If you’re suffering from fungal acne but want to look like a bronzed goddess without the acne, look no further. I’ve been using one from Amazon, which I’ll tell you about below.
I’ve suffered from fungal acne for around a year. Finding products I want to use that are safe and won’t bring me out in fungal acne has been a tough, time-consuming process. I’ve tried skin cycling which helped reduce the product I put on my face, but it didn’t clear up the acne.
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Fungal-acne triggers
One of the biggest triggers is oil-based products as they clog the skin. Unfortunately, a gorgeous-smelling product by Elemis that’s hugely popular – the Elemis Pro-Collagen Cleansing Balm (see my article on it here) for removing makeup started my fungal acne due to it having 13 ingredients that can trigger fungal acne. I was using it before and during my holiday, which is when my acne got worse.
If you suffer with acne and need help, see my article on top tips to help you reduce your acne. It’s easy to forget certain things that might be worsening your acne; such as dirty makeup or brushes, not cleaning your pillows enough, using dirty towels to dry your face or using makeup or skincare products that could be irritating you. Making some small changes could help massively (and I hope they do!).
My favourite fungal-acne-safe bronzer – for £17
It took a while, but I found a fungal-acne-safe bronzer:
- Indeed Labs Nanobronze Bronzing Drops
It’s £17 £19.99 available on Amazon.
How do you use bronzer?
I use it in the morning, as it gives a glow. I use it when I’m wearing foundation and also when I’m not. I first apply any serums – Vitamin C – then the bronzer with a moisturiser that allows me to smooth it over my face easier (the bronzer is thick). I finish with an SPF (usually La Roche Posey SPF or Malezia moisturiser – both fungal-acne safe).
You need to take it off at the end of the day, as it’s not good to keep anything on your skin that’s been on it all day.
How much do you need?
You only need a small blob and it’s thick so I use it with moisturiser to help smooth it around my face. Once it’s been a few minutes, I put SPF on over the top which helps to smooth it out even more (and look better).
Don’t forget to apply it on your ears, throat and neck so you’re all one colour!
What are the ingredients?
WATER (AQUA/EAU), GLYCERIN, CAPRYLIC/CAPRIC TRIGLYCERIDE, BUTYLENE GLYCOL, MICA, PVP, SODIUM ACRYLATES COPOLYMER, SYNTHETIC FLUORPHLOGOPITE, MACROCYSTIC PYRIFERA (KELP) EXTRACT, OCTYLDODECANOL, PHENOXYETHANOL, SQUALANE, LECITHIN, ETHYLHEXYLGLYCERIN, SODIUM HYALURONATE, CUCUMIS SATIVUS (CUCUMBER) FRUIT EXTRACT, THEOBROMA CACAO (COCOA) SEED EXTRACT, SODIUM BENZOATE, PISUM SATIVUM (PEA) EXTRACT, POTASSIUM SORBATE, IRON OXIDES (CI 77491), BISMUTH OXYCHLORIDE (CI 77163), IRON OXIDES (CI 77942), IRON OXIDES (CI 77499)
It is fungal acne-safe on both websites I use to check beauty products:
Can you use it with makeup?
Yes! I apply vitamin C first, then this bronzer with moisturiser, and I finish with SPF. Once this is all dry, after 10 minutes, I apply make-up as usual.
Sometimes I use primer after SPF if I need make-up to last. I haven’t noticed a difference in extra oil on my skin but a primer can sometimes add some if my skin is already more oily than usual (think time of the month).
How much is it?
It’s £17 £19.99 at the time of writing, and is available on Amazon. I bought it in April (for £17) and pretty much used it daily, give or take a few days. I’m guessing I have a few weeks left of the tube.
As it’s gone up in price, I wanted to see if it’s available elsewhere. I didn’t realise this but Boots sells it, as well as ASOS, Debenhams and Look Fantastic. All similar prices.
Other bronzers I’ve tried (that aren’t fungal-acne safe)
Last year in the December sale, I decided to buy bronzer from Uncommon Beauty (Kristin Cavallari’s brand). I’d seen her use it and liked the colour, and read the online reviews which are mostly positive – 317 online reviews with a score of 4.7/5.
The bronzer is:
- vegan
- sulfate free
- gluten free
- fragrance free
- phthalate free (no idea what this means but after a google search, it means chemicals used in plastics)
Uncommon Beauty are Leaping Bunny certified which is a huge plus. It means they don’t test on animals and have been checked and properly certified.
It isn’t fungal acne safe:
According to the https://folliculitisscout.com website that I always use to check ingredients, the Uncommon Beauty bronzing drops has 2 ingredients that might cause breakouts: Sorbitan Oleate and Sorbitan Isostearate. I’ve used it for 5 months and haven’t seen an issue from almost-daily use, but I’ve never been properly diagnosed as having fungal acne, I’m only 99% sure myself. So be careful if you decide to try it.
I bought the bronzer on 2nd Dec 2024 so lets say it took a few weeks to arrive (US to UK) and it’s still going – 5 months is pretty good going! I use it every day – but I only use a pea-sized amount, not as much as I see in the ads. It’s great under makeup. I put it on with my morning moisturiser, vitamin C and SPF.
How much is it? I actually got it for free, as I got it in a deal when I bought 2 other products (eye masks / pineapple peptide) but it’s normally $37 for 33ml. Delivery is just over $5 (pretty low for US to UK) so the total converts to around £32.
HOWEVER….. being sneaky I always love a discount code. I’ve used MISSEDYOU20 to get $20 off (yep you read that right). If you sign up and become a regular customer, you can get points to use for future orders too. You can also buy a bundle to get discounts.
Use my friends and family link to get 25% off your first order (plus I get points off my next order, so thank you!):
