Bronzers and contours – My TOP Picks!

Happy Monday! If it’s Monday, that means it’s my collaboration day with Rayne…where we rank the crap out of our makeup products! Previously we’ve done foundation and primers, and today’s it’s time to talk bronzers and contours! I won’t lie, I always thought bronzing and contouring was reserved for the pros. For Mario and Kim Kardashian, not for Oros face Simone. On a whim one day, I bought a Highlight and Contour palette…and then spent a week on You Tube trying to figure out how the heck to use the thing. LOL. Eventually I figured it out, and let me say, if I can do it, even Mr Oros himself can do it. So….surprise, in today’s post, I share with you the bronzer/contour powders I love and which are my faves!

Lets talk about bronzers!

1. Clarins Sunshine in a compact bronzer (RSP R560/17gms) #PRGift

I first posted about this in December and I thought it was limited edition, but I see it is still available on the Clarins website! Gals, this bronzer compact is the shizzle! I don’t know how else to describe it. It’s a matte powder, and consists of 3 different shades, so you can decide how bronze you want to be. The powder blends on the skin like a freakin dream and is really buildable! Thankfully this is a huge pan, so I’m sure I’ll have it for quite a while!

Related: Clarins recommendations

2. Benefit’s Hoola Bronzer (RSP R445/11gms)

The Hoola bronzer is one of the most talked about bronzers on You Tube. This is one of those brainwashing items, where I’d seen it spoken about so many times, eventually I HAD to have it. I picked up a mini at Edgars one day, and I could see why this is such a loved product. This bronzer is the perfect in-between shade where it’s not too cool toned, and not too warm.  The Hoola bronzers takes the guesswork out of bronzing….honestly. Dip a brush into the powder, swish it over the parts you want bronzed and off you go. This powder also blends really easily and is perfect for beginners or professional makeup users.

Awesome news, Benefit has released 2 more bronzers in the Hoola line, so hopefully there’s a Hoola for every skin tone now!

Related: My top makeup products of 2018.

3. NYX Contour and Highlight Palette (RSP R395/8 x 2.7gms)

This is the palette I alluded to in my intro. This palette had so many pans, I didn’t know what the diggins I was supposed to do with them all. Once I realised, this is just makeup….do what you want, I relaxed. What I love about the NYX contour and highlight palette, is that there are 8 pans. You have some shimmer highlights, a matte banana powder and 4 contour/bronzer shades. I found this palette to be the most versatile palette you could ever own. You can use the matte powders to set your foundation/concealer. Then you have your bronzer and contour shades as well as 2 shimmer highlights. I’ve used this palette to set my face, bronze, highlight as well as used it as eyeshadow.

It’s an amazing palette. The only downside is that you may not use all the shades, so effectively you’re spending money on shades you may not use. However, you could depot the unused shades and donate to a friend.

Related: First Impressions of the NYX Contour and Highlight palette

4. BH Cosmetic’s It’s My Raye Raye Palette (No longer available)

I wasn’t going to include this, as it’s not available anymore, but I had to! This is such a good palette!!!! I won’t talk about the fantastic eyeshadows, but the contour and highlight portion part of this palette is amazing for what I paid for it. I’m sure I paid under R200 for the palette and with shipping, maybe a maximum of R300, but I mean, eyeshadows, contours and highlights? Matte and shimmer highlight powders at that! The bronzer/contour shades are so pigmented, go in with a super light hand! Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

Related: BH Cosmetics haul

The NYX palette comes in at the cheapest per gram, but you need to bear in mind, you may not use all the shades. If you do, it’s the best buy, if not the Clarins comes in at R32/gm and the Hoola at R40/gm. Just a bit of maths nobody asked me for.

That’s it for my favourite bronzers and contour powders! I must admit, I don’t really contour per se….I’d call it more bron-touring 😉 Mom of 3 ain’t got time for contouring and bronzing, so I do it all in one. ha ha. Do you use any of these? What’s your favourite contour/bronzer powder to use? Also, any guesses on what next week’s topic will be?

I’m keen to see what Rayne will be featuring in her post today, so head on with me over to her blog and let’s check out her faves!