Bobbi Brown Holiday 2015 Sterling Nights Collection and Holiday Gift Giving Highlights

I prepared a video for this review of the new Bobbi Brown Holiday 2015 collection, including some of my favorite highlights from the launch, but then a gremlin attacked my ankles and forced me to unwittingly erase the memory card. In other words, technical difficulties struck, so now we’re ad libbing video-free, whee!

Yup, just as a friendly reminder from me to you — don’t forget to back up your work early and often.

I’m just sayin’.

With that out of the way, check it out…

The new Bobbi Brown Holiday 2015 collection is divided into two parts — one comprised of gift sets, palettes and brush kits, and and the other a limited edition color collection called Sterling Nights.

We’ll be taking a look at some of the pieces that struck my fancy from both parts of the launch.

First up, Sterling Nights, the color collection. It’s been on counters now for about a month, and Bobbi says that she was inspired to create the collection after a recent trip she took to South Africa.

The look is all about shimmery, jewel-toned smoky eyes, luminous skin and your choice of bright or nude lips.

I was struck by how intense the $36 Sequin Eye Shadows are, considering that they’re from Bobbi. Baked shadows with a domed shape, they can be worn wet or dry, and they’re pretty shiny. They also exhibit very little fallout.

For a quick smoky eye, I like to layer them atop a darker base, then buff out the edges.

Also, if you end up grabbing one, be careful. As you can see from the shattered pan of Moon Rock, they’re delicate.

The collection also includes three $35 Face Highlighters in Pink, Seashell and Sunlight Bronze. They’re designed to be able to be worn by people of all skin tones.

I’ve mostly been wearing Pink and Seashell…

Liquid face highlighters with a pearlescent finish, you can either dab them directly on your skin before foundation or tinted moisturize, or after. Or, you can actually mix them directly with your foundation or tinted moisturizer, and then apply that concoction with your base makeup.

I’ve tried them a bunch of different ways, and I don’t have a fave. They’re definitely subtle, and they have a fresh, natural sheen just shy of shiny. I like the results.

The way they look reminds me of the BECCA Shimmering Skin Perfectors, but with less pearl. I really like them a lot, although I wish you got more product for the price.

The glass bottle also makes me nervous! I entirely expect to drop one on the floor eventually.

And then there are the $27 Lip Colors.

One of my favorite things about Bobbi is how she just goes for it when she does bright lip colors, so I’m loving these. They’re just shy of opaque and have a nice sheen to them. Despite having good coverage, they still don’t look heavy on the lips or settle into lip lines, so yay! When it comes to lipsticks for mature lip lovers, Bobbi knows what’s up.

As for the 10 gift sets in the collection, my favorites are the four below, starting with the Rich Caramel Eye Palette ($49).

Mmm… Rich caramel…

One of two limited edition eyeshadow palettes in the release (the other, Greystone, has cooler tones of gray and brown), Rich Caramel is the warmer option. It houses two new shades, Rich Caramel Shimmer Wash Eye Shadow and Toasted Cinnamon Sparkle, and three re-promoted colors from the permanent line called Cream, Bellini and Rich Caviar.

I think of Rich Caramel as a weekend, “I gotta get out the door” eye palette because the shades aren’t very high contrast, which means that they don’t require a lot of time to blend. They’re also moderately pigmented, which is another thing that makes them easy to blend.

On top of a primer, the shadows last all day on me and don’t settle into my fine lines.

Perfect for subtle, natural makeup looks. 🙂

I know that Bobbi’s propensity for low levels of pigment in her shadows frustrates some makeup lovers who like intense eyeshadows, but ya know…there’s a time and a place for less intense looks, like when I’m chillin’ with my family or going to a meeting for work.

When time is of the essence and/or I’m feeling lazy, these are great.

Just keep that in mind when you check these out and you notice the low level of pigment.

On that note, say howdy to the $85 Deluxe Cheek & Eye Palette.

Like Rich Caramel, it’s limited edition, but it contains eight powder eyeshadows and two powder blushes, all of which are designed for all skin tones, but I’m thinking that some of the cooler-toned shades in the two-tiered palette might be slightly more flattering on cool-toned gals.

Most of the powders in the palette are re-promotes, by the way. Both of the blushes, Desert Rose and Pale pink, are re-promotes, as are six of the eight eyeshadows (Ivory, Cement Sparkle, Mica Sparkle, Golden Bronze Metallic, Pale Rose and Caviar). The only new shades are Lilac Haze and Steel Grey.

Like the Rich Caramel Eye Palette, these aren’t pigmented powerhouses. They’re definitely less pigmented than an average product over at MAC or NARS. That said, you can boost ’em by applying them on top of a cream shadow or wetting your brush first, so you do have options.

Regarding the new $47 Shimmer Brick in Pink, it’s a warm, pearly pink, and you know the Shimmer Brick drill — you can use the individual colors as eyeshadows, or swirl them all together and use them as a highlighter, which is how I use them most of the time.

With a finish very much like BECCA’s Shimmering Skin Perfector Pressed, the combined highlighter is noticeably shiny and borderline frosty, but you can turn the shimmer up or down. Totally up do you. I like it because of how wondrously good it is to my pores and fine lines.

I also think the combined pinkish highlighter color is super pretty. It has a touch of warm bronze, which really complements pink, peach and bronze blushes.

Last, but not least, the $61 the Art Stick Trio, which includes three of Bobbi’s full-size, full-coverage Art Stick lipsticks with a matte finish and a creamy formula.

If you bought each of the Art Sticks separately, they’d be $28 each ($84 for three), so you’re getting a price break-ish, sort of, for three of them with the trio.

I love Bobbi’s Art Sticks. They’re total unsung heroes in her lip line — intense, long wearing and easy to apply, although I think it helps, if you have dry lips like I do, to prep your lips beforehand with a lip balm.

If you see anything ya like, the Bobbi Brown Holiday 2015 collection is available meow at Bobbi Brown counters and online.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen