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This bronzer beats Charlotte Tilbury’s £45 cult favourite - and it’s just £6
The Charlotte Tilbury cream bronzer has a cult fan base
The Charlotte Tilbury sun-kissed glow bronzer is the stuff of make-up legends, so to hear along the grapevine that a product almost £40 cheaper might be offering similar (or better) results, well, I was understandably intrigued.
For the uninitiated, Charlotte Tilbury’s cream bronzer has a thick, peanut butter-like texture that applies evenly for an all-over glowy finish. What’s more, you’ve got a fair bit of time to blend it in before it dries down too.
But Makeup Revolution’s ultra cream bronzer (£6, Lookfantastic.com) could serve as a pocket-friendly alternative to the best-selling sun-kissed bronzer, with a whopping £39 financial reprieve.
There’s only one way to see if this money-saving claim holds true, and that’s to put the products under the microscope in a side-by-side test. Keep reading to see how I got on when I put the two formulas against each other.
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How I tested
Putting each of the creams on a different side of my face, I paid attention to the initial feel of the creams upon application; how evenly the products distributed across the skin; the wear throughout the day; and how they looked overall. I kept the products on all day with no other intervening foundations, powders or blushes in order to get a fully accurate representation of how the creams sat. I also compared the packaging, quantity and ingredients. Here’s what I thought.
Makeup Revolution ultra cream bronzer
- Size 12g
- Key ingredients Bis-diglyceryl polyacyladipate-2 for hydration, conditioning pentaerythrityl tetraisostearate and skin-softening ethylhexyl palmitate
- Shades Four: light, medium, deep, dark
- Cruelty-free Yes
- Fragranced Yes
- Why we love it
- Good pigmentation
- Even finish
- Smells lovely
- Take note
- Cheap packaging, not very sturd
While the product’s packaging is undeniably underwhelming (and looks the type to crack if crammed into a suitcase), that’s where my criticism ends.
When applying the Charlotte Tilbury bronzer, I immediately noticed some patchiness appearing around my T-zone. It’s worth noting that I use the cream bronzer as part of my everyday make-up routine, so no bias was being held towards the Revolution product (and if anything, it was probably the other way around).
I was impressed with how smooth the Revolution ultra cream bronzer seemed to even out my skin. While it required a tad more stretching across the skin (perhaps owing to its thickness), it seemed more pigmented than its Charlotte Tilbury counterpart.
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Looking at the results of both formulas, Revolution’s left a more natural sun-kissed finish, while Charlotte Tilbury’s provided a more heavy, evening-style make-up. Naturally, this is to be expected from Charlotte Tilbury’s penchant for a dramatic smoky eye.
Throughout the day, the patchiness of the Charlotte Tilbury formula appeared to increase, while the £6 alternative remained even and seamless.
One thing I will add is that the ingredients base for the Charlotte Tilbury cream has more skin-loving ingredients – think hyaluronic acid and a combination of glycerin and fatty acids (glyceryl dioleate).
The verdict: Makeup Revolution ultra cream bronzer
Overall, I was blown away by the performance of Makeup Revolution’s budget beauty bronzer. While I acknowledge that the ingredients of the Makeup Revolution and Charlotte Tilbury creams don’t actually compare, I found that the texture of the budget-friendly buy ultimately had the superior feel and finish.
The Charlotte Tilbury bronzer is, of course, still a cult classic and one that will remain in my make-up bag, but with £39 of savings to be had, you can’t help but pit the two against one another. And, to that, I might add that the Makeup Revolution formula is certainly more impressive in terms of value for money. Don’t knock it until you try it.