Fenty Beauty Chocolate Cream Bronzer Review & Swatches

Chocolate

Fenty Beauty Chocolate Cheeks Out Freestyle Cream Bronzer ($32.00 for 0.22 oz.) is a rich, deeper brown with muted, warm yellow undertones and a satin finish. The finish seemed more natural-matte–not overtly shimmery but definitely not fully matte (even after it dried down).

The texture was lightly creamy with moderate slip, but it was thin and more like a gel-like cream, so it spread beautifully over bare skin as well as over foundation. It also layered and built up coverage well, which was as intended, though I’d still say it was more pigmented than described. The formula made it forgiving to use as it naturally sheered out when I started to work with it on my skin, so it had to be built up to get full coverage.

It had more medium to semi-opaque, buildable coverage applied with fingertips or a moderately-dense, angled brush. For true, sheerer coverage, I’d recommend using a very light touch (like tapping your finger in the pan and then onto the skin) or a stippling brush. It stayed on nicely for nine hours on me before fading visibly. This shade wasn’t called out as a contour, though the line markets itself as bronzer and contour, and it would be a bronzer on some skin tones. It would work as a contour on light to medium-tan skin tones (possibly one or two shades darker than that) for those who prefer something with a bit of warmth.

FURTHER READING: Formula Overview for details on general performance and characteristics (like scent).

Top Dupes

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NARS Melina (Contour) (PiP, ) is darker, cooler, less glossy (90% similar).
Kat Von D Subconscious (PiP, ) is lighter (90% similar).
Benefit Hoola Toasted (P, $30.00) is less shimmery, darker, cooler (85% similar).
Makeup Geek Burnished (P, $22.00) is less shimmery, lighter, warmer (85% similar).
Benefit Hoola Caramel (P, $30.00) is less shimmery, lighter, warmer (85% similar).
NYX Hollow (P, $5.00) is more shimmery, lighter, warmer (85% similar).
Fenty Beauty Toffee Tease (P, $32.00) is darker, cooler (80% similar).
Tarte Shade (PiP, ) is less shimmery, lighter, more muted (80% similar).
NYX Toffee (P, $5.00) (80% similar).
Makeup Geek Tawny (P, $22.00) is less shimmery, lighter, warmer (80% similar).

View Swatches

Formula Overview

$32.00/0.22 oz. - $145.45 Per Ounce

The formula is supposed to be "non-greasy," "sweat-resistant," "easy to blend" cream bronzer (or contour) with "sheer, buildable" coverage that has a "natural-looking" finish. The brand called out two shades specifically as contour shades--Amber and Toffee Tease--though they can certainly be used as applicable to one's skin tone and undertone.

The coverage was semi-sheer to medium in one layer and buildable from there, though a lot of the initial opacity depended on the application. Per the brand, the product can be applied with fingertips (they mention "one tap") or with a brush (they created a denser, angled brush for this formula). What I found was that the formula had a tendency to diffuse and spread over the skin in a way that did sheer out the color in practice, so the blended out swatch was more in line with actual results. I think they were, on average, more semi-sheer to medium, buildable coverage than true, sheer coverage but they can definitely be applied lightly or blended out for true, sheer coverage.

Fingertips, generally, apply the heaviest coverage across formulas and products, which was true here. When applied with fingertips, a swirl through the pan yielded more medium and semi-opaque coverage, while a pat or two of a fingertip into the product was good for getting the first layer in place (with more sheer to semi-sheer coverage) and building up coverage where desired. For brushes, something like a stippling brush yielded sheer to semi-sheer coverage and a denser, angled brush yielded more semi-sheer to medium coverage.

The coverage built up exceptionally well as the product layered without becoming uneven in application or in actual texture. The product applied beautifully over bare skin as well as over foundation (I paired them with Fenty's Pro Filtr, which is popular but also more matte, so made for a good test base) as it did not lift up base products.

The consistency was moderately emollient with good glide--it spread easily across my skin, which made it more fluid and gel-like in that way, and it wasn't tacky or so wet that it was hard to blend evenly or get to "stay" in place where I wanted it to stay (thus enabling me to blend out edges with ease). It dried down within a few minutes, but it retained its more skin-like finish despite not feeling wet to the touch.

The test of blendability is often with deeper shades like Chocolate and Toffee Tease, which are significantly deeper than my skin tone, so any unevenness is much more noticeable, but they applied beautifully. I could see them working on deeper skin tones as they were likely designed for, but for someone who is looking for a darker contour shade and is lighter, they're easy to work with as well.

The formula wore well for eight to nine hours, and it had a continued, gradual fading from there that was a flattering fade (it didn't just slide down and off my face!). I'd agree that it seemed sweat- and water-resistant as it didn't start to migrate, bleed, or turn patchy, though it could certainly be rubbed off with light pressure (fingertip, napkin, etc.), e.g. blot away excess moisture.

Browse all of our Fenty Beauty Cheeks Out Freestyle Cream Bronzer swatches.

Ingredients

Octyldodecanol, Isononyl Isononanoate, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Pentaerythrityl Tetraisostearate, Synthetic Fluorphlogopite, Synthetic Wax, Polyethylene, Dicalcium Phosphate, Bis-Diglyceryl Polyacyladipate-2, Silica Silylate, Nylon-12, Candelilla Cera/Euphorbia Cerifera (Candelilla) Wax/Cire De Candelilla, Mica, Disteardimonium Hectorite, Tocopheryl Acetate, Talc, Pentaerythrityl Tetra-Di-T-Butyl Hydroxyhydrocinnamate, Bht, Iron Oxides (Ci 77491, Ci 77492, Ci 77499), Titanium Dioxide (Ci 77891).