The perfect bronzing make up base

It all started with Ultraglow, a bronzing powder guaranteed to give you a face so tanned you barely recognised yourself in the mirror. The fact that your body was completely untanned was a mere detail ... well it was the 80s.


As a fair skinned type with more than my share of freckles I developed an early interest in anything that promised to provide a golden glow without the pain of sunburn. My experiments with fake tan deserve a post of their own but suffice to say I prefer more temporary solutions, like bronzers, for my face. Mac and Guerlain are amongst the best brands I've tried with golden rather than deeply tanned results but I can't help but notice that powders of all types settle into fine and, not so fine, lines.


So I was on the lookout for something different and asked a friendly looking assistant on the Chanel counter for advice. She recommended their Bronzing Make Up Base as an alternative to powder and applied some to my face using a blusher type brush. It has a creamy texture but dries to a fairly matte, rather than dewy, finish. Needless to say, I bought it.

It's pretty versatile and I'm using it as I would a powder, applying a small amount with a brush and blending it well. 

As you would expect from Chanel it's beautifully packaged in a jar with a lovely black glossy lid. My only gripe is that it's such a big jar it's not very handbag friendly but it's definitely one for the dressing table.