Summer after summer, I find myself feeling envious of women who seemingly effortlessly attain that summery-warm complexion the minute temperatures go above 18ºC. This year, after watching copious YouTube videos about summer beauty essentials, I finally figured out their secret. They don’t have magic facial skin. They use bronzer. Duh.

I decided it was time to try this trend for myself, and did some research into which readily-available bronzers are vegan. As is so often the case, Barry M. came up trumps, and off I toddled to Superdrug to buy the cruelty-free brand’s Afterglow Light Bronzer. 

At £5.69 for a rather large compact, this product will not break your bank and should last you for at least the entire summer season, depending on how heavily you apply it. Being quite pale, I opted for the lighter shade, and I am pleased to report that, unless you apply it really cack-handedly (tried and tested, believe me), Barry M. Afterglow Light Bronzer results in a subtle, warm glow rather than giving the impression of fluorescent orange face paint. It stays in place for quite a long time and pleasantly doubles as a setting powder for your makeup. This is great, because who has time to apply two powders in the morning?

The packaging looks a little flimsy, but is actually quite sturdy and I can’t fault it at all. I’ve also found that the product applies nicely and is easy to get onto your powered brush without coating your entire mirror in bronze dust – a problem I’ve experienced with drugstore powder products in the past.

I’ll be using the Afterglow Light Bronzer all summer long and would definitely recommend it to anyone looking for a bronzer! It also comes in a slightly darker shade for anyone who isn’t naturally the colour of sudocrem.

Do you use bronzer on a regular basis? Which one is your favourite?