In school, the post-P.E makeover was something I watched with a mix of curiosity and sheer terror. Girls would cram around the one full length mirror in the changing room, slapping on foundation, powder and dark bronzer all over their face with huge brushes caked in whatever make-up they'd used over the last year. I never understood the appeal of those huge bronzers until I got into make-up myself, and even then I steered clear, remembering the terracotta orange faces of those poor, misinformed school girls. So when NYC's 'Big and Bold' bronzing powders arrived through my letter box, I felt curious and terrified all over again!
The bronzers themselves are rather large, designed to be big enough to swirl big body brushes around in ready to top up tans with an instant hit of colour. The clear lids make it easy to spot which shade is which amid a hectic make-up drawer.
'ManhaTan' is the paler of the two - a medium, warm bronze toned brown with subtle blue and pink shimmer. It's a touch more brown than this image shows (my camera loves warm tones and brings them out in a few products).
'MetropoliTan' is the darker shade, a slightly more red toned, bronze brown (more and darker than this image - again, red biased camera) which would be amazing on medium-dark skin. 'MetropoliTan' also contains shimmer, though it seems less apparent in the pan than that in 'ManhaTan'.
'ManhaTan' suits my pale-medium yellow toned skin pretty well, but in my opinion both are too warm to give a truly natural tanned look. They are, however, excellent for warming the complexion and give a glowing, healthy finish. I applied mine underneath translucent powder to knock back the shimmer a touch (which mostly buffs away during blending) and make it sit a little more naturally in my make-up.
I think these would be awesome for taking on holiday and faking a sun kissed glow if fake tan or the rather unhealthy natural tanning just isn't your thing. They'd also do a lovely job of perking up a tan on nights out or reviving tired looking fake tan. Pigmentation is surprisingly high, so use a light hand and a fluffy brush to avoid tell tale streaks of colour!
If you have medium to dark skin and fancy something warming and glowy, you can't go far wrong with these two big and bold bronzers. Paler folk...steer clear unless you like the orange look (sorry, guys!)
Available from Superdrug priced at £3.99 each for 17g of product.
Product received for review consideration. All opinions 100% my own, and 100% honest - as always!
