The Best Natural Bronzers!

I don’t know about you, but bronzer is for sure one of the most used/appreciated items in my makeup kit. Aside from being a great way to add that skin-kissed look without any damaging rays, it may single-handedly be my secret to surviving a dreary winter since you can still look like you just dropped in from the beach even when there’s a foot of snow outside. Whatever the season, you want to make sure your bronzer (and all your beauty products) are free of parabens and other nasty ingredients that can show up in your makeup, so here are our top picks for bronzers that will keep your skin happy from the inside as well as well as the outside!

Multi-Shade Bronzer

Jane Iredale: This pressed bronzer comes in several shades that you buy in refills and pop into a reuseable compact. Not only does it look beautiful with the striped design, but you’ll get a varied and rich pigment when you blend them all together as a bronzer, or you can use one of these to zero in on just one of the shades for a bit more contour or highlight where you want it. This also has a slight shimmer to it, so it’s a great option if you don’t want a completely matte look.

Pressed Bronzer

Lily Lolo: If you like a matte pressed bronzer, this is a great option for even, buildable coverage. They use moisturizing argan and jojoba oil to keep the bronzer from feeling too dry and is fragrance-free, which is good for sensitive skin. The “Miami” shade is very light, so unless you are extremely fair-skinned or just want a small bit of color, I would suggest starting with the “Honolulu” shade otherwise.

Cream Bronzer

Kjaer Weis: This refillable compact system is a creme bronzer that comes in two shade options, has a little shimmer, and goes on smoothly. It has rosa rubiginosa oil, which minimizes scarring and aging and sweet almond oil to moisturize and promote skin elasticity. Best applied with the warmth of your fingers (do a swipe down the area you want to bronze and then blend with fingers in small circles) and then buff with a bronzer brush if needed.

Budget Bronzers

Han: With three shades to choose from (our Oui Fresh manager Keely loves the “Malibu” option), this bronzer is made from real cocoa powder and scented with cocoa powder absolute instead of an artificial cocoa scent that a lot of brands use. Yum! It goes on soft, leaves you with an airbrushed glow, and at just $16 it won’t even begin to break the bank.

Physicians Formula: While not all of their items pass the clean beauty test (some of their bronzers have parabens), they do have some clean items and the added bonus is that it’s a brand you can find at Target, Walmart, and certain drugstores. So if you need something while out traveling (or just don’t want to/can’t wait for shipping), you can get to a clean bronzer quickly. This bronzer is a great option from their brand and you can swipe across 2-3 of the shades that best fit your seasonal color and get a custom shade all year round!

Loose Bronzer/Contour Powder

Rejuva Minerals: If you like a loose powder application, this bronzer/contour powder is blended with organic fruits and botanicals, is recommended by the EWG for having such a low score, is vegan, and in eco-friendly jars as well. It only comes in one shade though (although there is this lighter powder you can mix with to make a lighter custom shade), so you’ll have to be a little light or heavy-handed with it depending on your complexion, but I love it.

Bronzer/Highlighter Sticks

Pink House Organics: This bronzer highlight stick (in the “Champagne” color) will give you a shimmering style that looks like it came straight from the beach! Coconut oil, hemp oil, and shea butter help hydrate the skin and just a few swipes across the chin, down the nose bridge, and across the cheekbones will give you a heavenly glow.

ILIA: For a more subtle highlight (with less shimmer than the Pink House option), try this stick in “Sway” for a bronzey glow. It has rose hip oil as a healing agent and you can also use it as a cream shadow on your lids and as a contouring stick. I love this color for a lighter highlight option as well!

And what about a bronzer brush??

Good question! The pretty gold brush above is an amazing buffing brush (they have a smaller option for more precise contouring) or there is an amazing vegan kabuki brush as well.

There you go! As you can see, there are lots of different options with bronzer, so play around with a few different types if you haven’t found one that you like to use most and your needs/wants may change for a day/night look and seasonally as well, so keep that in mind too. Hope you found something that you’ll love to have in your makeup kit! xo. Laura

Credits // Author and Photography: Laura Gummerman. Photos edited with A Color Story Desktop.