Wet n Wild Acapulco Glow Bronzzer vs. Princess Color Icon Bronzer

The big moment has arrived, my fellow WnW fans! Today I'm going to do a compare/contrast of WnW's most beloved bronzer, Acapulco Glow, and the new WnW Color Icon Bronzer, Princess (the lighter of the two shades now available). I'm excited to read your thoughts on this so please take a moment and hear me out, OK?

First I'd like to mention that, in many people's eyes, Acapulco Glow was never really, truly a "bronzer". It's actually more of a highlighter (a very beautiful, natural-looking highlighter, to boot) so comparing it to Princess is sort of like comparing apples to oranges. But I'm still going to try!

Left: Wet n Wild Bronzzer in Acapulco Glow, Right: Wet n Wild Color Icon Bronzer in Princess

For those of you who haven't been reading my WnW 2010 makeover updates, Acapulco Glow has been discontinued, but there are still many places where you can find it (most major drugstores, drugstore.com, etc.). But if you want to stock up, you should probably act quickly because once they're gone, they are GONE.

Now, as you can see in the above pics, A.G. is much, much lighter than Princess. There is simply no comparison. BUT, since Princess is the lightest shade of the two bronzers WnW is now offering us (you can click here to see a swatch of Goddess, which is the darker shade), I'm going to try and explain how I think Princess might be workable for you if you love A.G.

First, let's talk about how just the very word "bronzer" has come to mean so many different things to so many different people. In my experience, there are really two types of bronzers. The first is the kind that you use for a sunkissed look. This type of bronzer is usually light and shimmery, and you apply it on the areas of your face where the sun would naturally hit (ie, the tops of your cheekbones, above your eyebrows, the tip of your nose, your chin, etc.). The second type of bronzer is the type that you use to contour your face. This type of bronzer is usually darker and more matte, and you would apply it in the areas that you want to make recede, like underneath your cheekbones, the sides of your nose, etc.

So if you agree with me about the above two categories, your first reaction after seeing these two bronzers is probably that A.G. is the highlighter-type of bronzer, while Princess is the contouring-type of bronzer. And THIS, my friends, is where you would be wrong! I WAS able to find a common trait in these two products after all, because I really believe that Princess is in the highlighter category!

Left: Acapulco Glow, right: Princess

See how both of these colors contain approximately the same amount of shimmer? While A.G.'s shimmer is much lighter, the golden, bronzy shimmer of Princess, to me, makes it much more of a highlighter, because it's not quite dark enough to be a true contour shade. I was able to build the intensity of Princess (exactly like how you can build the intensity of A.G.) and I think it leaves a beautiful, golden glow to the face, especially if used lightly.

I feel that the texture of Princess is actually smoother than A.G. (it appears to be more finely milled) and it blended effortlessly. For me, the staying power in both products was about the same (excellent) and I was very pleased with the buildable color. Princess doesn't come on strong like the contour-type bronzers that you have to apply carefully in order to avoid a fake look.

So for those of you who are sad about losing our beloved A.G., I think you might want to at least give Princess a try before ruling it out based on the color you see in the pan. For me, I found it to be very forgiving, and the color is absolutely stunning when used like a traditional highlighter. And for those of you who still think Princess is just too dark for you to wear in the same way you wear A.G., I guess you'll have to switch to a traditional highlighter to get the look you want. But again, I think Princess delivers a very pretty sunkissed glow that warms up the skin more than A.G., so you might want to give it a whirl. It might surprise you.

Oh! I almost forgot! Take a look at the brush that comes with Princess. It's SO much better than the little flimsy brush that comes with the old Bronzzers. It's actually a decent brush that delivers enough product to your face, and you can totally use it in a pinch if you don't have your usual bronzer/blush/powder brush with you.

As always, I'd love to hear your thoughts!

A sample of this product was given to Nouveau Cheap for editorial purposes, either directly from the manufacturer or from the agency that works on behalf of the manufacturer. All reviews on NouveauCheap.blogspot.com are the honest opinion of its author and editorial samples do not, in any way, affect the outcome of product reviews.