The best bronzers can lift a makeup look from “did you get enough sleep last night?” to “have you been on holiday?” with a few brush strokes. The most loved are buildable, warming and replicate that fresh-off-a-flight-from-the-tropics tan, without being patchy or pilling.
Sun exposure on your face – at least for long enough to get a good tan – is damaging, even if you don’t burn, and it often fades fast once you’re back in the UK, anyway. We advise lathering on the SPF all summer, keeping your face in the shade to prevent premature ageing, and adding one of these best-ever bronzers to your beauty arsenal instead.
They’ll earn you all the same glowing skin compliments a real tan would, but without the damage. Plus, you can use them to contour your face to give the illusion of chiselled cheekbones and jawlines, and many double up as eye shadow as well. Thrifty.
In a hurry for a little bronze? You’ll find the GHI's tried and tested winners just below but read on for our panel’s full reviews and for some extra pointers on finding the right bronzer for you. Your skin will thank you.
1
Best bronzer
Estée Lauder Bronze Goddess Bronzing Powder
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2
3
Best bronzer for a sun-kissed glow
Charlotte Tilbury Airbrush Bronzer
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4
Best bronzing stick and best for contouring
Nudestix Nudies Bronzer
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5
Best liquid bronzer
Laura Mercier Tinted Moisturiser Bronzer
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6
Best bronzer for travel
Milk Makeup Matte Bronzer
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Is a liquid, powder or cream bronzer best?
Powder bronzers
Powders are often more pigmented than their liquid counterparts and provide a more dramatic look. Those with dry skin can be put off using powders, but the key is in the skin prep – think hydrating SPF moisturisers and skin-barrier boosting serums.
With combination skin, powders can go patchy in certain areas and be harder to blend as they soak up the sebum. Sparkly pigments in non-matte powders can also make skin look shinier where you don’t want it. So, if you have oily or combination skin, opt for a matte powder.
Powders typically last longer throughout the day, which is why three of them top our list below. If you’re after a buildable, full-tan effect, then a powder bronzer could be the perfect pick.
Liquid bronzers
Liquid bronzers will level up any look and have the benefit of being buildable, creating a more dewy hydrated finish.
They also have the same runny consistency as foundation, so they can be mixed into your typical base products to build up colour, making them go further and work harder, too. They can be a little daunting, as the shade looks darker when it's fresh out the bottle than it does when it’s blended into your face, but they’re easy to use and straightforward to build.
Cream bronzers
Cream bronzers can be the trickiest to get right when it comes to application. The order you use your products is important here. Apply your cream bronzer before foundation, or you may find things a little patchy.
The GH beauty team often prefers using cream bronzers for contouring the face, then blending out with base products afterwards. The results are dewier and give more of a glass skin look than powders but are more pigmented than you get with many liquids.
How we test bronzers
We tried out a selection of market-leading bronzers with 100 of our at-home testers for a minimum of two weeks, before requesting detailed feedback on performance.
Testers assessed factors including ease of application, blendability, how well the product sat on the skin, lasting power and the overall look of the bronzer on their skin.
Score: 93/100
This silky powder bronzer won a lot of new fans in our tests. Panellists praised the luxurious feel and shimmery, even finish. Available in four shades, the bronzer is housed in a chic tortoiseshell compact with a “lovely large mirror”, which makes doing your makeup on the move a breeze.
The formulation also boasts a unique oil-control complex, designed to keep oily and combination skin under control and shine-free all day. Award-worthy stuff, some might say.
Score: 92/100
This has been a makeup bag icon since its launch in 2001, and it’s clearly stood the test of time. You may remember the days of the little square brush that used to come in the box, but despite its absence (Benefit stopped providing it to avoid wastage), this marvellous matte number is still deserving of legend status.
Everyone loved the matte shade, which gave a very natural effect and made them look as though they’d just come back from the Bahamas. Testers also praised the pigment payoff, and found the product blended well. “Great pigment; sits on the skin nicely,” said one. We’re sold.
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3
Best bronzer for a sun-kissed glow
Charlotte Tilbury Airbrush Bronzer
Score: 92/100
Charlotte Tilbury’s genius strikes again with this real multitasker of a product – our panel told us they used it as both a bronzer and an eyeshadow, and it stayed put all day.
It’s enriched with both hyaluronic acid and vitamin D3; the former works to draw moisture into the skin and keep it hydrated, while the latter allows for a more even sun-kissed glow. With its richly pigmented yet buildable formula, all our testers said this gave them a healthy colour. They praised the “gorgeous” packaging and generously sized compact, too.
Score: 87/100
You can’t beat a bronzing stick if you’re looking to contour and create an ultra-chiselled face. This nifty little number has a brush on the other end too, so you can blend and buff away any patchiness without having to pack extra tools.
Our testers said achieving an even glow was straightforward thanks to this extra bit of kit, with one telling us: “You get a lot of coverage without having to overdo it on the amount of product you use,” another way of saying you get a lot of bang for your buck.
Panellists loved the packaging, which comes in a tiny with a little mirror, which, one tester said was, “super-cute and handy for applying on the go.” It provided great colour pay-off, the creamy formula glided on easily, and it delivered that much-coveted post-stint-in-the-tropics glow. Gold star.
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Score: 82/100
This lovely, lightweight, your-skin-but-better cream bronzer wowed the crowds in our tests. It “lasted all day” and “was easy to blend in and not too heavy.” If you’re after a product to help sculpt and contour, then you might be better off with something a little more pigmented, but for a post-holiday tan top up, Laura Mercier is a great option.
And if you want the look to last, you’re in luck. This liquid formulation is fused with tinted moisturiser to keep your skin tone warm and healthy-looking for longer. Everyone also agreed that it was comfortable on the skin and felt high quality.
Score: 81/100
Milk Makeup is adept at making viral products that the mass market just can’t get enough of, and they actually work, too. Due to its user-friendly design, this bronzing stick is good for adding warmth to specific areas and shaping and shadowing the face, while the matte formulation is “creamy and rich” and “blended well into foundation” to give a golden-hued finish.
Not too obvious and very natural, the product lasted all day and is perfect for popping in your handbag or taking on holiday – it’s teeny and travel-size. Some found the scent “interesting,” and it was too natural and not pigmented enough for others, but everyone said it felt comfortable on the skin and wasn’t greasy or thick.
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Verdict: Which bronzer should you buy?
For a healthy-glow, a luxurious shimmer and oil control, opt for our winner from Estée Lauder. For a matte classic with a good pigment pay-off and a nostalgic nod thrown in, you can't beat Benefit.
And if you're more of a cream bronze connoisseur, NudeStix was our panellists' top choice - it's great for bronzing on the go, too.
Why trust the Good Housekeeping Institute?
We’ve been testing products for over 100 years at the Good Housekeeping Institute – from mattresses and shampoos to hair dryers and treadmills – so we know what we’re looking for when it comes to analysing performance.
Our team are also experts in their fields. Senior Beauty Writer Florence Reeves-White has years of experience in the industry, writing about skincare, haircare and beauty tools.
Denny Daily, our lead tester on bronzers, has been analysing makeup and skincare products for years and has spoken on panels with Cosmetics Executive Women (CEW) about the process.
Florence Reeves-White
Senior Beauty Writer
Florence is our Senior Beauty Writer, specialising in expert-tested beauty and grooming reviews — from toothbrushes to the latest skincare launches. She’s committed to sharing recommendations for products that truly work and make people feel confident and healthy. Prior to this she was at Tropic Skincare, where she worked closely with biochemists in the lab, delving into the functions of each fresh, natural ingredient and conveying its efficacy to her audience in easy-to-digest terms.
With over five years’ experience in beauty and health journalism, Florence has written for ELLE, Women’s Fitness, Sister Magazine, National Geographic Traveller and many more, with a strong sustainability angle thread through much of her work.
When she isn’t packing for a trip away, working out, eating out or reading up on retinol serums, you’ll probably find her experimenting with her film camera and building her portfolio of portraits. Florence’s photography can be found at florencereeves-white.com, her Instagram is @florencereeveswhite and her twitter is @floreadsnwrites
Tested byDenny Daily
Beauty and Grooming Tester
Denny is our Beauty and Grooming Tester and has an in-depth knowledge and background in beauty and PR. She has spoken on panels with Cosmetics Executive Women (CEW) and has worked with many beauty brands as a commercial model. Since joining in October 2022, she has worked on numerous testing categories including over 18 different brands for vitamin C serums, scalp scrubs, shampoos for dry hair and many more. She has over 20k followers on TikTok where she shares beauty and fashion tips otherwise better known as Denny Daily.
