Vapour Bronzing Stick Is Pure Summertime Magic for Mature Skin

I wish I could sweep on blush, bronzer, and contour to my heart's desire—but I haven't been blessed with these skills. I'm a little all over the place when it comes to determining exactly where I should be applying blush based on my face shape, and don't even think for one minute that I would take fate into my own hands and put my skills in shadowing to use all in an effort to make my cheekbones pop and camouflage a decades-old bump in the bridge of my nose. It would spell disaster, no matter how many YouTube tutorials I might watch in an effort to get up the gumption. Just like trimming my bangs or giving the old at-home hair dye a chance, some things are just better left to the professionals as it relates to my own beauty skill set. Know thyself.

All this to say, when a cream bronzer stick landed on my desk you can bet I was about to banish it to a life in the dark abyss that is our dreamy SL beauty closet. A sudden burst of personal courage changed its fate though, and I brought the chubby little bronze stick home to my vanity for a proper test run.

The first thing you need to know about Vapour Bronzing Stick is that the formula is clean. You can learn about every single one of the ingredients on CredoBeauty.com. Navigate down to the "Full Ingredients" section and click on an ingredient for its definition and a list of other products that call on it also. That's called transparency, sister.

Right away you'll see a lack of the suspicious-sounding ingredients. Sunflower seed oil, beeswax, castor oil, shea butter, corn starch, and vitamin E are a few of the ingredients that do more than just keep things clean. They also work collectively to bring antioxidant protection to the skin, which shields the derma from environmental aggressors. It goes even further to pack a hit of soothing, nourishing moisture, something we don't necessarily expect from our bronzer but will gladly take as a party favor.

I'm typically a huge fan of cream blushes because I find the buildable color easier to work in than most powder formulas. If I'm using a brush to sweep on blush, the initial brush-face impact site results in heavier color than intended and it's often difficult to subdue after the fact. But cream bronzers are one product genre that I've never gotten into. The process of applying bronzer is already risky enough for my fair skin, add in a cream version and I was convinced it would be far more concentrated color than what I was after. Why I suddenly had the courage to give Vapour a go is anyone's guess.

After the first swipe I was a little jarred. A tawny streak just below my cheekbone was the stuff of viral beauty videos gone wrong. I took my middle finger and gently began to blend in small circles, working outward to my hair line. It was like magic. There was not a moment of tug or even a microscopic patch of too-bronze color. My cheekbones popped in an instant, unlike anything I've ever experience before. Call it a miracle for the contouring inept.

To get the most buildable, blend-able color for your buck, warm up the stick by applying in small circles to the back of your hand before swiping the stick just under your cheekbones. I have extremely fair skin, so one or two swipes of the universally flattering honey bronze formula is all I need for sun-kissed color and to help highlight my facial structure.

I use it with a full face of makeup, with just a hint of tinted moisturizer, or even by itself for that natural sun-kissed glow so many of us are in constant pursuit of. If you told me three months ago that a bronzing stick would be one of my new dream-team products I would have laughed you off, but here we are.

WATCH: The Best Bronzers For Mature Skin

For those with dry and/or mature skin, consider giving cream blushes and bronzers a try. They're a tad more forgiving than many of their powder counterparts (another surprising tidbit I learned after using Vapour's Bronzing Stick), plus they add another layer of moisture to skin that's craving it.