NARS San Juan Bronzing Powder Review & Swatches
San Juan
NARS San Juan Powder Bronzer ($38.00 for 0.28 oz.) is a light, peachy brown with strong, warm undertones and a fine, golden pearl throughout. When applied and blended out, the finish was more satin-like with a subtle sheen but not overtly shimmery.
It had good color coverage in a single layer, which was buildable to full opacity with a second layer if desired. The texture felt smooth and velvety to the touch with light glide, and while there was a bit of slip to it. That slip was where it seemed different than past iterations of the Bronzing Powder have, even though they are touting new shades but not a reformulation.
I did find that the ingredient list wasn’t quite the same between past iterations of Laguna (and Laguna’s ingredient list from this new round is almost the same as San Juan aside from the +/- section), particularly that silica is now the second ingredient instead of the fourth, and there have been some other ingredients removed, so it does seem like they’ve tweaked the formula to some degree when comparing ingredient lists.
San Juan applied well to bare skin and blended out with minimal effort, and it didn’t appear dry or powdery on my skin. It stayed on nicely for eight hours before fading noticeably.
Top Dupes
- MAC Golden Rinse (LE, $35.50) is lighter (95% similar).
- Tarte Solo (-, ) is darker (95% similar).
- Clinique Solar Pop (LE, $32.50) is less shimmery, darker, cooler (90% similar).
- Estee Lauder Saffron Sun (LE, $65.00) is less shimmery, darker (90% similar).
- Makeup by Mario Light Medium (P, $34.00) is lighter (90% similar).
- Sephora Anguilla (P, $17.00) is less shimmery, lighter (90% similar).
- Kevyn Aucoin Desert Days (P, $48.00) is less shimmery (90% similar).
- MAC Matte Bronze (P, $28.00) is less shimmery, cooler (90% similar).
- Hourglass Nude Bronze Light (P, $52.00) is less shimmery, lighter (90% similar).
- Viseart Bronze #1 (PiP, ) is darker (90% similar).
Ingredients
Talc, Silica, Ethylhexyl Palmitate, Nylon-12, Zinc Stearate, Dimethicone, Trimethylsiloxysilicate, Lauroyl Lysine, Chlorphenesin, Sorbitan Sesquioleate, Trisodium Edta, Tocopherol, Sodium Dehydroacetate, [+/- (May Contain/Peut Contenir): Carmine (Ci 75470), Iron Oxides (Ci 77491), Iron Oxides (Ci 77492), Iron Oxides (Ci 77499), Mica, Titanium Dioxide (Ci 77891)].
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.
It’s crazy how this looks more like a peachy brown blush than a bronzer! I wasn’t expecting it to apply like that going off the initial swatches!
I like this shade. It would be a good blushy-bronzer shade, though too peachy to use as a straight up bronzer. I’d use it like theBalm Balm Desert, though.
I would wear this San Juan bronzer as a blush not as a bronzer. Lovely peachy brown shade.
Ooh I really love this shade! Reminds me slightly of Benefit Dallas which is technically a blush, but sort of a bronze-blush hybrid.