightly contoured, satin-finish glow without harsh lines. Plus, you can even use this pick as a chubby eyeshadow stick.
- Ingredients: Microfine pigments, fatty acids
- Type: Semi-sheer balm
- Finish: Satin
- Shades: Five
Best Gel-Cream: Chanel Les Beiges Healthy Glow Bronzing Cream
Chanel
Les Beiges Healthy Glow Bronzing Cream
- Why We Love It: “If I had to choose a single makeup product I couldn’t work without, it would probably be this one,” celebrity makeup artist Carolina Dalí-Trites previously told Vogue. “With a cream bronzer, the skin will have more of a glow than if you use a powder-based bronzer,” for something that reads more sun-kissed than sculpted. For pro makeup artist Tasha Reiko Brown, what sets this apart is the gel-based texture, along with its realistic shades that deliver warmth without orange—though the the limited shade range makes it best suited for fair to medium skin tones. “This product also makes for a softer contour of color before applying blush,” Brown previously told Vogue.
- Key Ingredients: Coconut oil, mineral waxes, light-reflecting pigments
- Type: Gel-cream
- Shades: 3
- Finish: Natural
