The Best Bronzers for a Gorgeous Summer Glow.

I am nothing without bronzing balms and the ones from Vieve, Reeson and Benefit are my go-tos. Here, wearing the Benefit Hoola Wave.

Sometimes an item of makeup sits in your makeup stores for years, a reliable soldier you deploy without thinking, before one morning you realise that without it, you’d feel undone.

In my case, that item is bronzer. And, if we’re being specific, bronzer in a balm format.

I have always used bronzers, of course, but for years it was powders. First clumsily with giant puffy brushes that deposited an orangey powder that could be a swine to blend, then with the iconic Bobbi Brown Shimmer Brick applied, again clumsily and incorrectly, to the apples of my cheeks. 

Somewhere around my dalliance with Guerlain Terracotta Bronze I learned the value of painting on a ‘3’ and beginning at the centre parting, down the hairline, then past the ear and into the cheek before a quick turn past the ear again and along the jawline.

It’s a technique that adds glow and structure - although not to be confused with contouring, which requires cooler tones to mimic shadow rather than warm ones to look like a glow from the sun.

That was then, when powder bronzers were all we really had and my skin was young enough not to be dried out by them. In my late 40s however, I have come to appreciate both the bronze and the ‘plump’ that a bronzing balm gives me and these are the best I’ve tried. 

The Vieve Modern Radiance Cream Bronzer, £32, is lightweight on the skin, and buildable in pigment to give anything from a hint of ‘sunshine’ to a stronger, warmer tone. Perhaps the magic is the squalane, avocado oil and vitamin E, which make the formula quite literally melt into skin. That’s not to say it’s not without grip - this bronzer stays put and lasts all day. I wear it in Medium and it gives my skin the same tone as I get from a few days on holiday.

Vieve Modern Radiance Bronzing Balm comes in four shades and is packed with hydrating skincare.

I’ve tried thousands of products and, surprisingly, I’m devoted to few but one of the best products I’ve tried in over 20 years as a beauty journalist is the Reeson Bronzing Balm, £38. I wear the Bronze shade daily and in a light layer it immediately counters any greyness in my olive-toned skin and when built-up it adds the most beautiful colour that’s without orangey-ness, doesn’t need much blending at all and prettifies in a way it’s hard to describe. It is my intention to never run out of this. Ever.

I cannot say enough good things about this Reeson Bronzing Balm. It’s an exceptional makeup product.

When I saw that Benefit were adding a balm format to their famous Hoola bronzer franchise, I assumed it could never be as good as the original. But, like Baby’s dad in Dirty Dancing, ‘when I’m wrong, I say I’m wrong’. The Benefit Hoola Wave, £33, is available in five shades and, when I wear it in Original, it adds a bronzey glow that also looks somewhat dewy. Now, I’m not saying there's a shimmer in this but it definitely contains light reflecting particles of sorts that give the illusion of brightness. Honestly, Hoola Who? Hoola Wave is where it’s at.

I really wasn’t expecting to love this as much as I do but it’s another fantastic bronzing balm from Benefit.

Tell me your go-to bronzers in the comments…