I haven’t purchased anything from Make Up For Ever (MUFE) in a while, so I was excited to revisit the brand. The claims on this one don’t seem too crazy, although I’m not sure that I typically look at the claims for bronzers. MUFE says this is a long-wearing, blendable, buildable, easy to use bronzer with a smooth formula. Spoiler alert, I agree with them. It works well with both synthetic and natural hair brushes. It is firmly pressed, so there isn’t much powder disturbed when I dip a brush into the pan. The firm press doesn’t make it hard to pick up on a brush, which is nice. Considering my dry skin, I prefer a satin or glowy bronzer, but a matte finish for bronzer seems to be more on trend right now. I’m happy to report that this formula never looked dry on me, even when I tested it with Estee Lauder Double Wear.

MUFE Artist Bronzer 40 Warm Pecan, $36, 10g

It is pigmented enough that I do have to be careful with this shade. I initially started with a loosely packed brush (Smashbox buildable cheek brush) to control the pigment, but I have also been able to use it with denser options like the Sonia G Inochige brush with no issues. There is always a smooth finish, regardless of what brush I use. I haven’t had any trouble blending it out if I applied too much. I’ve used it over unset foundation as well, and I still had no trouble blending. It really has been easy to work with.

MUFE Artist Bronzers – Store Availability

I was disappointed to find out that Sephora only carries four of the eight shades from the Make Up For Ever Artist Bronzer range. The same limited shade selection is also available at Macy’s and Nordstrom. The entire range is only available from the Make Up For Ever website (makeupforever.com) and Camera Ready Cosmetics (camerareadycosmetics.com). I don’t like this strategy, and I have been seeing this happen more often lately. I understand that shelf space is limited, but it is frustrating not to have access to the entire range in person.

Some of my best foundation matches for shade reference are NARS Natural Radiant Tahoe and Estee Lauder Double Wear 4W4 Hazel. I chose shade 40, Warm Pecan because it was the best option available in Sephora when I viewed the range in-store. I wonder if shade 35 Lively Almond would have been better.

Swatch Comparisons – NARS Punta Cana (discontinued), MUFE 40 Warm Pecan, and NARS Casino (discontinued)

The discontinued NARS Bronzing Powder formula is the only thing I can provide as a point of reference for this shade. NARS has a satin finish, so it does catch more light, but when applied, the shade Punta Cana is similar in depth to 40 Warm Pecan. NARS Casino is much lighter, and I only use it in the dead of winter when I’m at my lightest. But I figured it couldn’t hurt to include it.

Regarding formula comparison, the Pat McGrath Divine Bronzer is the closest in recent memory, but I found the Pat McGrath to be more smoothing. To be clear, the Make Up For Ever (MUFE) Artist Bronzer doesn’t accentuate texture. There is just something about the Pat McGrath Bronzers and blushes that smooth texture more.

If you are interested in this bronzer, I suggest heading to Sephora and looking at the 4 available shades. At the very least, you can decide if the formula is worth trying. That might also help you determine if you should buy one of the 4 shades that are exclusive to the MUFE website instead. I think this is an excellent formula, and I’m enjoying it. However, if you already own a matte bronzer that you enjoy, I wouldn’t say that the MUFE Artist Bronzer is a must-have.

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