If You Love Drunk Elephant’s Bronzing Drops, Try These 7 Alternatives, Starting at $6

One Cosmo editor says: “Rhode's lastest launch—a pigmented, glowy version of the O.G. Glazing Milk— is my new favorite summer base. It comes in four shades, but I love pearly warm bronze for a soft, sun-kissed glow. It's a liquid-y formula, so it's really easy to blend into the skin, and I even wore it on its own and it gave me that coveted lit-from-within glow. Hailey Bieber does it again”—JASMINE HYMAN, ASSISTANT BEAUTY EDITOR

“Bronzing drops are typically a concentrated form of liquid bronzer that can be infused into your existing products like moisturizer, foundation, and even liquid highlighter—or they can be worn on their own,” explains Scibelli.

There are a variety of different formula types out there, from lightweight drops you mix into foundation or moisturizer, to more opaque textures that can be used as bronzer themselves, or even self-tanning bronzing drops which can help add a bronzed tint to your skin, he adds.

The difference between bronzing drops and bronzer is usually the consistency, says Scibelli. "Bronzing drops are in liquid form, and can be mixed into other creamy formulas," he notes. "However, traditional bronzers come in both powder and cream forms, which requires a different application technique and tools."

Bronzer is usually more pigmented, so you'll typically want to apply it with a brush (or blend out a cream with a beauty sponge), while bronzing drops are so thin and watery that you can use your fingers, a sponge, or even a brush to build up the coverage a bit.

There are a handful of different ways to use bronzing drops, depending on your desired look. In general, Scibelli likes to use bronzing drops where the sun naturally hits his skin—forehead, across your cheekbones, bridge of your nose, and along your jawline. "This creates more dimension and sculpts your face, but can be used all over your skin since they blend so easily," he says.

For a sheer tan without coverage, try mixing a few drops into your moisturizer or sunscreen, then blending all over your face with your fingers. Or you can even cocktail bronzing drops with your foundation to add a subtle, bronzey tint.

You can also def use bronzing drops on their own (just blended over your skincare with your fingers, a brush, or a sponge, followed by foundation or nothing). This will bump up the opacity a little bit for a stronger look.

But! You can def use bronzing drops just like a bronzer to add warmth and contour to your skin in a more gentle way. "I like to use the top of my hand as a palette, then pick up the liquid bronzer as desired with a beauty sponge or foundation brush," explains Scibelli. "Then, I just blend it right into my skin."

As for when you apply bronzing drops, it's totally personal preference, says Scibelli. "If you apply them after your foundation, the bronzed finish will show up more, and even act as a contour if you wanted it to," he notes. But blending them on before foundation will give you a more subtle, blended look, since the tint will be covered a bit.

Look at the shades.

Many bronzing drops unfortunately come in just one medium-to-tan shade that is often too dark for fair skin or too light and milky for deep skin. In our testing and reviewing, we found the Versed’s Glow Drops are a great option for very light skin, since they come in a sheer champagne color that looks natural, not orange. Another well-tested option is the light-pink shade of the L’Oréal Paris True Match Lumi Glotion that’ll leave fair skin tones with a shimmery glow (instead of a warm bronze).

If you’re working with a deeper skin tone (like dark-tan to deep), opt for bronzing drops that match—or are darker than—your natural skin tone, like the Fenty Beauty Eaze Drop’lit All-Over Glow Enhancer. Or try the Live Tinted Hue Glow in Dusk, which is a deep bronze-y shade that’ll add a golden sheen to your skin. Note that these formulas won’t act like a pigmented foundation on your face (they’re too sheer and subtle to actually darken your skin), but they will add a warm, glowy depth to your face that can help your skin look more even toned.

Assess your goals.

Are you looking to just add a touch of temporary color to your light-to-tan skin? Try Drunk Elephant’s D-Bronzi Drops, which were my favorite of all the bronzing drops I tested on my medium skin. For fair skin, testers loved the ultra-lightweight Danessa Myricks Yummy Skin Serum, which has a barely there gold or bronze tint, while reviewers with tan-to-deep skin tones loved Fenty’s Eaze Drop’lit All-Over Glow Enhancer in Bronze Jasper.

But if you want to highlight your cheekbones or make your skin look extra hydrated, go for Live Tinted’s Hue Glow (for all skin tones) or Saie’s Glowy Super Gel (for fair-to-medium skin). And, of course, if you want something with more pigment to bronze your cheekbones, def opt for something like Armani’s Luminous Silk Liquid Bronzer Drops, which comes in four warm shades from light to deep.

Neil Scibelli is a makeup artist based in New York, NY who works with celebrities and talent for TV interviews, press appointments, and more.

Beth Gillette is the beauty editor at Cosmopolitan with eight years of experience researching, writing, and editing makeup stories. She’s an authority in all makeup categories but an expert when it comes to bronzing drops after testing and reviewing dozens of different versions to find the best.