The prize was The Little Black Book of Bronzers by Too Faced.
I will be honest with you, I haven't really owned that many bronzers in my life (high end or low.) A few months ago I made the decision to purchase Hoola by Benefit, but apart from that I've never really owed bronzers. To me, bronzers weren't seen as a huge staple product for my makeup collection.
Let me tell you, since receiving this Book my mind has definitely changed!
Before now I always thought of Bronzers as a product which made many girls look tacky, fake or 'Oompa Loompaey.' Which is still the case for some people, but only those who go crazy on their product usage, or seemingly apply their makeup in the dark. Due to having such pale skin myself, I was afraid I would unknowingly slip into either one of these horrendous categories by using bronzer.
My first impression of this "Book" was the name itself was a bit deceiving. It was definitely not 'Little" like the title labels it. It was in fact massive. A bit too massive actually. It wasn't an item I would easily be able to transport with me, or even be able to store easily. Right now actually, I store this product under my makeup table as it won't fit in the drawers, and even if it did- it would take up too much space. You cannot take the bronzers out of the book either which is a bit of a disappointment. It would've been nice if you had the choice to either store them in the book, or the ability to take one (or all) out and do what you please. Really though this isn't too huge a hassle. I still have products I am capable of using. Who cares if I have to store it under a desk, it's not like I'd be using that space for much else anyway.
Upon opening the book you are faced with a page explaining how you can use these bronzers, and tips for the occasion you would wear them for. Which is very helpful if you're practically a Bronzer Virgin like me. On the page next to it are the Bronzers themselves. Attached to the Book in all their brown, shiny (matte) glory.
I've included swatches of all the Bronzers you get with this book.
After swatching and trying these Bronzers on myself I have to admit I am a fan. Except for the darker ones (Sun Bunny and Beach Bunny), I am able to wear all on my natural skin. The other two I feel would definitely be suitable if I wore a medium fake tan. I will give a quick overview and summary on each of the Bronzers just so you can get a better idea at what they are.
Milk Chocolate Soleil: This is one of the lighter Bronzers in the Book and as the name suggests smells exactly like chocolate. To me, I feel scenting makeup in such a way isn't too wise a decision- as honestly who wants their face to smell like chocolate all day? It is a very strong scent, and you can smell it as soon as you open the book. Apart from the smell though this Bronzer applies so smoothly and easily to the skin and has a lovely matte finish, so there is no shine coming through.
Chocolate Soleil: This bronzer is the same as the milk chocolate soleil apart from the fact it is a tone darker, so more suited for a medium- deep look. It too has the chocolate scent and a matte finish.
Snow Bunny: This Bronzer you can use one of two ways: you can either mix all the colours together and get a luminous bronzed finished (as the swatch photo shows) or you can use each colour individually and have a highlighter, bronzer and a blush. The choice is yours! Personally I did find this to be a bit on the shiny side, and I'm not a huge fan of glittery makeup (I do tend to prefer natural looks) but I know there are many people who do enjoy some sparkle in their life and this would be great for them.
Bronzed and Poreless: When I first used this Bronzer I didn't notice much of a difference between this and the Milk Chocolate Soleil. After a few hours though I found this one did stay matte longer and didn't "rub" off as easily as the milk chocolate. The Book describes this as a pore perfecting bronzer, I do not have big noticeable pores so cannot really comment on if this Bronzer does in fact hide the appearance of such a thing.
Pink Leopard: Pink Leopard is another highlighting bronzer. The book labels it as a blushing bronzer. Just like snow bunny it is on the sparkling side, but in a more deeper shade.
Beach Bunny: This was one of the two Bronzers I wasn't able to wear on my naturally pale skin as it is a very deep shade of a bronzer. In saying that though I feel it would be a very good product to contour with as there are four different shades of brown involved you could use individually, or like the swatch photo- blend together for a nice deep bronzed look.
Endless Summer: This bronzer is labeled as "16 hour wear." Hell it's even got '16 hour bronze' carved into the bronzer itself. I used this as an 'all over face' bronzer, as in I did not apply it in the "big 3" way, or contour. I found it did give a nice natural sun kissed look to my face. Also it was able to last through my 8hour shift at work. I didn't give it a 16 hour go, as I don't think I ever really wear makeup that long, but with how it lasted my whole day at work without making my face shiny- it convinced me it possibly could last 16 hours.
Sun Bunny: This is the other bronzer which I found too dark for my skin. The Book claims its a 'natural' bronzer, but honestly I feel thats only if you used one half of this product, as one half is light the other is very deep. Once again this could be used as a potential contour bronzer, but I feel it would be more suited as a 'sun kissed' look for naturally olive skin.
Overall I would rate this product a 7/10. I did have to deduct points as the scent of chocolate to me is definitely not needed, and also the size (and not being able to take each individual bronzer out) is another bother. Otherwise it is a great purchase for someone who's wanting to try out different bronzers for different occasions!
