The best bronzers should do more than simply add colour to your complexion. A really great formula can warm up the skin, softly sculpt the face and fake a post-holiday glow without veering muddy, patchy or orange. But with powders, creams, sticks and liquids all competing for space in your make-up bag (not to mention all your blushes, foundations and the like), finding the right one for your skin type and finish preference can feel overwhelming
To help narrow things down, I tested a wide range of bronzing formulas across a variety of price points and consistencies, paying close attention to blendability, longevity and how natural each formula looked in daylight. I also spoke to Chanel make-up artist Marco Antonio – whose clients have included Kate Moss and Lily Aldridge – for expert guidance on bronzer formulas According to Antonio, powder bronzers are ideal for adding “warmth and definition” while helping to control shine, whereas cream bronzers “blend seamlessly into the skin” and offer a more dewy, natural-looking finish, particularly for drier skin types.
After weeks (and in some cases, years) of testing the latest, longest-standing and most viral formulas, these are the bronzers that hit the mark.
Read more: Best bronzing drops, tested
The best bronzers for 2026 are:
- Best overall – Makeup by Mario soft sculpt transforming skin enhancer: £35, Sephora.co.uk
- Best budget buy – Makeup Revolution ultra cream bronzer: £6, Lookfantastic.com
- Best powder – Nars laguna bronzing powder: £40, Cultbeauty.co.uk
- Best cream – Charlotte Tilbury beautiful skin sun-kissed glow bronzer: £47, Cultbeauty.co.uk
- Best stick formula – Merit bronze balm: £27, Sephora.co.uk
Read more: Best concealers, tested
Makeup By Mario soft sculpt transforming skin enhancer
Best: Bronzer overall
Why we love it
- Lovely natural tan finish
- Two-in-one contour and bronzer
- Gives skin a natural, dewy glow
Take note
- Needs to be maintained with setting powder, especially on shine-prone skin
Makeup By Mario is the brand from Kim Kardashian’s renowned make-up artist Mario Dedivanovic and getting hold of his gold-dust products back when it first launched in 2020 was somewhat of a sporting event. Now stocked at Sephora, it’s not so much a hassle, though the soft sculpt transforming skin enhancer remains a cult buy and the best bronzer I’ve tested.
Designed to be a dual-performance skin tint and bronzer, I found the overall finish was like a smooth dusting of warmth and application was relatively easy to blend too. The radiance it gave my skin was unmatched, and it’s relatively foolproof, too – it buffs in beautifully without appearing ruddy.
As I find with most cream formulas, I need to keep on top of my powder top-ups through the day to prevent sliding on my oily skin. However, for normal to dry complexions, it’s sure to glaze over (versus clinging to) any flaking and keep things hydrated and glowy.
Key specifications:
Buy now £35, Sephora.co.uk
Makeup Revolution ultra cream bronzer
Best: Budget bronzer
Why we love it
- Performs as well as high-end beauty brands
- Supremely affordable
For just £6 I was astonished at the quality of Revolution’s cream bronzer, from its blendability to how it sat on my skin throughout the day. One of the biggest selling points is that it really highlights cheekbones for a more sculpting effect while still offering a natural, sun-kissed and complexion-smoothing finish.
On my skin – which has a tendency to appear greasy as the day goes on – it neither promoted shine nor resulted in patchiness, and I’d even use it as a light face base on low to no make-up days. Impressed is an understatement.
Key specifications:
Buy now £6, Lookfantastic.com
Dior forever skin bronze
Best: Bronzer for fair skin
Why we love it
- Natural, non-muddy finish
- Foolproof blending
- Good staying power
Take note
- Expensive
Albeit expensive, Dior’s forever skin bronze formula has been a joy to use and gave my fair, freckled skin the sort of glow I only see after a day spent in warmer climes.
Christian Dior himself hailed from France’s sunny C’ôte d’Azur coastline, so it’s no surprise this creamy, smooth pigment gave my skin warmth and radiance. Swiping it on across my cheekbones, forehead, nose and jawline, I was able to buff the product into the skin in less than a minute using a fluffy sculpting brush. My chosen shade – 02 soft fair – made my face look oodles healthier at 7am, which is no easy task given my penchant for reading into the early hours.
I found the formula lasted incredibly well on my oily skin, despite feeling moisturising, and would be a perfect choice for anyone trying to achieve youthful, lit-from-within look. What’s more, the stick-style design is compact and ideal for taking on-the-go. I can’t speak to its finish on deeper skin tones, but I’ve yet to see a more natural-looking artificial bronze on my pale skin, and for that it gets a big thumbs up.
Key specifications:
Buy now £50, Sephora.co.uk
Nars laguna bronzing powder
Best: Powder bronzer
Why we love it
- Blends like a dream
- Buildable
- Lots of play time/room to move about before it sets in place
It’s been a cult buy since its creation in 2001. Nars laguna bronzer is the OG powder bronzer and it wowed me through and through when testing.
From its creamy, easy-to-blend texture to its versatility of application (you can just as effortlessly sport a natural glow or build up to a bolder bronze), this bronzer looked flattering on my skin come day and night. I loved how it recreated a tanned look and I was impressed with how well it melded with blushes and highlighters without drying or caking.
Key specifications:
Buy now £40, Cultbeauty.co.uk
benefit hoola matte bronzer
Best: bronzer for cool undertones
Why we love it
- Blends seamlessly and quickly
- Buildable and allows lots of play time to move the product around
Take note
- Cardboard packaging isn’t as long-lasting but is, of course, more eco-friendly
An oldie but a goodie, Benefit’s hoola bronzer was one of my firsts and remains in my make-up bag to this day. Its size may have shrunk since its heyday but the brand has persisted with its memorable cardboard packaging. Eco-friendly? Yes. Make-up bag spillage-proof? Absolutely not.
Regardless, the product itself wowed me as much in this test as it did the first time I used it more than 10 years ago. It blends like a dream, whether applied over foundation or layered with a cream bronze, and – owing to its ashier hue – it’s the sort of shade (hoola original) that is equally effective as a subtle contour shadow as it is for a dusting of faux summer colour.
Key specifications:
Buy now £34, Lookfantastic.com
Charlotte Tilbury beautiful skin sun-kissed glow bronzer
Best: Cream bronzer
Why we love it
- Long lasting with the right skin prep
- Blends well
- Gives a healthy-looking glow
Take note
- Packaging prone to breakage with heavy mirror and flimsy hinge
- Can require some setting spray on your blending brush for extra movement
- Will go patchy on oily skin if skin not prepped and set properly
Charlotte Tilbury’s beautiful skin sun-kissed glow bronzer is my current day-to-day bronzer outside of testing and one of the best cream bronzers I’ve tried. It’s not perfect, but I do find it one of the easiest to apply as part of a quick morning routine. For application, I swipe it on in stripes before buffing it into place with minimal fuss. It’s very forgiving in terms of blending and is versatile enough to use without foundation as a light sweep of colour.
With my oily skin, I have to be careful to apply a matte SPF as a primer and set my face with loose powder and setting spray, the latter at each stage of the application process (after foundation, bronzer and blush). Without these precautions, the formula is prone to going patchy, but if you stick to the rules, it really does leave a long-lasting glow. Will I buy it again? Absolutely, and I’d imagine it’d afford failsafe application for normal to dry skin, too.
Key specifications:
Buy now £47, Cultbeauty.co.uk
Westman Atelier face trace contour stick
Best: Bronzer for oily skin
Why we love it
- Compact design is great for travelling
- Sharp edged stick allows for more precise application
- Blends easily and smoothly
Take note
- Expensive
As a fan of Westman Atelier’s baby cheeks blush stick, I had an inkling I’d get on with the brand’s sister contour stick – and I wasn’t wrong. Much like the cult cream blush, the bronzer’s formula is smooth like butter and applies just as beautifully on moisturised skin as it does atop make-up powders and foundation.
With 90-degree edges around its circumference, it’s easy to carve the formula under your cheekbones and down the bridge of your nose for a more sculpted finish. This sharpness doesn’t soften as you move down the stick, meaning you’ll be able to keep up the precision from the day you unbox it to the day it finally gives up the ghost. It’s certainly costly but my Westman Atelier blush stick (which is also 6g) has lasted me more than six months so far, with – seemingly – no end in sight.
The shade I tested, biscuit, sits half way between an ashy contour and a warming bronze, which made it an excellent multitasker. For those looking to achieve a more obvious bronze, the creaminess of the formula means you can effortlessly blend out the pigment for more of an all-over flush.
It’s smaller than a glue stick and great for travelling, not to mention the magnetic cap is oh-so-satisfying to slide back on. As much as I’d love to hate a product this premium, Westman Atelier really knows what its doing.
Key specifications:
Buy now £44, Cultbeauty.co.uk
Guerlain terracotta bronzing powder
Best: Bronzer for mature skin
Why we love it
- Has a lovely, flattering finish
- Smells heavenly
Take note
- A lot of the blush comes onto your brush in the first instance
- Harder to blend
Guerlain’s terracotta bronzing powder is the stuff of legend, year by year, it’s hailed as a must-have product in the beauty industry. For context, Guerlain releases an annual limited edition design of its iconic terracotta bronzer powder and the 2024 compact I tested is a real beauty. I’ve since tried the 2025 iteration and, each year, the combination of three blush, bronze and highlight elements works to create the ultimate all-over face radiance.
What’s more, I was obsessed with the premium-scented aroma of the powder – as is a renowned feature of Guerlain’s products – and I felt my skin was left with a gentle flush from top to toe. It was perhaps more pinky than I’m used to. That said, it worked beautifully as a quick dusting of colour and feels in the most Guerlain of ways, a very Parisian, Sylvie-from-Emily in Paris approach to bronzer.
Key specifications:
Buy now £49, Lookfantastic.com
Vieve modern radiance cream bronzer
Best: Bronzer for every day
Why we love it
- Natural for everyday use
- Oily skin-approved
Take note
- Not as noticeable under foundation or setting powder
From Scottish make-up artist Jamie Genevieve, Vieve offers both powder and cream bronzers, with the latter being a generous 33g.
The formula gives a natural “I’ve seen the sun” look but isn’t quite as intense as some of the cream formulas I tested. I’d argue you could use it as a light complexion base around the shadowy areas of the face and then use a concealer on the high points for contrast. The product’s consistency didn’t lead to any patchiness on my shine-prone skin, and it was a good everyday bronzer for work and daytime wear.
Key specifications:
Buy now £35, Cultbeauty.co.uk
Saie dew bronze soft-focus effortless liquid bronzer
Best: Liquid bronzer
Why we love it
- Easy to blend
- Thicker than other liquid bronzers
Take note
- Quite subtle, so might not be a top choice for bold make-up lovers
Saie’s liquid dew bronze very nearly earned a five-star rating, and it’s no surprise with the brand’s liquid dew blush range (£22, Cultbeauty.co.uk) having more than 60 million posts about it on TikTok. This is packaged in the same travel-friendly tube with its doe foot applicator, but its consistency wasn’t quite what I expected.
Having tried liquid formulas like benetint (£16.45, Lookfantastic.com) and the Charlotte Tilbury Hollywood contour wand (£31, Cultbeauty.co.uk), I expected this to be similar in texture – thin and serum-like. Contrary to my preconceived ideas, it was more like a thick cream and required only a smidge of product to create my desired warmth. What’s more, where thicker pigments can often settle before you’ve had time to distribute them, Saie’s gave me ample blending time and, in fact, left a very natural finish. It’s on this subtle-finish front that the formula lost its half-star, though I would caveat that it didn’t budge in the slightest over the course of the day.
Key specifications:
Buy now £22, Cultbeauty.co.uk
Chanel les beiges bronzing cream
Best: Bronzer for olive skin
Why we love it
- The best for a statement, noticeable bronze
Take note
- You’ll likely need some mist or setting spray on your blending brush for extra movement
- Very expensive
This Chanel formula is the final boss of cream bronzers and is loved by everyone from Kendall Jenner to Jennifer Garner.
I’ve been using it for several years and reacquainted myself with it for the purpose of this review. Painting it on with a medium-sized make-up brush, I then blended it into the outer regions of my face with a bigger kabuki brush. It leaves a more noticeable finish and needs a good buff (plus a bit of setting spray slip) to be smoothly distributed.
The initial results are warm and continue to oxidise and darken as the day goes on. As such, I’ve noticed it’s slightly more flattering on my friends with more olive-toned complexions, given that the deeper hue it eventually settles into appears more natural (and less like fake tan). When it’s at its best however, I can’t deny its St. Tropez-esque allure. Add a bold liner, a la Brigitte Bardot, and your face of French glamour will be complete.
Key specifications:
Buy now £50, Boots.com
Merit bronze balm
Best: Stick bronzer
Why we love it
- The easiest of all of the above to blend
- Could double as a warm face base
Take note
- Neither lasts all day nor goes patchy, just fades
Having only launched in 2023, Merit’s products hit the ground running and everything from the brow gel (£21, Sephora.co.uk) to the blush ‘flush’ balms (£26, Sephora.co.uk) have seemingly been a success. In this test, the bronze balm followed suit and I loved how effortlessly the smooth, domed stick of product applied onto my cheeks, forehead, nose and neck.
In the height of summer, it worked wonderfully as a light base (when the heat left my foundation feeling too heavy) and, applying it around the edges of my face left me with a gentle warmth while still evening my complexion in the way heavier formulas would. It didn’t stay put all day and did succumb to the byproducts of sweaty weather, but it’s worth noting that it didn’t leave me looking patchy or with all the bronzer caked around my hairline – it simply melded into the skin, fading as the day went on.
Key specifications:
Buy now £27, Sephora.co.uk
Dior forever nude bronze glow
Best: Luxury bronzer
Why we love it
- Doesn't cling to dry patches
- Diffuses beautifully
- Easy to control application as a make-up novice
Take note
- Expensive
Normally, when a brand makes two versions of the same product – i.e. one cream variety and one powder – there’s a clear winner between the pair. Upon testing Dior’s bronzing duo (see the stick formula above), the opposite couldn’t be more true.
Much like its stick bronzer, Dior’s forever nude bronze glow powder doesn’t come cheap, but I think I’d justify the spend after a week of back-to-back use. The pigment is finely milled and settled atop my cheeks, forehead and nose with an airbrushed finish – there wasn’t a spot of separation or graininess in sight. I was able to build up the colour gradually and loved the resulting warmth it gave my alabaster pale face, almost as though I’d spent a full day out in the sun.
The packaging can’t be ignored and the padded compact will definitely be earning a place on my dressing table. There’s a mirror inside which is always appreciated, and compared to Chanel and Charlotte Tilbury’s bronzers above, this one doesn’t take up too much make-up bag real estate. If you’re looking for a sign to treat yourself, let this be it.
Key specifications:
Buy now £50, Sephora.co.uk
Your questions about bronzer answered
What is the best bronzer?
Makeup By Mario’s soft sculpt transforming skin enhancer is the best bronzer I’ve tested – it’s a dream to apply and it gives my skin a beautifully radiant finish. It’ll need a few powder top-ups on oily complexion, however it’s the perfect glowy formula for normal to dry skin.
For budget shoppers, Revolution’s ultra cream bronzer was my favourite, leaving my skin with the same flattering glow as products costing more than £40. Likewise, Saie’s dew bronze was reasonably priced and impressively pigmented, not to mention being thoughtfully packaged in a lip gloss-style tube, perfect for on-the-go use.
How I tested bronzers
I tested all these bronzers the same way: I applied them at the start of the day, testing each formula for a minimum of eight hours before documenting their appearance again at the end of the day. I’ve had more time to test certain formulas than others, given that I first tested the best bronzers in 2024 for this round-up. Two years on and some of my favourites have prevailed, while others have kicked the bucket – with a few new items joining the roster, too.
I tested more products than the ones that made the final cut, eliminating a small handful of poorer-performing formulas (for instance, Charlotte Tilbury’s Hollywood contour wands) in a bid to present you with only the cream of the crop products. When testing each one, I considered the following criteria:
How do you apply bronzer?
Breaking the process down step by step, Antonio said to “think about where the sun naturally hits your face, these are the areas you’ll want to bronze”, noting that “common areas include the forehead, temples, cheekbones, bridge of the nose, and jawline”.
For him, successful and precise application begins with a good angled brush. “This type of brush helps with distributing the product evenly.”
Now for Antonio’s five-step process:
Bronzer vs contour: What’s the difference?
Contour, Antonio explains, “sculpt[s] the face for a more defined look,” whereas bronzer “create[s] a natural-looking tan.” It’s as simple as that.
Why you can trust IndyBest reviews
Lucy Smith has been reviewing make-up since 2020 and has garnered quite the breadth of experience across brands old and new in that time. She’s reviewed the best make-up brush sets, best foundations, best blush and more – and she’s even spoken to professional make-up artists to glean their words of wisdom. Now, in reviewing the best bronzers, she’s tested both affordable and high-end options, and has spoken to Chanel MUA Marco Antonio to her inform her decisions.
Looking for more beauty recommendations? Read our review of the best lip oils for a plumper, hydrated pout