Makeup By Mario’s Softsculpt Blurring Bronzer ($38) was recently released. It is a reformulation, making their bronzer line talc-free. I never tried the old formula, so I’m not sure how this one compares. The brand is promising a lightweight, easy-to-blend formula with a soft matte finish. As the name states, it is also supposed to be blurring with a light-medium coverage, and they also claim it has a sweat and humidity-proof finish. Not the shortest or longest list of claims, but I actually agree with all of them (1 might be a little questionable, more on that later). Right away, I will tell you, if you like your bronzer to be very pigmented, this one might get frustrating. The light-medium coverage is accurate. The formula is firmly pressed, and there is no kick-up. So basically, not very much product picks up on the brush. This can be a downside for some, but that does make this easy to control and blend.
My best foundation matches for shade reference are NARS Natural Radiant Longwear Tahoe and Estee Lauder Double Wear 4W4 Hazel.
As promised, the Makeup By Mario Softsculpt Bronzer is matte, lightweight, and blurring. It looks soft on the skin and not dull or dry. Although it is firmly pressed, it is not hard to pick up with a brush, but it does build slowly. I have used it with both natural hair and synthetic brushes, and there have been no issues with either. The one caveat I have with the claims is whether or not this bronzer is truly sweat and humidity-proof. I do not have any patchiness or fading after sweating. I don’t typically have problems with my bronzers when I sweat or am out in humidity, but I do feel like this bronzer looked especially fresh following my after-lunch walks. It is possible, though, that my foundation and setting powder are helping to keep things from breaking down. So, I think it holds up well to sweat and humidity, but I’m not 100% sure it is the only factor. Another thing to consider is that I have dry skin, and I rarely have longevity issues with my makeup.
Makeup By Mario Softsculpt Blurring Bronzer Medium Dark Swatch Comparisons
In terms of other matte finish bronzers, I still like MUFE Artist Bronzer better, and the Bobbi Brown Talc-Free Bronzing Powder has grown on me. I like the MUFE Artist bronzer’s shade better, and it is more pigmented. MUFE might not be as blurring, but honestly, that isn’t an aspect that I am specifically looking for in a bronzer formula. I think Bobbi Brown and Mario formulas are somewhat similar. The Makeup By Mario formula is slightly more blurring, but I prefer the color of Bobbi Brown’s Golden Natural shade. Hopefully, you can tell in the swatch picture, but the Makeup By Mario Bronzer is more matte than the NARS Laguna Bronzer. The NARS Laguna Bronzer still looks smooth, and it’s been a while since I’ve used it, but I don’t think I ever considered it blurring.
I also included the Armani Luminous Silk Creamy Bronzing Powder 110 in these swatches for shade comparison purposes. It is a glowy finish with shimmer running through it, which isn’t for everyone, but overall, it is the bronzer that I prefer to wear. I love a glowy or satin finish bronzer.
The Shade Range
The total range for the Makeup By Mario Softsculpt Blurring Bronzer is 6 shades. The light-medium coverage should help the shade range stretch across a variety of skin tones, but I discovered that I can use both Medium Dark and Dark shades in this range. There is only 1 more shade after dark (Dark Deep), so that makes me a little nervous. I do have to be more careful with the shade Dark, but not as cautious as I would have thought. Shade-wise, dark is more contour on me, so I do prefer Medium Dark. There are also 3 shades lighter than Medium Dark (Light, Light Medium, and Medium). And I want to mention that this being lighter coverage is not necessarily a bad thing. I’m fine with a buildable product, but I’m just worried about it being workable for deeper skin tones. I hope I’m wrong. If you have tried this formula and have a deeper skin tone, please let me know how it worked out for you.
The swatches below are built up in two layers, but I didn’t go crazy swirling heavily in the pan. I wanted to build them to better show the shade differences, but I didn’t want to exaggerate the amount of pigmentation.
The Makeup By Mario’s Softsculpt Blurring Bronzer ($38) really feels true to the way I have seen Mario Dedivanovic apply makeup (examples here and here). He builds in light layers and is constantly mixing colors. So I’m not surprised to see that a bronzer that he designed is soft and buildable. You can see Mario swatch all of the shades in this YouTube Short. I enjoy the Softsculpt Blurring Bronzer and the subtle warmth the shade Medium Dark provides. I don’t want the contoured look that the shade Dark gives me, so I’m hoping that when I’m back to my winter shade, I’ll be able to see a little more impact out of Medium Dark.
That’s all for today. Have a good one. 🙂
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- Blush Index
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Nikki From HR 