Battle of the (Budget) Bronzers

Hi all! As I continuously evaluate my collection and assess and re-assess all the products within it, I decided to break down the three bronzers I have. Two are "cult status" bronzers, and one I found quite by accident.

Though the title of this post is Battle of the Bronzers, I am not going to rank them, but rather explain the pros and cons of each.

First, lets look at some pictures. I will warn you ahead of time that the Butter Bronzer is not as aesthetically pleasing as it once was...

In both pictures the order of bronzers are: Shiseido Oil Free Bronzer in Light ($10), Physician's Formula Butter Bronzer in light ($14), and NYC 10 Hour Bronzer in Sunny  ($5).

Let's begin!

The bronzer by Shiseido was the one I bought from Amazon, at a steeply discounted price. On me, it leans a little red, and is of a far more stiff and pigmented formula than the Butter Bronzer. That being said, I think it does provide a more realistic looking "sunkissed' effect on my skin than the Butter Bronzer. Its formula also makes it quite long-lasting. It seems to have a slightly luminous finish.

Moving on, I can see why Butter Bronzer is cult-status. It is a pleasure to apply to the face. The major drawbacks is the bulkiness of the packaging, and the fragility of the formula. You cannot travel with this. My picture above displays a depotted Butter Bronzer (in the compact case for Mary Loumanizer), clearly damaged. Like the Shiseido bronzer, I find that it has a slightly luminous finish, but it gives a soft wash of color that makes application fool-proof. I don't want to like BB as much as a I do.

Last is the NYC bronzer in Sunny. This bronzer is formulated with kaolin, and to me that is quite evident due to the smell of the product. Not to say that it is a bad smell, but my first association is chalk. That being said, the product does not have a chalky application. It's color is closer to the Shiseido bronzer, but more matte, and easier to apply because it is not as pigmented.

All three bronzers are enjoyable to use/useful in their own way. I just bought the NYC bronzer, so I still have to continue testing it out. The packaging claims that it lasts 10 hours on the skin, so that is something I will try to pay attention to as I wear it throughout the day!