L'Oreal Medium Infallible Bronzer Review & Swatches
Medium
L’Oreal Medium Infallible 24H Fresh Wear Soft Matte Bronzer ($15.99 for 0.31 oz.) is a medium brown with warmer, slightly orange-leaning undertones and a matte finish. It performed well for a typical bronzer, but it was marketed as both buildable (it was quite pigmented) and having 24-hour wear (stupidly long wear, which it did not live up to).
- Semi-opaque color payoff (supposed to be buildable)
- Smooth, velvety, not powdery
- Blendable, easy to apply
- Long-wearing (9 hours on average, supposed to be 24 hours)
FURTHER READING: Formula Overview for details on general performance and characteristics (like scent).
Top Dupes
- Haus Labs Light Level 4 (P, $38.00) is lighter (95% similar).
- Urban Decay Bronzed (P, $28.00) is warmer (95% similar).
- ColourPop Wild Card (LE, $8.00) is darker (95% similar).
- NARS Laguna (P, $38.00) is warmer (95% similar).
- ColourPop Coconut Beach (LE, $8.00) is darker (95% similar).
- Tom Ford Beauty Terra (P, $110.00) is more shimmery, warmer (90% similar).
- Dior Soft Bronze (03) (P, $48.00) is lighter, warmer (90% similar).
- Giorgio Armani Warm Brown (21) (P, $38.00) is darker (90% similar).
- Huda Beauty Medium (P, $31.00) is lighter, warmer (90% similar).
- Charlotte Tilbury Gorgeous Glowing Beauty #4 (LE, ) is more shimmery, warmer (90% similar).
Formula Overview
$15.99/0.31 oz. - $51.58 Per Ounce
The bronzer is supposed to have 24-hour wear that is "waterproof, heatproof, and sweatproof" with "buildable coverage" and a "soft matte finish." If we ignore the wear-time claim, it is a lovely powder bronzer with a smooth, velvety feel, high color payoff, and one that was easy to blend out and sat well on bare skin as well as on top of foundation.
The major place it lost points was in its wear, which was solid (about nine hours for most shades) but nowhere near 24-hours. I did not find it was sweatproof or heatproof--it definitely was worse for the wear after being out in the Arizona sun for less than a half hour (110+ degrees of dry heat).
Secondly, it was supposed to have buildable coverage, but they were quite pigmented on the whole. You could use a lighter hand to get more gradual coverage, but that is something that can be done with pigmented products in general.
If you love pigmented powder bronzers and aren't fussed about it not lasting for a literal day, the range is well worth checking out.
Browse all of our L'Oreal Infallible 24H Fresh Wear Soft Matte Bronzer swatches.
Ingredients
Talc, Zinc Stearate, Dimethicone, Zea Mays Starch/Corn Starch, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Silica, Dimethicone/Vinyl Dimethicone Crosspolymer, Triethoxycaprylylsilane, Caprylyl Glycol, Ethylhexylglycerin, Potassium Sorbate, Parfum/Fragrance, Isoceteth-10, Alaria Esculenta Extract, Hexyl Cinnamal, Benzyl Salicylate, Barium Sulfate, Linalool, Alpha-Isomethyl Ionone, Benzyl Alcohol, Citronellol, Tocopherol. May Contain/Peut Contenir (+/-): Ci 77891/Titanium Dioxide, Ci 77491, Ci 77492, Ci 77499/Iron Oxides, Mica, Ci 19140/Yellow 5 Lake, Ci 77742/Manganese Violet, Ci 77007/Ultramarines Ci 15850/Red 7 Lake.
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.
I’ve always thought (especially since going almost exclusively mid/high-end range of cosmetics the last ten or fifteen years) that drugstore cosmetics have perfectly fine formulas. What they’re lacking is a quality color range. Like there is no care taken to blend the right colors to create a quality item, rather it’s crummy muddy colors in cheap (and unflattering) undertones. Oh, and also the packaging is usually trash and breaks within a few days or weeks.
Might still be a little too orange hued for my taste and my skintone, but it looks really good worn!
I really don’t even factor in those CRAZY wear time claims that (usually) DS brands make, because I rarely ever wear a look for more than 8 hours anyway.