Rare Beauty Cream Bronzer review

As I am writing this, we are battling with one of the hottest days of the year and I figured: what better moment in time than now to be reviewing a cream bronzer? The Rare Beauty bronzer stick is one that got quite a bit of hype ever since it was released and since Rare Beauty is a brand I am very interested in, I decided to snatch one up when I last was in Paris. The brand is only available through French Sephora to me, so it’s a bit of a pain to get a hold of, but so far everything I have tried from the brand I have loved. Will I love this cream bronzer as much?

Review: Rare Beauty Warm Wishes Effortless Bronzer Stick in Power Boost

Rare Beauty is Selena Gomez’ makeup brand that has been very successful ever since its launch. I have been loving the brand because they offer a good shade range and the products all go with my more natural, perfect for everyday makeup aesthetic. The brand has this effortless chic feel to it that I love. This cream bronzer retails for €26 and is available in 5 shades. Power Boost, the shade I have is the lightest shade available. I can only buy the brand from French Sephora online, but the brand is available in other countries if they have Sephora. So perhaps you are traveling this summer it may be worth checking out.

What does this product have to offer?

This is the first bronzer from the brand I have tried, but it is not my first bronzer stick. In fact, I quite enjoy the Milk Makeup bronzer stick in Baked and I love how easy that is to use. So that is really what I am looking for when it comes to a cream bronzer stick: effortless, easy to apply and a seamless blend. The name of the product certainly implies that this should be an effortless product. This should be creamy, easy to blend and give a natural look to the face.

What does the bronzer look like?

So this is a bronzer stick, which…. well looks like any old bronzer stick. But this has one major advantage: it practically melts onto the skin and I am not saying that just because it is summer and it’s hot. This glides on so easily and that is one reason why I think this is so hyped up. The shade of the bronzer stick I am a little less happy with. I found this shade is recommended for fair skin tone with a neutral undertone but on me I found it looked rather muddy. You’ll see what I mean below.

What does this bronzer swatch like?

I hope you can see here what I mean about the shade: it looks green! It certainly doesn’t look very appealing. The green tinge does disappear when I blend out the shade but I need to really work with the product to get it to disappear. Not sure who they thought this would be right for, but maybe if you have an olive skin tone this may be very pretty. On me it just didn’t look quite right. But the formula is very much on point: this is blendable and looks very natural on once applied.

What does this look like applied to the cheeks?

As you can see here the product does look nice once it all comes together but I can say one thing: Don’t apply this straight from the stick like I did here. It is not that easy to blend if you apply it right onto your face. This is best warmed up on the back of your hand and then applied with a brush or sponge. I definitely struggled blending this when I applied it like I normally do. I think it still works and I still got a seamless blend but I did have to work a little bit hard for it and I felt my sponge moved around the product rather than blending it in. So yes, this is best applied with a brush.

My final thoughts

The Rare Beauty Cream Bronzer in Power Boost has its pros and cons for me. I like that it is a great formula that is easy to work with but you do need to use the right technique to get the most use out of it. The final result is natural and goes perfectly with my ‘perfect for everyday’ makeup style. What I am not so fond of with this is the shade. It just seems off. Sure, I can make it work and once all of my makeup is done you can’t really see it, but that green undertone just looks off against my skin.

Would I recommend the Rare Beauty Cream Bronzer in Power Boost?

It really depends. I think maybe if I were to buy one shade up, which claimes to have a cool undertone, I might have liked this better for myself. But then I run into the risk of the shade being too dark. So provided the shade that suits your skin tone best is perfect for you then I think this is a great formula that is easy to work with and creates a stunning look. So yes it is a recommendation from me, but there are some ifs and buts and I don’t think this will work for everyone.

What have you tried from Rare Beauty?