bobbi brown

Bobbi B. is back with a new makeup collection for summer, and judging by the look of things, she’s been chillin’ at la playa.

The new Bobbi Brown Almost Bare Collection, available now in stores and online, looks just like a day at the beach. As she so often does, Bobbi kept things simple and clean, incorporating two dark matte bronzers, three glittery glosses and a repromoted scent (from where the collection gets its name). I think the products seem more Mexican Riviera than Jersey Shore, but the two bronzers, which are both quite dark, will probably thrill Snooks all the way from the top of her pouf down to her Uggs.

“From bronzers to the light shimmery glosses, The Almost Bare Collection creates the gorgeous sun kissed look you get after a day at the beach, one of my favorite sources of inspiration.

— Bobbi Brown

High Shimmer Lip Glosses, $22 each

From left to right: Bellini, Citrus and Pink Tulle

Am I the only gal who gets grumpy about tiny 0.14-oz. tubes of $20+ gloss? I bet I’m not. By comparison to 0.17-oz. MAC Lipglasses, these new 0.24-oz. limited edition High Shimmer Lip Glosses are practically huge! And they come with a doe-foot applicator, too.

Despite the glitter they contain (there’s a lot, but it’s not party glitter), they don’t feel gritty. They also don’t feel sticky, either, which surprised me considering how thick they are. The sheer-to-medium pigmentation makes them easy to apply. As for taste and scent, let me put it this way: Violet Beauregarde would probably approve. 🙂 Both faintly remind me of spearmint gum.

They’re still kind of expensive, but I can’t wait to wear these to the beach! MAKEUP AND BEAUTY BLOG RATING: B+

Bronzing Powders, $33 each

Rich Cocoa (left) and Deep Chocolate (right)

I’ve always loved how Bobbi caters to a wide range of skin tones (remember how hard it was to get good colors for brown girls back in the ’80s and ’90s?). This release comes with two limited edition Bronzing Powders perfect for darker-skinned damsels. The Deep Chocolate and Rich Cocoa Bronzing Powders contain a blend of red and brown tones, which Bobbi says mimic and complement real tans.

I like the colors and how smooth they feel, but I wish they shimmered, as mattes tend to take me longer to blend. I’m more of swipe-and-go girl when it comes to bronzers, but if you’re willing to spend the time, I can see liking these a lot. MAKEUP AND BEAUTY BLOG RATING: B

Swatches from the left: Rich Cocoa, Deep Chocolate, Bellini, Pink Tulle and Citrus

Rich Cocoa on face and Citrus on lips
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Bobbi Brown Rich Lip Color in Plum Rose

I like to think of Bobbi Brown’s newest spring release as the lipstick equivalent of a DVF wrap dress and a pair of Jimmy Choos. A combination of opaque color and subtle shine, the Bobbi Brown Rich Lip Color SPF 12 Lipsticks ($22 each) create a dressed-up lip look that’s neither too formal nor too stuffy — like business casual for your lips (with just a smidgen of sex appeal for flava).

The 12 Bobbi Brown Rich Lip Color shades

Lightweight and smooth, these unscented, unflavored lipsticks provide the kind of full color coverage more common of creams and mattes with thicker textures, and they do it at a pretty good price (for a department store line).

Today I tried four of the 12 shades in Bikini Pink (a cool pink), Sweet Nectar (a pinkish coral), Plum Rose (a plummy rose) and Old Hollywood (an orangey red), and judging by these, Bobbi wasn’t messing around in the pigment department. These are intense!

Bobbi Brown Rich Lip Colors from the left: Old Hollywood, Sweet Nectar, Plum Rose and Bikini Pink
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Does going au natural always mean you have to go naked?

Not according to Bobbi Brown.

Next month, to commemorate the one-year anniversary of her Pretty Powerful campaign, which turned the tables on makeup modeling by turning real women into makeup models, the queen o’ neutrals is launching two new multipurpose palettes with products for eyes, lips and cheeks.

This season, I was inspired to ask my friends — not models — to be the faces for my new campaign. They’re pretty to begin with, but with just a few simple tweaks, they look their absolute, most confident best. That’s pretty powerful.
— Bobbi Brown

The purpose of the two palettes, the first called Pretty and the other one Powerful, was to put a pink twist on Bobbi’s signature natural nudes. She packed both of them with universally flattering shades, and all I have to say is HALLELUJAH! You know I love ya, Bobs, but there’s only so much brown, beige and gray a girl can take. 🙂

I’ve always loved a natural look, but that doesn’t have to mean nude color, and it certainly doesn’t mean washed-out color. The Pretty Powerful Palettes are filled with pink tones that range from soft to warm and even a shot of bright to create a healthy look, because nothing is more beautiful to me than a healthy complexion.
— Bobbi Brown

The top of the Powerful palette shown here is black with pink typography; the Pretty one is pink on top with black typography

Both palettes are limited edition, which is a bummer. I don’t ever want to say bye to this packaging. I adore the casual handwritten font on the outside. I think it really sets the right tone considering the products inside. They’re a combination of new and repromoted colors — four neutral powder eye shadows, one powder blush and three lip colors.

The Pretty palette has a selection of lighter and cooler pinks, while the Powerful one broadcasts bolder and warmer shades. I’ve been wearing the products in the slightly more dramatic (well, dramatic for Bobbi) Powerful palette for a couple of days now, and I think I know what kind of girl might like them a lot; she falls for sheer eye makeup and likes to pair it with bold cheeks and lips.
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