little white truths

Not long ago I reviewed this Urban Decay Beached Bronzer in the shade Bronzed, and I'm back now to review Sunkissed.

While they do have the same formula so I could probably have written those reviews together, I preferred to do them separately because I'd previously used the other one more than this and I also use them for different things: 'Bronzed' is a good shade for bronzing on me but 'Sunkissed' works better as a blush on my light/medium to medium colouring.

• Like a holiday in a compact, attain a golden goddess glow in seconds 
• This silky, finely milled powder works to leave a soft radiant glow on skin
• Easily blendable and in two universally flattering matte shades
• Use the bronzer to contour to make skin look less flat and more 3D
• Perfect for on-the-go application, the powder is encased in a compact with mirror
• RRP $46 AUD for 9g (I bought mine for $43 each)

And in natural light (indoors):

* L-R: Bahama Mama, Hoola, UD Bronzed (heavy and then blended) and UD Sunkissed (heavy and then blended)

 * L-R: Bahama Mama, Hoola, UD Bronzed (heavy and then blended) and UD Sunkissed (heavy and then blended)

* L-R: Bahama Mama, Hoola, UD Bronzed (heavy and then blended) and UD Sunkissed (heavy and then blended)

* L-R: Bahama Mama, Hoola, UD Bronzed (heavy and then blended) and UD Sunkissed (heavy and then blended)

Verdict

Packaging

I don't normally do a separate 'packaging' heading, but in this case I will because I think it warrants a mention.

I hate to say it, but I don't love it in person. Why? It feels bloody cheap. Yes it looks great and I'm glad to have it on my display shelves, but it's quite possibly the lightest, most cheap-feeling packaging I own. 

Now it's true that Urban Decay isn't the most expensive brand lining the shelves at Mecca (and yes, it's the product itself that matters most), but here's the thing: if I'm going to drop $43 AUD on a bronzer, I want it to feel special. 

Part of the draw of expensive makeup for me is the whole experience of using it, which includes feeling the weight of a well-made compact when I hold it. I don't get that with this. 

Worth noting is that I have two highlighters from theBalm (Mary-lou and Cindy-lou), which cost less than these but feel heavier. Not only that, there's a small hole on the base that you can stick a pin through to make the products easier to depot (which they are - I've done it). These Urban Decay ones, however, have no hole and feel flimsy to me, plus I cracked Bronzed when I tried to depot it. 

So theBalm has put more thought into its packaging than Urban Decay, and while theBalm's pans are magnetised, I suspect these ones aren't. Since I can't depot them without destroying the packaging, I may never know.

What a rant. Moving on.

Product

This is a good product. It's finely milled, beautifully silky, and it applies and blends nicely. 

Mind you, it's the kind of product that fares better if you've powdered your liquid foundation - otherwise things can get messy. While my Hourglass bronzers could blend over glue, these ones need more attention. Sure it's not a huge deal to powder first, but if you have dry skin like I do, you probably prefer a 'less is more' approach to powder and with these you need to make sure there's no tackiness left or you could run into problems.

'Sunkissed' doesn't work for bronzing on me - but that's not why I bought it. I bought it because I thought it would make a beautiful blush, and indeed it does. It may be my favourite nude blush in terms of colour. Or at least it is today ; ).

In the swatches above you'll see that it's paler and peachier than any of the other bronzers pictured. This is why it would make a rubbish bronzer on my colouring and is better for the cheeks.

One thing to note with both these UD bronzers is that they're not pigmented. Now I normally don't mind that because it means you can build them and you're less likely to wind up with clown-face, but in this case, the pigment bothers me a bit. Why? I like to use my bronzers on the eyes (bronzers make great crease colours) and I can't with either Bronzed or Sunkissed because I need to apply too much to get them to show up, and by then they look powdery and ageing.

By way of example, in the above swatches I used two finger stripes of Bahama Mama and Hoola to get that colour, but I needed four or five of the two UD shades.

Overall, this is a beautiful blush - and presumably a good bronzer on paler skintones. While there's not a permanent spot for Bronzed in my collection because it's not a unique shade (nor is it my favourite colour of the bronzers I own), I'm really pleased with Sunkissed and I can see myself using it heaps. It just works with everything: it treads the line beautifully between brown and peach, and I'm glad I own it.

A great colour.