Accessorize Baked Bronzer Duo in Bali

I was given this Accessorize Baked Bronzer Duo as a present a couple of months ago and, after marvelling for a while at how pretty the marbled powder looked in the pan, I banished it away to the cupboard convinced I'd never get any use out of it. I was going through the matte bronzer faze. It came as quite a shock to me when I woke up one day and decided I didn't want to use my normal slightly shimmery bronzer on my cheeks to make me look alive and healthy, but instead wanted a dark swipe under my cheekbones to make me look chiselled and gaunt (that’s not quite true, I don’t think my chubby cheeks could do gaunt if they tried). Fast forward to a few weeks ago I was in a bit of a makeup rut, wanting something shimmering and coloured that wasn't a blush, it was the perfect opportunity to pull this product out of hiding and give it a try.

I think the packaging is really pretty as well as the powder it houses, and feels quite robust for a plastic compact so hopefully isn't likely to break in my makeup bag. Unfortunately it does take up quite a lot of the make up bag as it's pretty chunky- the bronzer is thicker than other domed powders I own like the Mac Mineralize Skinfinishes and the compact doesn’t have the space saving domed shape of the Mac packaging.

Bali is a bit too dark and pigmented for me to use as a coloured highlighter but it's perfect for adding some colour and glow to my cheeks and forehead. While it is shimmery, its not as mad as you'd think from looking at it in the pan and I can get away with it across the cheeks and forehead provided it's blended in well enough. The shimmery side is a metallic bronze, while the other side (which is less shimmery but definitely not matte) is more of a gold colour, so I mix them together or use just the shimmery side to the bronzer pulling too dark on my fair skin. Because I only need a light hand to get a good colour from this shade, I apply with a stippling brush which also helps with blending. Unfortunately this isn't the quickest powder to blend, but on the plus side there isn't much fall out from the pan, and I really like it enough to not mind having to do a bit of extra brush work.

There were originally 4 shades of this baked bronzer available but now only one remains- Laguna. Laguna is lighter and slightly more pinky toned than Bali, which should make the colour a bit easier to wear than deep dark Bali especially when the weather gets colder, but the formula is the same with a duo shimmery/less shimmery split. Hopefully all 4 shades will be brought back for summer next year, but for £6 I'll definitely be picking Laguna up next time I'm passing Accessorize.