Product Review: Tarte Cosmetics Park Avenue Princess Bronzer

It's tough for me to talk about bronzers. I'm just not a bronzing kind of gal -- I much prefer blushes. At most, I'll fling on some shimmery peach blush and call it a day. This is not to say I'm not interested in bronzers, I just don't think we get along all that well. But, as this is another review for Meg, I will valiantly go forth and bronze away.

As always, a condensed version of the review (as well as other testers' worthy opinions) can be found on Meg's Makeup. (Sorry for the incessant linking. It's a compulsion. Blame the universities of Canada for hammering in early the laws of citations in writing.)




Let's go right ahead and judge a book by its cover, shall we? In this case, we are judging a bronzer by its... er... case. Continuing the tongue-in-cheek fabulosity that seems to be Tarte's theme in packaging, Park Avenue Princess screams bling. With a bronze mock croc covering and a little gold chain (yes seriously) across the front, this compact looks kind of like a little purse.

Open the magnetic snap case and you'll find a pan of shimmery bronzer and a good-sized square mirror. The powder goes on very smoothly, and is quite pigmented. No worries about it not showing up -- even for the darkest of skintones, I think this would give an attractive shimmer. The first day I tried this, I used a rather heavy hand. All of a sudden, I felt like I should have some skimpy sequined top on. Like I should drink some Tab + vodka or something. Very much a Miami Club vibe...

Not exactly the look I was going for that day though. My second try was slightly more successful. But something still wasn't right... I looked more glow-y, that's for sure. But I missed the brightening effect that a good blush will give.

They say that 3rd time's the charm! Today, I swept on the bronzer with my usual blush brush (instead of the fluffier, larger one that I had recently purchased). The stiffer bristles on my blush brush gave me more control over where I placed the product. Plus, I think the residual blush particles on the bristles (I had been very amiss in brush cleaning!) both added extra colour and prevented too much bronzing powder from being picked up. The effect I got was a sheer dusting of sunny looking colour on my cheeks. The bronzer added a subtle, healthy gleam that I don't get when using blush alone. When applied this way, the shimmer is very slight -- no one was going to mistake me for an errant and confused club kid. That being said, if you ARE looking for that kind of look, this bronzer is unbeatable.

I liked that this bronzer was not too dark, and that it did not look muddy. The shimmer packs quite a punch, but you can avoid the blinding J.Lo look if you tap off the excess before applying. This yellow-based bronzer should flatter most skin tones... I imagine it would look especially good on blondes (because it won't overpower pale skin) or ladies of Mediterreanean or Latin descent. It would also be stunning on collarbones and shoulders for a night out (use a big fluffy powder brush). For me, the way to go is to swirl the brush in pink blush first, then pick up some bronzer, tap off all of the excess, and apply. Add a bit of pale gold eyeshadow, slick on some light mauvy-pink lip gloss, and I'm ready to take Park Ave by storm! (Or at least Mississauga Rd., as is the case today...) Now if I can only dig up some hot stockbroker around here with whom to share a 3-martini lunch...