I’ve held back on this Chanel bronzer review for a few months because I really wanted to love this product and, well, I’m not there yet.
Les Beiges Healthy Glow Bronzing Cream is a new version of an iconic Chanel favourite – Soleil Tan de Chanel – which was discontinued and relaunched in a new format. It’s a cream bronzer, and the relaunched version includes hydrogenated coconut oil. As such it’s had a bumpy launch, because many people don’t like this ingredient in their skincare.
Last year I attended a beauty masterclass via John Lewis, led by the superb make up artist Caroline Barnes. She spoke about how our faces lose definition as we age (so true), but we can put some of it back via products such as bronzer (hurrah). Then she did a quick whizz round her face with the Chanel bronzer and I was sold.
Also, my previous bronzer at the time looked like this:
Ultimate pan
Double sold. However, in my less expert hands the Chanel bronzer has not had the desired result. Less definition and more muddy streak.
I think it’s a combination of me being too pale and the product being too orangey. If I was less of a milk bottle then I don’t think there would be a problem. But as it is, this is only working for me on the days when I’m happy for my face to be much darker than my neck, and they don’t crop up all that often.
However, all is not lost because I’m going to keep persevering, probably with a different brush, and if all else fails it can always do duty as an eye shadow. It’s too expensive a product not to persevere with.
Who would it work for?
Ultimately, I think this is a product best suited to skin that’s already tanned, or aiming for a tanned look. Looking at Chanel bronzer reviews on Youtube, I can see that the people who seem to like it the most tend to be wearing a fairly full coverage foundation underneath. So that’s another point to consider. I wear it with a lighter product, NARS Tinted Moisturiser, so maybe that’s part of the issue.
The packaging is as lovely as you’d expect from Chanel, with the intertwined double C motif on the lid. It’s also HUGE. I mean, really frickin HUGE. There’s only 30g of product in there, but they’ve supersized the tub it goes into.
If you like products that look good on the dressing table then this is a winner, but for something to cart around with you every day then this is really only for people with Mary Poppins sized handbags.
I’ve also seen a suggestion that this could be used all over the facial as a tanning product but I’m not so sure about that. Maybe if you like the Haliborange look…
Chanel bronzer Product details
I bought this from John Lewis online here, where it retails for £43. Chanel is one of those brands that never really do sales or discounts, unless it’s a full store discount such as John Lewis sometimes offer.