Sofia Richie's wedding might have been more than two years ago, but her timeless looks are still living rent-free in my head—and that includes her glowy skin. During one of her wedding week GRWM videos, the star shared that Physicians Formula's $12 Murumuru Butter Bronzer is one of her "secret faves."
Sofia isn't the only one that adores this budget-friendly beauty find—it's Amazon's #1 best-selling bronzer with more than 41,000 reviewers raving about its silky-smooth texture and impressive shade range. As someone who religiously slathers SPF 50 on her face every single day, I wanted to see if this budget-friendly bronzer would help my skin look a little less ghastly.
Honestly, bronzer and I have a love-hate relationship. I usually rely on blush, since I find most bronzing formulas patchy and drying. So I was almost giddy when this bronzer glided on my skin like butter (it's in the name, after all!) and left me with a natural-looking, sunkissed glow.
I was most impressed by the texture of this product. While it might look like your typical powder bronzer, it has a cream-powder hybrid formula that melts into the skin. It's enriched with Brazilian murumuru butter, cupuaçu butter, and tucuma butter for a hydrating feel. This makes it easy to apply and blend, and didn't look the slightest bit patchy on my dry skin.
Bronzers are notorious for making your skin look orange (just look at a picture of me from 2012), but this one has a neutral undertone that leans more "I just came back from a trip to Ibiza" than Cheeto dust. That said, people looking for a cooler, contour-friendly undertone or deeper shade might prefer the Sculpting Bronzer.
To see if my newfound glow would last all day, I wore this bronzer for 14 hours straight—including a sweaty workout. Per usual, I applied this bronzer on top of my Haus Labs foundation (IYKYK) and set it with Urban Decay setting spray around 8:30 a.m. By the time I finally got home at 10:30 p.m., I was pleasantly surprised to see that this product had some major staying power. It somehow managed to make my skin look even more lit-from-within after a sweat session—I think the humidity helped it meld with my skin more.
TL;DR: If you're looking for an affordable, natural-looking bronzer that's Sofia Richie (and Cosmo editor)-approved, try Physicians Formula Murumuru Butter Bronzer. You can add it to your Amazon cart in even more shades below:
Shop Sofia Richie's Fave Bronzer
Lauren Gruber is an associate commerce editor at Hearst Magazines, where she writes for publications like Good Housekeeping, Cosmopolitan, Prevention, Country Living, House Beautiful, and more. She has over four years of professional experience covering a variety of lifestyle topics from home to fashion, with an advanced background in beauty and fragrance. When she’s not researching the most worthy Prime Day deals or hands-on testing all the latest perfume launches, Lauren is probably hanging out with her cat Serafina or flexing her AMC A-List membership at the movie theater.
You can find her previous work at Entertainment Tonight, Shop TODAY, USA Today, Self Magazine, L’Officiel USA, V Magazine, and Modern Luxury Media.
