IT'S officially the season of glowy skin – so we've put the NARS Sunkissed Bronzing Cream and NARS Summer Solstice Eyeshadow Palette to the test to see if they're worth their weight in…well, bronze.

Forget hours spent sizzling in the sun: bronzing beauty products are the easiest (and safest) way to fast-track that bronzed goddess look – minus any sunburn. And with NARS having just added a brand new collection of palettes and cream-to-powder bronzers to their iconic range, we tried two of the limited edition newcomers to see how they fared.

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1. NARS Summer Solstice Eyeshadow Palette, £45 from Look Fantastic – buy here
2. NARS Sunkissed Bronzing Cream, £30 from House of Fraser – buy here

Pros

• Eye palette colours are really pigmented so a little goes a long way
• Eye palette packaging is insta-worthy
• Bronzing cream smells delicious
• Super-easy to apply the bronzing cream

Cons

• Eyeshadow palette doesn't come with a brush (no real biggie)
• The shimmery shades from the eye palette do tend to drop
• Just two shades for the bronzing cream

NARS Summer Solstice Eyeshadow Palette and NARS Sunkissed Bronzing Cream: quick summary

We're already a fan of NARS products, so we were looking forward to trying these two limited edition products. They didn't disappoint: the NARS Summer Solstice Eyeshadow Palette comes in amazingly luxe packaging, with a selection of nine bronzed and golden colours that are perfect for summer skin.

Meanwhile, the NARS Sunkissed Bronzing Cream looked really dark as a solid product (we opted for Casino), but once we applied some to our fingertips and swept it across our cheeks it blended beautifully and we loved the velvety cream-to-powder texture.

• NARS Summer Solstice Eyeshadow Palette, £45 from Look Fantastic – buy here

NARS Summer Solstice Eyeshadow Palette and NARS Sunkissed Bronzing Cream: full review

There's no denying the covetable element of NARS's products: the brand's limited edition releases are always worth taking a look at. Our skin was feeling rather pasty, so we were excited to try out the NARS Summer Solstice Eyeshadow Palette and NARS Sunkissed Bronzing Cream: two products with the potential to leave us glowing and sunkissed. Yes please.

Upon receiving our goodies and opening them, our first impresssions were how gorgeous the packaging for the eyeshadow palette is (the textured gold top looks super-luxe) and how dark the bronzing cream was. Oh dear.

Diving straight in with the cream though, we were relieved at how sheer it was once applied to our skin (phew!), and the fact it gave us such a naturally sunkissed glow. It smells divine—thanks to NARS's signature holiday-esque French Polynesian Monoï de Tahiti Oil—and we found it to be a really smooth and velvety consistency that glided seamlessly across our skin.

• NARS Sunkissed Bronzing Cream, £30 from House of Fraser – buy here

With our oily complexion, we don't tend to use cream products, so the bronzing cream probably isn't something we'd wear over our usual foundation and powder—we feel it would smudge our base. But for bare skin in the summer when just a touch of concealer is needed, this bronzing cream is definitely our new go-to.

Onto the NARS Summer Solstice Eyeshadow Palette and we immediately loved the colours. Seven have a metallic or shimmery finish, while there are two matte colours in sand and terracotta for a more natural base.

Out of all nine shades, the redder hues (Indian Wells and Seduced) are probably the ones least to our personal preference, but the others are perfect for building different looks around—whether we want sparkling gold eyes or something warmer and richer.

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• NARS Summer Solstice Eyeshadow Palette, £45 from Look Fantastic – buy here

We were impressed by how rich the pigments are which gave them great staying power. The shimmery shades did tend to drop though, so application before undereye concealer is best. But overall, blending was a dream and we think we've found our new favourite palette for summer.

Are they worth the price?

Let's be honest: there's always an element of 'paying for the brand'. At £45 for the Summer Solstice Eyeshadow Palette and £30 for the Sunkissed Bronzing Cream, you can certainly find cheaper products elsewhere.

However, we do feel that the quality of both items is justified: the bronzing cream has a gorgeous consistency and blurring effect you won't find in ultra-cheap products, and the eyeshadow palette is richly pigmented so will last the distance.

NARS Summer Solstice Palette and Sunkissed Bronzing Cream: the verdict

If you're looking to upgrade your beauty bag for the season, these two products are perfect for getting your summer glow on.

The eyeshadow palette is super glam and shimmery, perfect for summer nights (or days if you want to bring the drama), while the cream-to-powder bronzer is lovely and smooth, with a naturally sunkissed effect.

We're impressed!

• NARS Summer Solstice Eyeshadow Palette, £45 from Look Fantastic – buy here
• NARS Sunkissed Bronzing Cream, £30 from House of Fraser – buy here

MORE FROM SUN SELECTS BEAUTY

Enjoyed our NARS Sunkissed Bronzing Cream and NARS Summer Solstice Eyeshadow Palette review? See what we thought of the brand's Luminous Moisture Cream here.

We've also reviewed the best mascaras for perfect lashes.

And for more product picks, reviews and trends, check out our definitive Sun Selects beauty page.

This article and featured products have been independently chosen by Sun journalists. It contains links which are ads, and if you click a link and buy a product we will earn revenue.

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