Soft Touch Butter Bronzer
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Essence Site →Amazon →Ulta →Summary of Reviews
Essence Soft Touch Butter Bronzer has a silky, blendable formula that applies like a cream and blurs into the skin, with several creators praising its natural, non-orange undertones. Professional makeup artist Julia Adams MUA notes it's a "soft builder" that builds at your own pace without panic blending, while one creator with a neutral golden skin tone found shade 10 too red and disappointing. It's affordable at around $6, has a light coconut scent, and holds up well throughout the day without fading or going patchy.
Full Reviews
Positive
Variant: 10 whipped buttercup
- “This is a powder bronzer, but it doesn't really have any kickback and it blends in, as the name suggests, like butter into the skin”3:55–4:02
- “You can't over apply this”4:05–4:09
- “It applies in almost an instant blur on the skin”4:07–4:12
- “It just creates this filter wherever you apply it”4:14–4:20
- “It is very clearly a powder, but it applies like a cream”4:35–4:42
- “It's not patchy”
- “This is an amazing, amazing bronzer”
- “Can't think of a bronzer that is quite as soft and blurring as this”4:47–4:56
- Source: 11 new drugstore makeup products better than high-end - Jun 1, 2026
- “I feel like that's maybe slightly silkier and a little bit softer”9:32–9:39
- “Their new soft touch butter bronzers do come in a variety of shades”9:39–9:45
- Source: I tried all of the newest essence makeup (what's truly worth trying) - Jun 11, 2026
Variant: 10 whipped buttercup
- “I find I really have been preferring to put a cream bronzer down first because it just melts into the skin and looks really even, and then I'll use a nice soft bronzer that's very sheer and silky to set it, and it doesn't get patchy or stick”9:06–9:15
- “It just softens everything”9:27–9:30
- “It's also beautiful on its own on the skin, by the way”9:44–9:50
- “Very, very silky application, once again. Just kind of rolls over the skin”9:47–9:55
- Source: Products I'm obsessed with right now - Jun 19, 2026
Variant: 10 whipped buttercup
- “This has been my go-to bronzer”22:49–22:53
- “This just looks so good on the skin”23:10–23:16
- “It is very smooth, super easy to apply”23:13–23:19
- “If you are someone who finds that a lot of powder bronzers are very patchy, they look muddy, they don't look good on you, try this formula”23:16–23:22
- “It's an effortless formula”
- Source: My #1 favorite makeup product in every category - May 13, 2026
- “I have no issue with this fading on me throughout the day”23:06–23:09
- “It looks so good from like the moment I apply it till the moment I wash it off at the end of the day”23:08–23:13
- “It blends out beautifully”23:13–23:17
- “It kind of has like a light coconut beachy scent, which you might not love if you don't like scented makeup products, but for me, it just it strikes me as like a summertime product”23:15–23:19
- “The undertone of this is perfect”23:39–23:42
- “It doesn't look super orangey on my skin at all. It just adds like the perfect hint of warmth”23:44–23:49
- Source: Best drugstore makeup for hot weather - May 18, 2026
Variant: 20 golden buttercream
- “This is like a cream to powder bronzer and have really been enjoying this as well”17:10–17:20
- “This is definitely more warm toned than the Morphe one, but it just blends out so so beautifully on the skin. It doesn't look patchy or anything”16:50–17:00
- “I don't have any other bronzer formula like this in my collection with this being like a cream to powder. And it was really affordable, too”17:10–17:15
- “This bronzer was only $5.99 at Ulta”17:27–17:33
- “I just can't get over how beautiful this is for being as affordable as it is”17:42–17:47
- “I just feel like it melts into the skin beautifully and like I said, it just it blends super easy. It doesn't look patchy. It's such a beautiful color, especially for summer”
- Source: Full face of the best affordable makeup of April 2026 - May 2, 2026
Variant: 10 whipped buttercup
- “It's so good”
- “It's a very easy product to apply”11:27–11:31
- “I really like the undertone of this bronzer”11:32–11:37
- “It doesn't really have that like reddish orangey kind of undertone to it, which is kind of hard to find in the drugstore”11:41–11:45
- Source: My everyday summer makeup bag - Jun 16, 2026
Variant: 10 whipped buttercup
- “Again, you can already tell this is not orange”10:28–10:32
- “This has even more of that yellowy undertone that I was talking about”10:40–10:45
- “It's a very smooth bronzer, which I appreciate”10:47–10:51
- Source: Sunkissed makeup for summer: bronzy, glowy look - Jun 23, 2026
Variant: 10 whipped buttercup
- “This is a really good bronzer. I feel like it's really smoothing”4:07–4:13
- “It is super easy to blend”4:13–4:18
- “I feel like Essence like nailed this formulation like 100%”4:15–4:21
- “The shade works really good for me right now because I'm really pale. But if I get any tan, I need to pick up a new shade of this”4:19–4:23
- “I've tried this before and it does last a lot”
- Source: Trying Essence's New Makeup Products - Jul 8, 2026
Variant: 10 whipped buttercup
- “This is a very soft matte bronzer”29:39–29:43
- “It's supposed to look really, really natural, and I like that about it”29:53–30:01
- “I actually find this one a little bit easier to work with”30:03–30:11
- “It's really, really buildable”
- Source: Full face of new Essence makeup: hits, misses & absolute gems - Mar 23, 2026
- “I really like this one. It feels very similar to the Rare Beauty one actually, but just in a more neutral tone”8:43–8:50
- “It's a soft builder as well, so you don't go in too much product and you have to sit there and panic blend or restart. It's one you can build up at your own pace, which I love”9:19–9:24
- Source: Best and worst of latest makeup launches - Feb 25, 2026
Variant: 10
- “This shade is looking very pretty and natural. Just gave me some color and some warmth without looking orangey at all but also not too cool toned”11:49–11:53
- “I really like this bronzer shade by the way”13:40–13:44
- “Very happy about this bronzer discovery because this shade is beautiful, specifically the shade 10”24:58–25:01
- Source: Affordable drugstore makeup under $15 - Jun 3, 2026
Variant: 10 whipped buttercup
- “This smells very very strongly of coconut. So, if you do not like that, this is a pass”22:04–22:12
- “This is a really nice shade, you guys. I was really impressed with this shade”22:31–22:35
- “It's kind of just like this light muted caramel shade. It's quite light in actual depth”22:33–22:43
- “But I can just see some of you that want warmth without going really warm would really enjoy this one”22:43–22:49
- “It has this really nice kind of satiny finish to it. It's not really matte and again not super luminous. Just looks really natural on the skin”22:49–22:57
- “This is some of the cheapest packaging I've ever experienced. But if you do not care about that and you just want a good formula, something to maybe even like just like throw into your purse, yeah, I think that this is a good one”
- “Definitely more of a subtle bronze on me, but I really enjoy that”23:14–23:17
- Source: Best bronzers, ever. (No more orange!) - Jul 12, 2026
Variant: 10 whipped buttercup
- “This one is perfect if you want something that's not quite as pigmented as L'Oreal. It's definitely softer and more natural looking”23:13–23:17
- “I really enjoy this, but there's only four shades”23:19–23:25
- Source: Everyday drugstore makeup routine - Jun 14, 2026
Variant: 10 whipped buttercup
- “Love the way this smells”
- “Kind of tropical, ultra smooth and buildable”9:50–9:59
- “This I really like because it is so natural”10:00–10:04
- “I feel like their single bronzers are nice because they're never muddy and they just have a nice buildable blendable formula”10:02–10:08
- “The other one is very light”10:14–10:17
- “Doesn't show up a ton”
- “I agree with the name of these. Soft touch is right”10:32–10:39
- Source: Full face of Essence makeup under $10 - Mar 28, 2026
Variant: 10 whipped buttercup
- “This also is a really nice match for my skin tone. It's not too dark, it's not too orange”26:33–26:38
- “It's lightweight and definitely on the thinner side for a powder, which I like in this case. I feel like it allows you to just build it up more without it looking heavy or harsh”26:07–26:11
- “It has a natural matte finish and holds up nicely with wear as well. It doesn't go patchy. It doesn't majorly fade”26:27–26:33
- “This is also a really great bronzer for something that is softer”26:36–26:40
- “$5.99. Like, that's so amazing”
- “The fact that there's only four shades really stinks because that means it's obviously not going to be an option for a lot of people”26:55–26:58
- Source: I tried 27 new drugstore beauty launches - May 17, 2026
Variant: 10 whipped buttercup
- “I have a few items in their line. So, I got two shades in the bronzer because I wasn't sure. I got the shades whipped buttercup and golden buttercream”2:33–2:40
- “I'm going to try the very light one”
- “It is on the more yellowy ochre side, which I do prefer over like orange or red”3:53–4:00
- “I like how soft it is”
- “The blendability was really easy”4:06–4:09
- “It's a more silky hydrated formula”3:36–3:41
- “It's on the more subtle side, but it does have a bit of like a healthy sheen to it without being able to see a physical pearl, but it has that really natural finish that still adds dimension”3:24–3:30
- “I did build it up so I could really see where I could get it”4:02–4:06
- Source: Drugstore Makeup That Surprised Me - Jan 14, 2026
Variant: 20 golden buttercream
- “This shade is my tanner shade. Looks fine but I like the lighter one better”12:26–12:32
- Source: Affordable drugstore makeup under $15 - Jun 3, 2026
Variant: 20 golden buttercream
- “I actually think the color golden buttercream is better cuz the other one is very light”
- “So, this is a better shade”7:30–7:33
- Source: Full face of Essence makeup under $10 - Mar 28, 2026
Variant: 20 golden buttercream
- “This is a good shade for how pale I am”19:24–19:28
- Source: Full face of Essence Cosmetics - Feb 7, 2026
Variant: 20 golden buttercream
- “This is my Essence Soft Touch Bronzer”
- Source: No touch-ups needed drugstore coverage routine - Mar 3, 2026
Mixed / Negative
Variant: 40 Chocolate Buttercream
- “I can't really use this as a bronzer, like traditional bronzer”11:13–11:15
- “It's just too red for my neutral golden skin tone”11:48–11:51
- “The pigment is really good”11:54–11:54
- “Beautiful as a blush bronzer”11:51–11:51
- “This is just very disappointing”12:11–12:12
- “This is just too red for any beauty in my skin tone range”
- “This just didn't do what it was supposed to do”12:22–12:26
- “This is an okay at best product”12:31–12:32
- Source: Judging viral beauty products everyone's buying - Jun 9, 2026
What creators say
- Consensus
- 4.2 / 5 from 13 creator reviewsGrailPeople ratings based on creator reviews.
- Good for
- Fair skin tones (1)
- Features
- Easy to use (8) · Blendable (8) · Buildable (6) · Creamy (5) · Natural finish (4)
- Value
- Value for money (3)
- ⚠ creators flagged issues with wide shade range (2)
- ⚠ may not match olive skin tones (1)
- ⚠ creators flagged issues with pigmented (1)
- ⚠ scent some found off-putting (1)
- ⚠ packaging issues noted (1)
Product details
Details
- Type
- bronzer
- Finish
- matte
- Shade
- 10 whipped buttercup
- Key ingredients
- Mica, Dimethicone, Boron Nitride, Ethylhexyl Palmitate, Silica, Bis-Diglyceryl Polyacyladipate-2, Octyldodecyl Stearoyl Stearate, Magnesium Stearate, Caprylyl Glycol, Triethoxycaprylylsilane
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