In one of my past blog posts, I mentioned that I started to build up quite a bronzer / contour collection. I recently bought one or two more and my friend also gave me another one. For some background information, I'm about a MAC NC35 / MUFE HD Foundation #127 / Missha M Perfect BB Cream #27. My skin is combo with an oily t-zone. All the bronzers stayed on my skin for about the same amount of time.
My collection includes -
Benefit Hoola
MAC Sculpting Powder in Sculpt
The Body Shop Honey Bronzing Powder in 04 Deep Matte (review here)
NYC Sunny Bronzer
Too Faced Chocolate Soleil Medium/Deep Matte Bronzer
theBalm Bahama Mama Bronzing Powder
NARS Bronzing Powder in Laguna
ELF Contouring Blush & Bronzer in St. Lucia
The completely matte shades are Hoola, Sculpt, Deep, Sunny, and Chocolate Soleil. There is some shimmer with Laguna, but it's not glittery. It has a very natural sheen / finish on the skin. I can see some shimmer in Bahama Mama, but it doesn't translate onto the skin at all. St. Lucia has glitter/shimmer and I can see some of it on the skin.
Unlike the rest, Sculpt was formulated specifically to be used as a contour shade. It's the most grey out of all the products and creates a more shadow like contour. The Body Shop's bronzer is the most warm out of my collection and even leans orange. I wouldn't recommend using this as a contour and instead to just warm up the skin.
Hoola, Bahama Mama, and Laguna are my favorite to use as both a contour and bronzer. They have a slightly more yellow-neutral base and works wonderfully with my skin tone. Hoola is the lightest out of these three and so I can never go overboard with this shade. Bahama Mama is the darkest out of these three and I would use a very light hand using a small stippling brush with it. Laguna isn't as soft/powdery as these three and so I can go heavy handed on this without worrying about it. I heard the quality of Laguna is different in palettes compared to the single product, though.
Chocolate Soleil also has a neutral to very very slightly cool tone to it. It's great as a contour and bronzer, but it's not the one I immediately prefer. It smells like chocolate, though, which is always a plus for me. It's not super strong but I get whiffs of it when I open up the packaging.
Sunny and St. Lucia have a (slightly) more reddy undertone and so they work well for creating a tan look. The skin naturally becomes more red when tanned (or sunburned) and so these kind of mimic that tone. They're not too red though. Both of these products can easily be found in drugstores for around $3 each and so they're great for someone just starting to use bronzers.
Final Thoughts (Tl;dr): My favorite combination for a more angular face is Sculpt and Hoola. I use Sculpt to create the contours and Hoola to blend it out. Laguna and Hoola are great shades but mostly for those who are light to medium skin tones. Chocolate Soleil is a darker and is also a great product that I think will fit more people. Bahama Mama can be too dark for me sometimes and so it's the I use to be more extreme. St. Lucia is my least favorite to use because of the stronger red tones and glitter. Sunny is a great alternative for those who are on a budget. The Honey Bronzer only works well for warming up the skin because it's too warm.
Benefit / MAC / The Body Shop / NYC / Too Faced / theBalm / NARS / ELF
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