Bobbi Brown’s Nude Beach Face & Body Bronzing Duo ($42), a new super-sized bronzing powder duo, does NOT mess around.
I’m pretty tan to begin with, courtesy of the Pacific Islander gene pool, but when I wear this bronzer — daaaayum! — I look hella bronzed, brah, like “Hook me up with the kama’aina discount because I’m local!” 🙂
It’s gotta be the lack of orange undertones…
Nude Beach just doesn’t have ’em. There’s a reddish, pinkish brown with a matte finish on one side and a brick reddish-like brown with a subtle sheen on the other. Both colors contain a lot of red and could pass for a natural tan. With these, whether worn separately or together, you’ll look like you’ve been surfing every day for six months!
For a faux endless summer tan that lasts all day long, on the parts of my face where the sun naturally falls — my forehead, around the edges of my face, across the tops of my cheekbones — I lightly dust a 50/50 blend of Nude Beach’s two bronzers using Sonia Kashuk’s Brush Couture Powder Brush (a great drugstore dupe for Bobbi’s $50 Bronzing Brush).
“Lightly” being the operative word here, because if I overdo it at all, Nude Beach goes from bronzed in a bikini at the beach, to pleather chaps in a mud wrestling pit.
In other words, take it easy with this bad boy. It can be tricky.
You can find the Nude Beach Bronzing Duo, along with the rest of Bobbi’s new limited edition Nude Beach summer collection, at counters and online.
PRICE: $42 for a 0.6-ounce powder compact with two shades
AVAILABILITY: Limited edition, available now at Bobbi Brown counters and online
MAKEUP AND BEAUTY BLOG RATING: B
A little bit obsessed with…
Tina Turner!
For real, though. I think I need a power music pick-me-up via Better Be Good to Me.
If you’re watching, please take note of Tina’s fierce cheeks…
To die for!
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
Oh man. I am a sucker for oversized compacts like this. But your warning of pleather chaps (totally hilarious, btw) might just be enough to keep me from succumbing to it and motivate me to play with the other pretties I already have. Here’s hoping!
Hi Christa,
LOL! As long as you use a light touch it won’t go the mud wrestling route! 🙂
What other bronzers are you using/loving at the moment?
I won the Sephora gift card a few weeks ago (thank youuuu!!) and got the Lorac Tantalizer because your review said it would be good for lighter skin tones. It’s been just the pick me up I needed to stop looking so pasty!
Yay! I’m so glad you’re enjoying it. What else did ya get?
Lorac Unzipped! I wanted a Naked-esque palette but with shades that I thought might be more wearable for me. So far, it’s true love!
My favorite Tina song! Such a bad@ss attitude!
This bronzer looks great on you, but I’m too pale for bronzers that you have to be careful with so as not to overdo.
YES! And isn’t her makeup killer? Sometimes I miss the ’80s.
That looks amazing, but I’m on a shopping freeze now.
Hi Liz,
It should be on counters for a while. You have time!
Hi Karen, Wow, that is a HUGE pan! I really like the reddish hint to the colors — I think it would look more natural than an orange!
Hi Dovey,
Yeah, the great thing about this is that you can look TRULY tan. It’s a great bronzer.
What a beautiful & BIG bronzer. I like that it is more rosy-brown than orange-brown. It looks great 🙂 Your eye look here is so pretty! 🙂
Thanks, Shannon!
I love a nice, red-toned bronzer–it really does mimic a true tan. These are nice but I’m not 100% sure I NEED this duo. I guess I have been acquiring more than enough bronzers as is anyway 😛
You can never have enough bronzer!
OH this looks promising. I have yet to find a bronzer that looks even remotely natural on my pale complexion (I am honestly WHITE as a ghost) this – with an extremely light hand might do the trick 🙂
And Stockholm finally got a Bobbi Brown Counter. Good thing I am getting of work early today – I need to do some shopping ^^
And winter has at last let go of it’s grip and we even skipped spring and went straight to summer – loving it!!
Hi Petra,
I chatted with a Bobbi Brown artist and apparently this is supposed to look great on paler tones. Just be sure to use a very light touch, maybe even a fan brush.
How long have you lived in Stockholm? I’m in California — about 40 minutes north of San Francisco!
U have such a natural beauty!!!
Love U’re make up, it’s so light and fresh !! love it !!
Thanks, Petra!
Hmm I’m not too sure this will work for me! You are several shades darker, and if you have to tread lightly, it could mean it’s just a little too dark for me. For the moment my favorite bronzer is the bronzer half in Dior Coral Glow. That’s a shade I’m not afraid of making mistakes with!
You could do it!
No orange undertones is a good thing but I wonder if people actually use bronzer on their bodies. Maybe chest and shoulders?
I love Tina, too. With “The Best” being, well, the best of her songs in my opinion. 🙂
Yeah, probably arms. Maybe legs if you’re on the catwalk or doing some sort of performance!
I have to download the entire Simply the Best album. And maybe get myself a Tina wig, hahah. 🙂
BTW, I saw an EXCELLENT movie last weekend that I think you’ll love called Mud.
I’ve heard quite a bit about Mud and it’s getting excellent reviews, particularly for MM. It’s on my list for sure. We brought the kids to see Iron Man 3 last weekend (I think I love the Iron Man movies more than they do!). Star Trek is coming up soon, too. I love the “summer blockbuster” season. 🙂 I didn’t see what you thought of Beyond the Pines. Was it decent?
This looks great on you! I’m still unsure for myself because I’m very fair.. but I am obsessed with bronzer at the moment.
You can do it. I talked to a Bobbi artist who said pale gals can pull this off. Just use a light touch.
Just wondering why you gave it a B rating… you really didn’t note any negatives in your review, other than needing a light hand. I am not a bronzer user, but having seen this in person, I’m gonna take the plunge b/c the pinker half is perfect for me.
Hi Susan,
It can be tricky and easy to go overboard. If I do even just a tiniest little bit more than I should it looks kinda dirty. I have a few bronzers that have a lot more leeway; I just wish this one had more room to make mistakes. Let me know if you have any other questions! I’m happy to help.