Recent purchases - Bobbi Brown Pretty Powerful Palette, Pink Oyster Shimmerbrick, Glitter lip gloss Baby pictures

I really struggle to find time to do proper swatches especially for makeup items- lighting has so much to do with how the pictures turn out when it comes to swatches (not so much product itself).

Well here are some pictures first, for Bobbi Brown and the theme is pink!

Bobbi Brown Pink Oyster Shimmerbrick- I think this was limited edition for 2010- but it still floats around ebay and maybe those US outlets.

2. Bobbi Brown Pretty Powerful Palette - this was 2011 I think.

Contains: Ivory eyeshadow, pink flannel eyeshadow, pink chiffon shimmer wash, chocolate caviar eyeshadow.

The blush is "Pretty pink" which is a limited edition color to this palette.

Also contains  "soiree pink " glitter lip gloss , bubble bath lipigloss and sandwash pink lip color.

The last one is Bobbi Brown glitter lip gloss in #31 Baby.

Personally this is probably the most gimmicky Bobbi Brown item (not sure why I purchased it either given I'm not a fan of pan lipglosses). It's pretty sheer and the shimmers are like the name suggested, on the glittery side.

It's gradually warming up in Sydney (seems like it went from winter straight to summer...where did the spring go...)

What are your recent pink purchases?

Bobbi Brown Bare Sparkle 15 High Shimmer Lip Gloss review/ swatch

Bobbi Brown released a bunch of the new "High Shimmer Lip Gloss" shades in 2011. I grabbed what seemed like a nice nude pink shade in "Bare Sparkles" online.

This shows you the importance of reading other online reviews or trying to find some swatches. It looks gorgeous like a champagne pink shimmer lipgloss in the tube. Comes in an elongated tube which contains a decent 7ml size.

Here it is again under a slightly more yellow light which brings out the peach tone. I would really say this is more a nude champagne- peach (and less pink).

Now for the (disappointing) swatches. It really just looks like this. you can see the base color is practically clear- the sparkles are just bits of champagne pale gold shimmers.

On the lips for me it's really just a clear lipgloss with some sparkles. It's not supepr high shine or high shimmer like the name suggested either.

I was eating before taking the swatch so you can see my lips are a bit naturally redder in the middle - and this does not cover or even out my lipcolors at all. Basically you should think of this as a clear lipgloss.

Everything else about this gloss was at best, average. You can find 40580182481 drugstore lipgloss like this at a fraction of the price. The formula is ok, not ultra sticky but it's not as smooth and luscious as Armani lip shimmer or as 'crystal' like gloss as Chanel aqualumiere glosses either. This gets a 2/5 from me.

Bobbi Brown Hydrating Eye Cream Review

I haven't tried many of Bobbi Brown's skincare range- I got 3 of the Hydrating Eye Cream (mini version- 3ml) during some purchase a few months ago, I've already gone through a pot of this and onto my 2nd pot.

The full size ones are 15ml , so I figured I've used about 4-5 ml so far and can give an adequate review.

The consistency is like a whipped cream/ souffle, not all that airy but just velvety, which I love. It doesn't feel oily or greasy or heavy on the skin, instead it feels like a soffule.

On the skin:

Blended in (sorry I went a bit happy with the cropping and before I knew it I saved over the original file!)

Basically it sinks in very quickly, but you can feel your underye area is still hydrated and protected.

Overall 4/5. It's a very nice basic eyecream. Personally I don't believe in all these claims many eyecreams make about anti-aging, hydrating, anti-fatique and anti-circles etc etc. I have problems with dark circles and puffyness, and obviously this doesn't cure them. However it keeps my undereyes very nicely hydrated and goes wonderfully well under my makeup or concealer. It doesn't make my concealer turn lumpy or powdery looking.

It works on top of my eyelid too without making my eyes puffy the next morning.

ASccording to BB website, this retails for 46USD (what?!!) for 15ml.

Bobbi Brown's descriptions are:

This quick-absorbing eye cream delivers naturally-occurring humectants that melt into the skin, leaving the eye area soft, smooth and refreshed for up to 24 hours. A perfect level of emollients imparts a lightweight texture, allowing concealer to glide on evenly - Aloe Vera and Witch Hazel Extract soothe and comfort; Jojoba Seed, Avocado Oil and Squalane condition and revive continuously.


Usage: Apply with fingers, patting gently around eye area. Make sure cream is fully absorbed before applying concealer.

I suppose it does what it promises, but not sure if it's worth the $46 pricetag.

Bobbi Brown Brush Cleansing Spray review

Those with many makeup brushes might know what a chore it is to try to clean them regularly. Luckily Australia has one of the most dry climates in the world so at least airing makeup brushes dry is not too difficult...

My usual brush cleanser is the MAC brush cleanser. It does the job fairly well so I'm on my 2nd or 3rd bottle already, haven't thought of switching.


Then I saw the new Bobbi Brown brush cleansing spray- which is meant to be used to keep your brushes clean between regular washes. e.g. if you used your blush brush, then decided you wanted to apply another blush color in the next 5minutes- but your brush is dirty, what do you do?

Bobbi Brown brush cleasning spray- simply spray a few spritz on a clean tissue (or kitchen paper towels are better I think...because they have less fluff). Then brush your dirty brush over the paper towel, until no more color comes off.

Here's back of box- it say sit's alcohol-free, spray formula designed to clean brushes instantly between makeup applications. You can use it for both natural and synthetic brushes.

Spray nozzle.

Here goes the test- two brushes- one is Calvin Klein powder brush (limited edition- unavailable now), the other is Sonia Kashuk skunk brush (not fantastic- but they are cheap and works with pigmented blushes,  so I have 2 of them so I don't have to keep cleaning my brushes). You can see they both need some clean- especially the original white tip of the skunk brush needs some clean as it's now stained pink.

Both of these brushes are synethic bristles.

Here's the after- the top tissue is clean, bottom tissue was sprayed with 3 spritz of the Bobbi Brown brush cleansing spray, then I just swiped the dirty brushes over the tissue on the bottom 5 or 6 times each.
Any traces of blush powder or color comes right off.

You can see the color stays on the bottom tissue now (compared to the new tissue on the top).

Here are the brushes after cleaning. Honestly they look as good as if I did a proper wash in water then airdry, with MAC brush cleanser.

 

Probably need to use kitchen paper towel next time, as tissues have some fluff so it's picked up in the picture below on the left brush (not because there's any residue left on the bristles).

But you can see how clean the skunk brush is, the bristle restored to white. They are pretty much instantaneously dry. I still swipe a few more times on a clean tissue just to make sure any remaining cleansing spray is removed, after all the brush comes in direct contact with your skin.

It's 3.38fl oz or 100ml, which must last for ages!

Only issue I might mention is, even though the bottle is not aerosol or pressurized can, I ordered this from overseas and during transit I think there was some minor liquid seeping out (the bottle was in tact and no further spillage experienced). So I'd assume the bottle is not fully air tight so pressure during air transit probably just forced some liquid out.

Overall 5/5.

It does the job, while it shouldn't replace a full brush clean, it's great for inbetween cleans. I can imagine it works wonders for those people who use several eyeshadow brushes from day to day. This would make life very easy!

Bobbi Brown Nude Eyes Palette 2010

Very quick review and lots of pics!

Bobbi Brown releases various eyeshadow palettes throughout the year, seems like at least for recent years, every year a nude eyes palette would be released, with a slight variation of eyeshadow colors (and finishes).
Bobbi Brown Nude Eyes Palette- I think this is a 2010 version. Unfortunately BB doesn't quite name them very differently so when you say Nude Eyes Palette from Bobbi Brown, there are probably over 5 versions out there.

From left to right the colors are:


1. Navajo Eyeshadow (plain vanilla white), not sure why Bobbi Brown almost compulsively include this eyeshadow in every single one of the nude eyeshadow palettes and often some other palettes, I find it a bit flat and boring. It works as a base, but not too exciting.

2. Pebble Metallic Eyeshadow (light silvery neutral/cool brown, with a light tinge of grey)

3. Chino eyeshadow (a sand grey, in a satin finish, no shimmer). Personally I'd rather another more exciting shade, Chino is also duped in various palettes quite often.

4. Beige Linen Shimmer Wash eyeshadow (a shimmery beige neutral, about same depth as Pebble- they are not very dark colors, probably used as accent or crease shade, not really for lining)

5. Maple Sugar metallic eyeshadow ( a beautiful brown sugar color, really does remind me of how raw sugar looks like, with a touch more brown. It's shimmery).

6. Caviar eyeshadow (matte charcoal black)- another snooze shade Bobbi seems to love to include in all the palettes.

Overall it's a lovely nude eyeshadow palette, I wish there'd be a more exciting shade for darker colors. They could easily take out Caviar and Navojo eyeshadows since it's duplicated in almost every single palette Bobbi Brown releases, I don't particularly collect the palettes from each season, even so I think I must have about 3-4 of Navajo and Caviar lying around!

It comes in the new palette format- so the individual eyeshadow duo pans can be popped out. I love the design. Wish they'd release a 8 pan eventually so I can put all my BB blushes in one place.

I also like how the eyeshadows are not full sized pans of one color, effectively it's like 4-full sized eyeshadow contents but you get 8 colors since the pans are split. You cannot buy eyeshadow duo pans like this from BB's regular line.

Overall rating : 4/5

Buy this if you want an eyeshadow palette on the go- however if you have a few nude/neutral / brown eyeshadows from previous Bobbi Brown collections, you can probably skip this.

Bobbi Brown Cream Blush Stick #1 Pale Pink review/ swatch

Bobbi Brown Cream Blush Stick is in a metal black tube like the foundation sticks, however it contains 4.3g of product (and foundation stick contains 9.5g.

Top is the foundation stick and bottom is blush stick:

Here's #1 Pale Pink- Interestingly I have pale pink in the powder form and they are NOTHING alike. The pale pink powder blush from Bobbi Brown is a hot baby doll pink, while the pale pink in cream blush stick is a peachy pink.

Here's how it looks when swiped straight onto the skin. On left it's on top of the Bobbi Brown foundation in #02 sand, on right it's on clean skin. You can see it doesn't change much color even when applied on top of foundation.

 Here it is blended out, on clean skin on the very left blended very sheerly, on the very right a bit heavier. In the middle it's blended on top of foundation in #02 sand again. The color when applied on my skin is honestly just a peachy pink, no other fancy way to describe it. It has more pink than peach.

 Overall 4/5. The color is very pretty. The stick blush is of high quality for a cream blush, and it blends out really easily on the cheek without looking blotchy.

It is now discontinued and replaced by the pot rouges and sheer color cheek tints.

Bobbi Brown Foundation Stick Sand 02 review/ swatch

Bobbi Brown foundation stick is a 9.5g twist up stick foundation in a metal tube in the Bobbi Brown signature black packaging. It does attract fingerprint and get scratched pretty easily in the makeup bag.

The product retails for 41USD which is rather steep for 9.5 grams. However as with most stick type of base makeup products they tend to be thicker in texture and a bit stretches a long way.

I'm using shade #02 Sand, which is the 4th lightest color it seems (lightest is 00 Alabaster, 0 Porcelain, 1 Warm Ivory then 02 sand). However on the Bobbi Brown website the swatch seems like #02 sand is lighter than warm ivory?

I do think #02 sand is reasonably light enough. I generally wear the lightest color or 2nd lightest shade from most foundation brands and this would be about equivalent shade compared to other brands.

I got this a while ago, the packaging has changed since, it will no longer say 'essentials' I think.

It is same size as the cream blush stick which I find quite odd. Either the blush contains too much quantity or this contains too little? =P

Here it is- #02 sand is a lightly yellow based tone. Suitable for Asian pale skin tones.

With flash:

With indoor light and no flash:

Here it is on the skin with 1 swipe- you can see how creamy it is- but it's not entirely buttery smooth

Spreaded out- yes it blends right into my skin

Overall the coverage is medium buildable. However I think the biggest problem is the consistency- while it's creamy and soft and spreadable, it slips and slides off the skin very quickly, especially used over face as a foundation. I don't even have oily skin anymore, in fact on most days my skin is on slightly dry side.

It works OK as an undereye concealer, but by no means comparable to my Cle de peau stick concealer. Which leaves this foundation of little use other than portability for touchups (and you can use fingers instead of sponges). It also looks a bit ashy as an undereye concealer, despite being a good color match, like the color sort of sit on top of my dark circles instead of blending into it and diffusing the circle.

It also seems to melt off whatever other makeup I apply on top of this (e.g. pressed powder to set) and after 4 hrs I get really patchy looking foundation face.

Overall 2/5. You are better off buying a good quality stick concealer, or use other proper foundations.

Probably would suit someone with dry skin in good condition with not too much blemishes to cover, then you can just spot dot this and blend quickly and set with powder for a literally 3 minute makeup base. That being said how many of us are blessed with that lucky skin.