Review + Swatches: The Issy & Co.Crème Cheek Bronzers

Product photography by Perkin Gotohio

As a city girl with island girl roots, the sunkissed look is my version of the “no makeup” makeup look and bronzers are a necessity to achieving it. Yet, there seems to be very few local options to choose from as the majority of brands tend to push out contour products instead.

Lucky for me and my fellow bronzer-biased babes, Issy & Co. ended their trilogy of launches with their final release called Ode to the Sand. It comes in the form of fou bronzers and I’m excited to get into it!

The Golden Hour Glow Crème Cheek Bronzers retail for P349 for 4.5g of product and are now available on the official Issy & Co. Shopee and Lazada online platforms. They come in the following shades:

• Toast - a soft clay bronze

• Molten - a medium umber bronze

• Torrid - a medium golden bronze

• Blaze - a deep sienna bronze

These bronzers have shimmer. I am not one for shimmer but the fine pearlescent particles do not stick out and seems to blend into the skin upon application. So apart from the warmth that the bronzer adds, there is also an added lift whenever the shimmer catches the light.

The formula itself is extremely soft to the touch! The texture is creamy and melts the moment you pick up the product with either your finger or brush. It melts onto the skin just as fast too! This formula is definitely beginner friendly with how easily it blends.

Another aspect that makes this a winner is the pigmentation. It offers a sheer application of colour at first layer, one that you can easily build up. For those who are like me and enjoy a heavier application of bronzer, let the product set a bit before packing on the next layer.

From top to bottom: Toast, Molten, Torrid, and Blaze

Which leads me to the next tip: since the product is so buttery, the product does not set, which makes sense because it aims to add a healthy sheen to your look. So for longevity purposes, you can definitely top it off with some finishing powder or double up with a powder bronzer of your liking!

There are a ton of aspects that make this product launch so thrilling but I wanted to highlight some other aspects as well. Such as the choice to add in the shade Toast. The common notion of making products inclusive is the push for darker and deeper shades but the need to accommodate lighter and fairer skin tones seems to have been lost in the plight.

Toast

Molten

Torrid

Blaze

With that being said, I would highly recommend this product to beginners who want to start journeying into the world of bronzing and brontouring. When I started doing makeup, I had a tough time learning how to play with pigments because there would always be too much but now we have formulas like this that are bound to make your start into makeup way easier than mine was.

Those who enjoy the “no makeup” makeup look and clean look will also enjoy this product because of how sheer and natural the finish is. It will definitely add just the right amount of warmth to make you look put together in a jiffy.