Drugstore Must-Haves: Physicians Formula Bronze Booster Palettes

This post has been sponsored by Physicians Formula. All opinions are my own.

I’m pretty critical of contour and highlighting palettes. I think it takes a lot to make them great— you need the right shades, the right amount of blendability, and of course pigmentation. When the Physicians Formula Bronze Booster Highlight & Contour palettes were revealed earlier this year, I got to see them up close and personal right before launch. If you didn’t catch me on the brand’s Instagram story, I was literally squealing with excitement because these, my friends, are drugstore gems. When I first posted about them on Instagram back in March, it seemed you all were just as stoked. So let’s take a closer look, shall we?

The palettes, available on the Physicians Formula site and in stores at Rite Aid, come in two versions: Shimmer Glow and Matte Sculpting. As the name suggests, one has entirely shimmery shades to highlight and bronze a variety of skin tones while the other is solely for contouring and adding dimension to the face. I think both are must-haves, as they work very well together to create a spotlight-ready look.

The Bronze Booster Palette in Matte Sculpting has three shades: a warm, deep brown, a cool medium brown and a light eggshell shade. I typically mix the two contour options to get my perfect sculpting shade. The deep shade brings the pigmentation while the cool shade neutralizes it for a more natural look. Or, use them separately depending on your skin tone and the result you’re looking for. If you want to do a subtle highlight, or want to set luminizing concealer, the eggshell shade will come in clutch.

Then, we have the Bronze Booster Palette in Shimmer Glow. My oh my, was this exciting when I first laid eyes on it. Again, we have three shades: a warm bronze with gold shimmer, a champagne shimmer, and a straight up white glowy shade. I was so surprised to see how much pigment these gave off, and knew I’d be reaching for it when I want a show-stopping glow.

How I use the palettes:

1. First, I mix the two contour shades in the Matte Sculpting palette together, and blend them into the hollows of my cheeks using the included brush.
2. Next, I apply my blush of choice. For this look, I used the Physicians Formula Butter Blush in Rosy Pink.
3. For glam looks, I’ll top off the look using the lightest highlight shade in the Shimmer Glow palette. For more natural or everyday looks, I’ll use the middle champagne shade.

Both palettes have knockout formulas. The Matte Sculpting palette has the texture similar to the brand’s Butter Blush: smooth, soft and blendable. Shimmer Glow has a little bit more of a creamier feel to it, but the brush still picks up and blends the shades easily.

While the palettes can be used for everyday subtle face contouring, I find myself going all out with them because… well, I can! These deliver the most dramatic contouring that I love for glam looks that I’ve been able to achieve with drugstore products. Side note: the brush included with the palettes (which is stored in a hidden compartment under the pans) is actually decent! I used them for the look above.

You can get the Physicians Formula Bronze Booster Palettes in stores at Rite-Aid or on the brand’s website Be sure to follow me on Instagram, since we’re going to be doing a giveaway with these soon!

Have you tried the new Bronze Booster palettes?