NARS Vallarta Matte Bronzing Powder Review & Swatches

Vallarta

NARS Vallarta Matte Bronzing Powder ($38.00 for 0.28 oz.) is a light-medium brown with moderate, more muted golden undertones paired with a matte finish. It had semi-opaque color coverage in a single layer, which applied evenly and blended out easily on bare skin.

The texture was smooth, velvety, and had a bit of glide to it with a smidgen of powderiness (that was just present in the pan but not applied). It picked up well with a brush, but one would need to use a lighter hand to get true, buildable coverage, though this wasn’t so pigmented that the barest tap of the brush yielded full opacity either. I’d just say it was more pigmented than marketed but doesn’t take a lot to adjust to get true, buildable coverage. It wore well for eight and a half hours on me before fading noticeably.

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

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Formula Overview

$38.00/0.28 oz. - $135.71 Per Ounce

The formula is supposed to be "buildable" and "long-lasting." The pigmentation was more semi-opaque to opaque rather than truly buildable, but the texture was forgiving so it could be used with a lighter hand or a less-dense brush for more buildable coverage if desired.

The consistency was smooth, velvety, and had some glide to it, which helped the powder apply and blend out exceptionally on bare skin without darkening too noticeably (as matte powders often can). There was a slight bit of powderiness in the pan, but it wasn't too softly pressed, just the right balance to make it blendable and yielding but not messy to work with. The formula also sat well on skin without looking dry but still kept its matte finish. They wore between eight and nine hours on me before fading noticeably.

Browse all of our NARS Matte Bronzing Powder swatches.

Ingredients

Talc, Dimethicone, Octyldodecyl Stearoyl Stearate, Brassica Campestris (Rapeseed) Seed Oil, Opuntia Ficus-Indica Flower Extract, Camelina Sativa Seed Oil, Zinc Stearate, Polybutene, Magnesium Myristate, Isopropyl Isostearate, Hexylene Glycol, Tocopherol, Lecithin, Glyceryl Stearate, Ascorbyl Palmitate, Glyceryl Oleate, Citric Acid, Caprylyl Glycol, Phenoxyethanol, [+/- (May Contain/Peut Contenir: Iron Oxides (Ci 77491), Iron Oxides (Ci 77492), Iron Oxides (Ci 77499), Mica, Red 7 Lake (Ci 15850), Titanium Dioxide (Ci 77891)].