Clarins Mineral Bronzing Duo Compact Review and Swatches

I have to hold my hands up and say that I’ve only ever tried one product from Clarins.. yes, that’s right – only one, but a good one; the Clarins Wonder Perfect Mascara was my Holy Grail mascara for at least two years until I fell in love with the YSL False Lash Effect Mascara. I have always admired Clarins products from afar as they’re always packaged so beautifully but after receiving poor customer service from two separate Clarins counters, I’ve been put off the brand. However I decided to let bygones be bygones and purchased the Clarins Mineral Bronzing Duo from Escentual as it was so much cheaper than anywhere else. Clarins launched the Clarins Mineral Bronzing Duo back in 2012, and since their launch have won several awards including ‘Winner of Best Bronzer’ in the Cosmopolitan Beauty Awards 2013; which is pretty impressive I think you’ll agree. There are three shades available; light, medium and dark.. naturally I plumped for the light duo. Interestingly enough the compact includes a 100% mineral sunscreen of SPF15.

Clarins Mineral Bronzing Duo Compact Review and Swatches

The Clarins Mineral Bronzing Duo Compact includes two shades of bronzer so you can create a fully customisable shade to suit the seasons and skintone. The mineral powder is said to include soft-focus pigments which help to reduce the appearance of wrinkles and blemishes, as well as brightening the complexion. The powder also contains Clarins ‘Vegetal Micropatch’ which claims to ensure that the skin is constantly moisturised, and left feeling hydrated so I thought it would be the ideal bronzer for my pale and dry skin.

The bronzing compact is contained with a silky, brown velvet pouch which is such a lovely touch. The compact is quite large with a gold chrome base, and a glossy brown plastic lid. The packaging of the bronzer is undoubtedly stunning and definitely stands out amongst my other plainer bronzing powders. Inside the lid there is a sizable mirror which is always super handy, but there isn’t any type of applicator included which I would have liked to have seen in a bronzer with a retail price of £28.

Clarins Mineral Bronzing Duo Compact Swatches

Swatches of both sides of the Clarins powder bronzer duo

What drew me in the most with this Clarins Mineral Bronzing Duo Compact is that it included two different shades; one light shade and a second much darker shade of bronzer, so I knew I could use them individually or use them together. I read quite a lot of reviews of this bronzer before purchasing it, with everyone describing it as being matte so I was quite surprised to see gold glitter particles in the darker shade – and these glitter particles do translate to the skin, which I’m quite disappointed about as I don’t like shimmery or glittery bronzers.

Both of the shades within 01 Light are very warm in tone which makes it quite difficult to use for anything other than general bronzing.. the shades are much too warm to use for contouring on my very pale, cool toned skin. However both shades within the compact have the most amazing, silky texture and are very pigmented too. The powder blends into the skin beautifully.. probably the best bronzer I’ve ever tried in terms of blendability.

I’ve been using the darkest shade in the compact as a transition shade for my eyeshadow as the glitter particles don’t look out of place. At the moment I have zero colour to my skin, but I’m hoping that once Summer comes along I’ll be able to make this bronzer work but at the moment both of the shades are just too warm and dark for my skintone – they both look very orange on me. I love everything about this bronzer.. it’s such a beautiful product.

However the problem lies with me and my skintone rather than the product itself.. I’d still recommend this Clarins Mineral Bronzing Duo Compact if you have a warm undertone or have a slightly darker skintone to mine. Even though I haven’t been able to pull of this particular bronzer, I definitely want to try more from Clarins as I’ve been so impressed by the quality of this Bronzing Duo.

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Gemma Etc.

Hi, my name is Gemma, and I’m the writer behind GemmaEtc.com. I’m a true beauty obsessive, and love writing about anything to do with beauty. In addition to Gemma Etc., I also own MakeupMuddle.com, and love sharing my thoughts and feelings about beauty and lifestyle products.

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