Wearing Bobbi Brown Brightening Nudes collection Sparkle Eye Shadow in Sunlight on my eyes, Brightening Finishing Powder on my cheeks and Brightening Lip Gloss in Pink Opal on my lips
Girl meets glitter. Girl wears glitter. Girl leaves a trail of glitter in her wake! — on her husband and her cat — and then slicks a moisturizing lip balm on her lips. 🙂
That’s the Cliff’s Notes version of the Saturday I spent last weekend with the Bobbi Brown Brightening Nudes collection, a new nine-piece limited edition release of shimmery makeup for eyes, faces and lips, available now on counters and bobbibrowncosmetics.com.
With Brightening Nudes, Bobbi wants skin to glow, eyes to sparkle and lips to practically leap from the face, and since the pieces look like the kind of sheer, luminous, lit-from-within makeup I like to wear on weekends, I decided to take it for a spin.
Brightening Lip Gloss
The first thing I did was introduce it to yoga! As I twisted into an awkward triangle pose, I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror. What a pretty pearly glow, I thought, seeing Brightening Lipgloss in Lilac Pearl.
It momentarily distracted me from the burning in my hamstrings (so not stretchy)…
Lilac Pearl’s sticky, thick formula clung to my lips throughout the 90-minute class and the trip to Trader Joe’s I made afterward, but by then my lips felt so dry and tight that I had to pause to apply a layer of moisturizing gloss in the parking lot before driving home.
NOTE: If you have pigmented lips like I do, Lilac Pearl, Pink Opal and Pink Lilac may look very much alike. To my eye, all three of them could be triplets! — or at least close first cousins. $23 each.
MAKEUP AND BEAUTY BLOG RATING: B
Sparkle Eye Shadow
Later, after yoga, the grocery store, and then a shower, lunch and laundry at home, I plopped down on the couch next to El Hub and Tabs for a break.
I started re-watching a few episodes of Downton Abbey, and just as O’Brien committed her dastardly deed with the soap, I spied some sparkle on Tabs’ coat and El Hub’s cheek.
What the what!? Oh, yeah… I’d patted Sparkle Eyes Shadow in Mica on my eyes after my shower, and since Bobbi loaded it with glitter, some of the sparkle must have made its way on to the boys.
For what it’s worth, Mica does seem to adhere better to my skin and transfer less product than most of the other glittery eyeshadows I’ve worn.
As with the Brightening Lip Glosses, sheer is the name of this game. All four of these shadow shades (Silver Moon, Mica, Ballet and Sunlight) deposit very little pigment, so brace yourself for sheer. $28 each.
MAKEUP AND BEAUTY BLOG RATING: B+/A-
By the end of the Downton season finale, my tummy was rumbling for carbs, so El Hub and I hit up a local Italian restaurant for pasta.
Before leaving, I touched up my makeup with a layer of Crystal Glitter Lipgloss on my lips and some Brightening Powder on my cheeks.
From the left: Brightening Lip Gloss in Pink Lilac, Pink Opal and Lilac Pearl ($23 each)
Brightening Finishing Powder ($50)
From the left: Sparkle Eye Shadows in Silver moon, Ballet, Mica and Sunlight ($28 each)
Crystal Glitter Lip Gloss ($18)
Swatches from the left: Brightening Finishing Powder, and Sparkle Eye Shadows in Silver moon, Ballet, Mica and Sunlight
Brightening Lip Gloss in Pink Lilac, Pink Opal and Lilac Pearl; Crystal Glitter Lip Gloss
Sparkle Eye Shadow in Sunlight on my eyes, Brightening Finishing Powder on my cheeks and Brightening Lip Gloss in Pink Opal on my lips
Brightening Finishing Powder
Bobbi made this silky powder into a triple threat. It works as a cheek blush; a highlighter for foreheads, noses and chins; and an all-over face powder.
It whispers on the skin with barely-there pigment and moderately-sized flecks of silver glitter. As I gobbled up my plate of fettuccine, I felt more like a sophisticated lady than a glittering club kid. $50.
MAKEUP AND BEAUTY BLOG RATING: B+
Crystal Glitter Lip Gloss
Thick and sticky Crystal Glitter Lip Gloss easily withstood a glass of wine and a round of gourmet olives, but it gave up the ghost shortly after the main course arrived. Although the large flecks of green, purple, gold and pink glitter sparkle hypnotically in the light, the formula leaves my lips profoundly parched. $18.
MAKEUP AND BEAUTY BLOG RATING: B
All told, I love the sparkles and sheer shades in this collection, but I wish Bobbi had done a little more with a wider range of pigments. Some of these shades look surprisingly similar on my tan skin.
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
Lilac Pearl looks so pretty in the tube! The swatches look very similar on your arm, can you see a difference between the three when on your lips?
Nope, I actually mention that in the last paragraph of the “Brightening Lip Gloss” section of the review.
D’oh! I’ll chalk this one up to “ready to go home”!
No worries! I get the same way ’round 5, LOL!
This is so nice. Simple and nice.
Yeah, it’s not falshy, but there’s some nice sparkle!
You look so fresh and pretty!
Did you only put one color of eyeshadow on your eyes? They look so bright. Love them!
Hi Sefa,
Yup, just one — Sunlight!
Thanks for this review. I was wondering about the glosses. This is my version of “nude” everyday lip colour as I don’t wear actual nudes. Have so many blue based baby pink glosses but I guess you can never have to many lol
True that! You can never have enough lipgloss, period. 🙂
i agree with your observation that the shades look so similar. its a surprisingly one note collection, but i know it will appeal to some!
Hi Nina,
Sometimes you just need a some glitter! This collection should come in handy then…
Thanks for the review, Karen! I love the packaging of this collection, but I more or less knew the colors wouldn’t work too well on me. I love Bobbi Brown, but I guess not EVERYTHING they have will be a great success on everyone.
At least we know there’s always something new coming around the corner, right? That’s one thing I love about makeup.
Glad to know I’m not the only person who finds Bobbi Brown lip products drying… I read so many reviews saying her gloss is balm like I ended up buying (and returning) 4 of them! They were like glue (and I normally don’t mind a thick gloss) and left my lips parched… Not to mention that nasty powdery vanilla scent!
You’re not alone Stephanie! I’ve tried so many BB lippies over the years and found all of them to be the makeup equivalent of the desert. You couldn’t pay me to buy or wear BB lip products. And yet the blogs rave non-stop about their greatness. Thanks for your post, i thought I was the only one that experienced this.
It’s actually really pretty. You look like you’re glowing, in a good way, not a nuclear meltdown way. 🙂 Sorry to hear about the glosses, though. There’s nothing more discouraging than having your lips feel even dryer after applying a lip product.
I’m not really digging this collection, all the shades appear similar though they do give a nice glow!
Lovely colors! It’s shiny, discrete and very elegant! Love these nude colors!
These colors look so pretty but I am very surprised at how similar they are. Still, your eyes do look bright and pretty (in a simple way for days when it’s good to be simple). I will check it out but I’m not sure they sold me on this.