Fenty Beauty Brown Sugar Body Lava Body Luminizer Review, Photos, Swatches
Brown Sugar
Fenty Beauty Brown Sugar Body Lava Body Luminizer ($60.00 for 3.00 fl. oz.) is a medium, golden bronze with fine gold pearl and some larger, gold sparkles. It warmed up my skin slightly but did not truly darken–definitely more in the vein of enhancing warmth. The finish was moderately sparkly and had a noticeable sheen–definitely looked a little dewy and very luminous; this shade had more finer shimmer compared to Who Needs Clothes, which has more larger sparkle. A lot of the finish is in the application: how much one applies and how far and wide (or near and dear) it’s spread out. I found the product was easy to spread across a large area with a buffing brush or fingertips with excellent glitter/sparkle dispersion.
It’s supposed to be a “gel-based body luminizer” that has a “high-shine finish that feels as dewy as it looks” (that should be a key phrase for those who want a product that dries down fully–it even goes further and says “leaves skin feeling dewy to the touch”). It had a sweet, floral scent (described as “floral vanilla” by the brand) that reads more floral than sweet and is light in its intensity–I didn’t detect it much while wearing it unless I went trying to sniff it out.
As I mentioned, the effect was often the direct results of how much or how little product was applied and so was the dewiness and how it felt post-application. The more product, the tackier it was and the more prone it was to transferring. I put two pumps all along my forearm, and I could easily press my other arm (without any sparkles!) against it and get a decent amount of sparkle on my bare arm 30 minutes post-application. If I used half a pump, the effect of the sparkles was still noticeable and had more of a glowy sheen than overtly dewy or wet-looking and felt more like recently-moisturized skin than tacky to the touch and had minimal transfer.
I wore it on my cheeks as a highlighter, and the dewy shine lasted for 10 hours well over bare skin as well as over foundation without breaking my foundation touch (surprisingly). It stood up to some water and light patting dry with a towel, though I definitely lost some of the effect! Just applied to parts of my body (like shoulders and decolletage) that weren’t covered up with clothing, the majority was intact 10 to 12 hours later. It did a lot of what it says it was going to do but if you want something that dries down fully and doesn’t transfer, you’ll be disappointed.
FURTHER READING: Formula Overview for details on general performance and characteristics (like scent).
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Formula Overview
$60.00/3 oz. - $20.00 Per Ounce
It's supposed to be a "gel-based body luminizer" that has a "high-shine finish that feels as dewy as it looks" (that should be a key phrase for those who want a product that dries down fully--it even goes further and says "leaves skin feeling dewy to the touch"). It had a sweet, floral scent (described as "floral vanilla" by the brand) that reads more floral than sweet and is light in its intensity--I didn't detect it much while wearing it unless I went trying to sniff it out.
The effect was often the direct result of how much or how little product was applied and so was the dewiness and how it felt post-application. The more product, the tackier it was and the more prone it was to transferring. I put two pumps all along my forearm, and I could easily press my other arm (without any sparkles!) against it and get a decent amount of sparkle on my bare arm 30 minutes post-application. If I used half a pump, the effect of the sparkles was still noticeable and had more of a glowy sheen than overtly dewy or wet-looking and felt more like recently-moisturized skin than tacky to the touch and had minimal transfer.
I wore it on my cheeks as a highlighter, and the dewy shine lasted for 10 hours well over bare skin as well as over foundation without breaking my foundation touch (surprisingly). It stood up to some water and light patting dry with a towel, though I definitely lost some of the effect! Just applied to parts of my body (like shoulders and decolletage) that weren't covered up with clothing, the majority was intact 10 to 12 hours later.
It did a lot of what it says it was going to do but if you want something that dries down fully and doesn't transfer, you'll be disappointed.
Browse all of our Fenty Beauty Body Lava Body Luminizer swatches.
Ingredients
Hydrogenated Polyisobutene, Isododecane, Ethylene/Propylene/Styrene Copolymer, Silica, Fragrance, Synthetic Fluorphlogopite, Butylene/Ethylene/Styrene Copolymer, Pentaerythrityl Tetra-Di-T-Butyl Hydroxyhydrocinnamate, Tin Oxide, Titanium Dioxide (Ci 77891), Iron Oxides (Ci 77491), Carmine (Ci 75470).
Disclaimer: Ingredient lists are as available by the brand (or retailer) at the time of publishing. Please always check product packaging, if it exists, for the ingredient list applicable to the product you're purchasing, or the brand or retailer's website for the most up-to-date ingredient list.
Interesting formula, great review – although, I think I’d need something that dried down if I opted for body sparkle. It looks good on you!
I totally get that. I think that most want something that dries down, so it’s interesting that they went the other way deliberately!
I love that photo angle! It’s pretty…. do you think this would be good for warming up really pale legs? Or is there a better product out there (like MAC Face & Body, or maybe St. Tropez makes a temporary tanning lotion….). I don’t like going full fake-tan because it always gets splotchy as it fades away.
I don’t use self-tanner, so I’m not sure. The effect on my skin tone is really, really subtle in terms of any color. I’d also say that this has a LOT of shimmer so it’s more shimmer than warming.
Have you tried maybe the Jergens Natural Glow line?
Their Natural Glow moisturizer is an overall more subtle, more gradual self-tanner that seems easier to maintain/less prone to fading away unevenly (also seems like something you’d just use daily). There are some YouTubers that are fair and tan quite a bit with self-tanner, so you might try googling for their videos as they’d be more of an authority! I believe L’Oreal also has one called Sublime Glow.
Thank you! I have used Jergen’s in the past… I should go grab a bottle as it’s probably the most affordable option.
I used Jergens Natural Glow on my legs a couple times several years ago. It works, but go easy with it. The first time, I used it sparingly and it made my pasty legs look less ghostly, which was very nice.
But the second time I used it, I went a bit overboard with it and wound up with orange legs! I had to keep my legs covered for days until it faded, and the “tan” actually rubbed off onto my clothes.
Jergen’s Natural Glow in Med.-Tan is what I use on my legs every summer in an effort to try and match them to my arms, upper chest, neck and face. It does darken them, but I just wish that the resultant tone matched the rest of me instead of coming out too “bright”. This spring, I’m woefully “pale” compared to my usual for this time of year. I don’t look quite right? Need to get outside more, I guess.
While I like the subtlety of the shimmer for decolletage and shoulders, there are three dealbreakers for me with this product: (1) It has color instead of being a clear shimmer. (2) It has a scent, which could interfere with perfume. (3) The tackiness. Dewy-looking is nice, but I don’t think tacky-feeling is very sexy at all. And what happens to it if you start to perspire? Recently, I was at a dressy event in a very warm environment. I can’t imagine how uncomfortable a tacky gel on my body would have felt. In addition, If I had worn this product to that event and my husband put his arm around me, as he often does, he would have gotten glitter on his tux!
I love love love this review. Thorough and detailed as always! Thanks so much. I need something that dries down so my seat in the car, clothes, husband, etc aren’t bronzed and glittering.
I didn’t even think about the car. Imagine putting on your seat belt while wearing this stuff on your shoulders and chest!!!
I’m speaking from experience lol. I’ve stained at least two cars. Thankfully my husband didn’t mind that his baby (the car) had permanent bronzer engrained into the black leather.
My husband drove my car the other day and was concerned that the finish was wearing off on the turn signal. I went to have a look and was embarrassed to find that it was makeup that had transferred-I guess from face to fingers to car. :-/
The one main reason I have been very interested in this particular shade, is that my legs don’t see much sunlight, and even when they do, they don’t deepen as much as my upper body and face. Those darken up even though I use sunscreen. But my legs need a boost, especially when I have a dress on. This could work!
Not a fan of the highlighter, but I just love your eye look!
Wonderful review, thank you Christine! Do you think this shade will work for the fair skin? Will it be too dark or will it work with the light application?
I can’t imagine it being too dark since it’s quite sheer in color, but I’m not fair so I couldn’t say.