Rankings

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First Impressions

There’s so many great products coming from The Balm we clearly can’t get enough. We already told you about the velvety matte goodness of the Meet Matt(e) Hughes lipsticks and just yesterday raved about Nude Dude‘s racy palette filled with gorgeous male-clad colors. Betty-Lou Manizer is a much talked about “oldie but goodie”, if you will. Social media has been singing high praises about her champagne colored sister Mary-Lou for a while now. This multi-tasking wonder has much of the same versatility, with one key difference - it’s a bronzer as well.

Again you can’t talk about The Balm without giving a nod or two to their packaging. It’s adorably retro with a photo of Betty-Lou’s bronzed skin, puckered cherry red pout and jet black hair nestled onto a “Wanted” poster. The slim compact is travel friendly and boasts a large recessed mirror on the inside.

Betty-Lou is a rich golden brown with plenty of micro-fine shimmer. The color only barely straddles the line of being orangey without going overboard. It’s a beautiful soft shade perfect for capturing a sun kissed glow.

The creamy lightweight formula and supreme pigmentation make this a great multi-use product. As a highlighter, arguably its primary purpose, Betty-Lou shines (pun intended). When applied to the high points of the face or layered over blush this casts a beautiful arc of color that is amazing on many skin tones and, as The Balm describes, goddess like. As an eyeshadow, worn solo or paired with other shades, it’s doubly gorgeous with minimal creasing, phenomenal blendability and a very long wear.

My only gripe with this product is rooted in confusion. Betty-Lou is marketed as a bronzer but, while contouring is not necessarily my cup of tea, the thought of trading the natural definition of a nice, deep matte bronzer (hello NARS Tahiti Laguna) for primetime shine doesn’t sound appealing. For those of you who crave a subtle, chiseled look this is NOT the bronzer for you.

Secondly, it’s incredibly concentrated and creates a very intense highlight. Translation: there is a fine line between a gorgeous golden glow and blinding shine. Word to the wise, use a light hand. I mean so light you’re not even sure your brush touched the compact.

Overall Betty-Lou is another winner, great for adding a little glow to any gal’s (or guy’s) look.