Bonne Bell Gel Bronze Review and Swatches

Recently Bonne Bell was kind enough to send me a box full of goodies to try, and rather than make one large post, I plan on reviewing each product separately so I can really give detailed reviews on each.  The first product I wanted to review is the Gel Bronze in Golden Tan.  I was immediately drawn to it as soon as I saw it, because it's something I remember from my Jr. High years in the early 1990's- I used it constantly back then. This product has been around a long time, and it's seen some packaging changes since then.  The tube is sleek and more grown-up looking.  

Here's the packaging information panel and ingredients list:

Gel Bronze is meant for the face and body.  It's a super lightweight gel that sinks right in to the skin and leaves behind a tint of bronze color. As a person with dry skin, this is a lifesaver for me, because powder bronzers can skip across my face as I apply them leaving some areas darker than others, and they don't always blend easily, leaving my face looking muddy.  So I have to be really careful with powders, but not with this!  Unlike some other gel bronzers, this doesn't have any shimmer at all, and it leaves behind a sheer, stain that doesn't rub off once it sets.  It's also build-able so if you don't see enough color after the first application, you can add more to deepen your glow.

Right out of the tube, it looks really dark- especially against my ghostly pale skin.

Then as you blend it out, it starts to lighten.  Please don't be scared off by the orange-y looking color- once blended, this is not orange at all!

Below is my skin after one application.  See?  Once blended, it isn't one bit orange- it leaves a lovely hint of brown tint (which is really hard to see in photos, sorry guys!).  But you can sort of see the difference by comparing the photo below to the skin in the one above. Since I'm really fair, most bronzers look orange on me unless they're really brown, but this one doesn't. I also love that it's very sheer and can be built up, because when I use other bronzers that start out dark, I can't tone them down, but with this, I can always add more as needed. Today, I layered this twice on my face and got a really believable tanned glow.

I don't know how I let this slip away before. It was my holy grail bronzer 20+ years ago (before I even knew what that meant!), and I stopped seeing it around in the stores near me, so I assumed it had been discontinued.
If you have pale skin, this is the perfect bronzer to add a customized glow that washes off at the end of the day (no messing with self-tanners!) and if you already have a tan, this will deepen it.

If you don't see it in your local drugstores, you can find it in the links below online at Drugstore.com for $3.19 (check out all the reviews- it gets 4.5 out of 5 stars!) or Walgreens for $3.99.  They both show the old packaging, but it's the same product/shade.
I'm so happy to have rediscovered this!  I'll definitely be reordering this and stocking up for the summer. 

Bonne Bell Bronzing Gel, Golden Tan 416

Bonne Bell Bronzing Gel Golden Tan 416

***Disclosure- The product featured in this review was sent to me for consideration by a brand or PR agency. This in no way influenced my experience with the product- all opinions are my own, and I was not paid to write this review. ***