Bobbi Brown Telluride Collection Shimmer Brick in Sunset Pink Review, Photos and Swatches

For summer 2015 Bobbi Brown wants to take us on vacation to Telluride, Colorado. I have to admit  when I think of summer vacation I don't necessarily think of heading to the mountains (probably because for the majority of my life they have a mere 45 minute drive away), but sure Bobbi - let's do this alpine thing.

Bobbi Brown Shimmer Brick in Sunset Pink

Inspired by the warm tawny glow of the late afternoon sun in the mountains, the collection focuses around warm, shimmery neutrals. Today I have the Shimmer Brick in Sunset Pink for review ($54.00 CA, LE.)

Sunset Pink is medium peachy-pink highlighter with red undertones and gold shimmer. It has medium to high pigmentation and like all Shimmer Bricks it has a strong metallic finish. Light application for a natural finish is a must with this product! Photos in natural light on NC40 skin.

Bobbi Brown Shimmer Brick in Sunset Pink

You can't tell from the swatch photo, but this Shimmer Brick packs a punch of metallic shimmer. It has a very strong luminous finish that can easily become overly frosty if application is even remotely heavy. It gives my golden skin tone a peachy sun kissed look that leans on the flushed side. Due to it's fairly strong pigmentation, I would predict this will work better as a luminizing blush for light skintones.

I have a large Shimmer Brick collection, so I pulled a few old releases to see if anything was a dupe for Sunset Pink. Based on how the Shimmer Bricks looked in the pan alone I chose Bronze, Tawny and Brownie for comparison.

Bobbi Brown Shimmer Bricks in Sunset Pink, Bronze, Tawny and Brownie.

Bobbi Brown Shimmer Bricks in Sunset Pink, Bronze, Tawny and Brownie.

I was convinced that Bronze would be close dupe because the individual strip colours look very similar. Much to my surprize out of the three this was the least similar! Here are some observations based on my swatches:

1. Bronze (P): Much more golden with no pink or peach undertones.  When compared side-by-side with Sunset Pink, Bronze is cooler and ashier.

2. Tawny (LE): Fairly similar in terms of pigmentation with the same medium dark pink tone but lacks any peachiness.The other major difference is Tawny has a silver shimmer.

3. Brownie (LE): A deep plummy rose-brown which runs darker than Sunset Pink and has silver rather than gold shimmer.

Sunset Pink lasts all day on my combination skin with slight fading by the end of the day. My big tip for using any of the Shimmer Bricks is to finish the face with MAC Fix+ or any other makeup finishing mist. I find this extra step helps the shimmer particles mesh with the skin so they look more luminous and less glittery/frosty.

Overall a nice product which certainly recalls the type of healthy flush you might have at the end of a long sunny day of hiking.

Grade: A

J

Bobbi Brown Holiday 2014 Shimmer Brick in Copper Diamond Review, Swatches and Photos

The star of Bobbi Brown's Holiday 2014 offerings has to be her limited edition Shimmer Brick in Copper Diamond ($52.00 CA). I almost completely missed this one as I was more focused on procuring her Pink Glow and Bronze Glow Highlighters from her other holiday collection "Scotch on the Rocks."

While researching the Pink Glow and Bronze Glow Highlighters on the blogosphere I noticed how many people left comments raving about Copper Diamond Shimmer Brick. So when I saw one last Copper Diamond at the Bobbi Brown counter in Holt Renfrew, I quickly snapped it up! Photos taken in natural light, on NC 35 skin.

Copper Diamond, like all other Bobbi Brown Shimmer Bricks, features five stripes of shimmery metallic pigments all loosely based around the same hue. You can use each stripe individually or all five swirled together, although realistically only eye brushes would be small enough to be able to pick up the shades individually. 

Bobbi Brown Copper Diamond Shimmerbrick stripes from top to bottom.

The texture of Shimmer Bricks feel like a baked product - they are finely milled, compact, powdery and all shades are highly frosty/metallic. The first stripe is a pale white-gold, the second a medium gold, the third a medium champagne-gold, the fourth a medium bronze and the last stripe a bright yellow gold.

Mixed together, the five stripes look very similar to the third stripe and the overall effect when used as a highlighter is stunning - it looks like molten champagne-gold has been airbrushed on your cheekbones. So glamorous! This is a full effect kind of highlighter - normal application with a blush/highlighter brush will yield dramatic results, so for a subtle application use a fan brush.

Bobbi Brown Copper Diamond Shimmerbrick mixed.

Tip: If you love rocking a more dramatic/metallic highlighter, give your skin a spritz of MAC Fix + after applying the Shimmer Brick, the moisture in the spray will "foil" the highlighter on your skin giving you a more editorial glow.

Wear time on the Shimmer Brick is good, with a small amount of fading after 8 hours. As the finish is on the high frost side, this highlighter may emphasize dry or large pored skin. This is a particularly great highlighter for yellow based skin tones, though I think this would also work well with cool skin tones as the gold does not run too yellow. This highlighter also pairs well with many blush shades, and is great when mixed in with matte blushes to give them some sheen. Such a beautiful, luxurious highlighter for the season!

Copper Diamond is still available at Bobbi Brown online and may still be available at your local Holt Renfrew counter.

Grade: A+

J

Beauty Squared Round-Up - November 2, 2014

Hi lovelies! It's been a quiet week on the beauty side of things....but there are a couple of links that we found to share with you. Let's take a look.

• Halloween is over, but maybe start to plan your costume for next year? Why not? Take a look at these fantastic transformations by MUA Kandee Johnson.
  
• Check out this video showing MUA Val Garland creating a makeup look with minimal colour and freckles (that weren't there before).
  
• The British Beauty Blogger has swatches of some of the Bobbi Brown Scotch on the Rocks collection.
  
• Miley Cyrus is new face of MAC Viva Glam.

Soft Fall Green FOTD Featuring Charlotte Tilbury's The Rebel Luxury Palette

On my recent trip to London I was lucky enough to stumble across a preview launch of legendary makeup artist Charlotte Tilbury's new makeup line. The day I caught them, they only had eye shadows for sale - I spent a long time swatching and playing with the palettes and I came away very impressed and of course, not empty handed!

One of the two brand new palettes I picked up was The Rebel (£38.00, approximately $63.00 CA), a gorgeous, bold palette including four shimmery eye shadows in cream, bright grass green, deep teal green and a golden khaki green cream/powder glitter, review here.

On my way home I spent a few days in Toronto and used this palette on Catherine to create a soft yet bright fall green eye. Catherine usually keeps her colour choices neutral, particularly on her eyes, so I wanted to create a colourful but soft and wearable look for her.

Clockwise from upper left: Tom Ford Lovelust Blush, Charlotte Tilbury The Rebel Luxury Eye Palette,

 MAC Face and Body Mixing Medium, MAC Smoke and Diamonds Eye Starflash Eye Shadow, 

MAC Wedge Eye Shadow, OCC Skin Conceal in Y1, Shu Uemura Eye Lash Curler, Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Gel, MAC Jazzed Lipstick, MAC Select Cover Concealer in NW20, Bobbi Brown Lash Glamour Extreme Lengthening Mascara in Black

Charlotte TIlbury's The Rebel palette, clockwise from top left.

1. Prime - shimmery cream with a slight pink overtone
2. Enhance - bright, pigmented grass green shimmer
3. Smoke - a deep, pigmented teal
4. Pop - a creamy smokey khaki with tons of golden shimmer

I began by priming Catherine's eyes with MAC Select Cover concealer and a slight dusting of powder. To create a neutral base I applied MAC Wedge to the whole of Catherine's lid, buffing it out on the edges and slightly into the crease. I then applied the grass green Enhance shade of The Rebel palette into the crease and on the outer 1/3 of her lid. I applied the grass green shade quite strongly using a flat stiff brush then buffed and blended it out in the crease towards the brow and out onto the lid using a clean MAC 217. I then layered MAC Smoke and Diamonds on the outer 3/4 of the lid, making sure to overlap where the green shadow had been blended onto the lid.

I then mixed Smoke and Diamonds together with the Enhance shade and lined her bottom lids 3/4 of the way, making sure to blend out the line for soft definition. I then used the deep teal Smoke shade to deepen the outside edge of the crease and the top lash line. I then used MAC's Graphblack fill in between Cath's top lashes, curled her lashes and applied mascara. Lastly, I took the Pop shade in The Rebel palette and using my fingers, patted it onto middle of the lid for added sparkle. I also groomed Cath's brows with Anastasia's Brow Gel to give them definition.

After her eyes were finished, I applied a mixture of MAC Select Cover Concealer and Face and Body Mixing Medium as foundation, applied OCC Concealer to any blemishes and powdered only the center of her face. To complete the look I dusted Tom Ford's Lovelust blush high onto Cath's cheekbones, then buffed some onto the apple's of her cheeks for added warmth. I then mixed MAC's Jazzed lipstick with a smidge of the Select Concealer to lighten then tone, then filled in her lips.

I think the finished look is soft, pretty and colourful without being over-the-top garish. Because I hid the brightest shade in her crease, you only get that flash of bright green when she lowers her eyes, and the neutrals on her lids keeps the look sophisticated. 

What do you think readers? See yourself in greens for fall?

J

Bobbi Brown Friends and Family 20% Event Begins Now!

Great news! Beginning today until April 18th Bobbi Brown  is offering 20% off any order and free shipping with any $75.00 CA order!

So nice to finally see a US brand offering it's Canadian customers the same deals! What do you plan to get? I ordered the Lilac Rose Shimmerbrick and Sparkle Eye Shadows in Lilac, Gold Sparkle and Silver Moon.

Beauty Squared Round-Up - August 5, 2012

Here are the links we've come across this week to share with you.

The Pixiwoo sisters visit the Chanel pop-up store in Covent Garden to preview the new Fall collection and do a shimmery 70s disco eyes tutorial.

ANTM season 13 winner Nicole Fox talks to Beautylish.com.

Check out this Olympics-inspired manicure. 

The 10 Commandments of Mascara, according to Allure magazine.

Check out this great mermaid makeup tutorial.

Swatches of OPI's gorgeous new Germany collection. I love the look of Schnapps Out Of It, Nein, Nein, Nein, OK Fine!, German-icure, Every Month is Oktoberfest, Deutsche You Want Me,  and Berlin There, Done That. 

A great post about the new FDA sunscreen labelling rules. 

Bobbi Brown takes advantage of the 50 Shades of Grey mania. 

Estee Lauder Sale - June 2012

I was given tickets to the Estee Lauder warehouse sale this past weekend and made the trip up to the Markham Fairgrounds early Saturday morning. We arrived just before 8 am and got into the not-terrifying line, probably about 60-70 people from the front. By the time they started letting us in, the line behind us had quadrupled!

The line-up before they let us inside.

It was nice arriving first thing in the morning as the tester tables were much tidier and the tissue boxes were full. See my post from last year for more detailed info on how the sale works. 

More photos:

A shot of room 3 and some of the lip product tester tables.

The main difference between the sale I went to last year and this year is the addition of Bumble & Bumble products. Here's a shot of part of the Bumble & Bumble section.

 At the checkout.

And here's what I bought. Let's start with the free gift and the charity bag.


Once you have paid for your purchases, you turn in your ticket for a free gift. Last year I got a nailpolish, and this year, the same thing. The polish I received is MAC's Nightfall, a shimmery dark charcoal grey. 

MAC Nightfall Nail Lacquer

After checkout, you also have the option of buying Charity Bags for $5 with the proceeds going to the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation and the MAC AIDS Fund. I picked up two.

Inside were MAC's Just My Type lipliner and MAC's Miss Piggy Pink eyeshadow.

And here's my haul!

My bag of goodies

Inside my bag of goodies

Jill, the other half of Beauty Squared, asked me to look for the three crushed metallic pigment Dazzlespheres from MAC's 2011 holiday collection. They were $25 each, $13.50 less than retail.

From the $4 bins, which were much better this year than last year, I grabbed a Phloof! eyeshadow pan.

I was thrilled to see the selection of Bumble & Bumble products available. I picked up their shampoo for red hair, the Creme de Coco masque for dry hair (for a friend), their Texture Hair (Un)dressing styling creme and their Grooming Creme. The shampoo was $18 and the other three products were $20. Prices were all about $10-$12 less than I'd have paid retail.

I was also able to pick up some favourites I bought at the sale I went to last year - Bobbi Brown Cleansing Oil ($20) and Origins Starting Over Age-Erasing Moisturizer with Mimosa ($20).

I picked up only a few makeup items. There weren't a lot to choose from in terms of eyeshadows and lip products. Many of the MAC Big Bounce shadows were available, but I knew well enough to stay away from them. We were in a hurry to get through the sale and back to the city, so that made it easy to not linger over the product testers. 

I did however, pick up the following:

MAC Paint Pot in Bare Study ($12)

MAC Loose Powder in NW5 ($15)

MAC Mineralize Skinfinish in Semi-Precious Rose Quartz ($15)

MAC Mineralize Skinfinish in Semi-Precious Rose Quartz

Bobbi Brown Mascara ($12)

We were in and out of the sale in about an hour. We did very well!

Stay tuned for some reviews of some of the products I picked up.

C.

Bobbi Brown Cleansing Oil Review

Bobbi Brown's Cleansing Oil is a light, gentle, gorgeously fragranced cleansing oil made with olive oil, jojoba oil and ginger root extract. It claims to dissolve all makeup, dirt and oil, leaving the skin refreshed and moisturized, no matter the skin type.

I bought two bottles of this at the Estee Lauder Warehouse Sale I attended back in June where they were selling it 2 for 1 at the price of $25 (regularly, a bottle is $39 USD) and I've been using it almost every day since. 

The way you use it is to pump it into your hands and apply it to your dry skin, massaging it gently all over to break down the makeup, oil and dirt on your face. You can work it a little more over areas like your eyes and lips where mascara and lipstick tend to hang on for dear life. Then you add a little bit of water to emulsify it and massage a little longer. Finally, splash warm water to your face to rinse. Your skin should feel clean, smooth and soft. 

I was surprised that using an oil didn't leave my combination skin feeling oily at all. In fact, it's soothing and moisturizing. It does a great job of completely removing my makeup at the end of the day and it smells just lovely. 

The Bobbi Brown Cleansing Oil is 6.7 fl. oz/200 mL and I'm about a third of the way through my first bottle. I use 1-2 pumps depending on how much cleansing my face needs, so it's lasted about three months which is pretty good value. 

The only complaint I have with the Bobbi Brown Cleansing Oil is with the bottle itself. With a pump you'd think that the oil wouldn't get all over the bottle but it does. There must be an issue with the mechanism because there is a oily residue all over the bottle and it can stain any natural surface such as wood. 

Has anyone else tried the Bobbi Brown Cleansing Oil? 

C.

Estee Lauder Warehouse Sale Haul

Yesterday I was able to go to an Estee Lauder Warehouse Sale and wow, I've never seen anything quite like it. Three large rooms full of perfume, skincare and makeup at discounted prices in Markham, north of Toronto. These sales happen four times a year, are invite-only and invites are available to employees of Estee Lauder only, although they pop up on sites like Kijiji and Craigslist. Estee Lauder owns the brands MAC, Clinique, La Mer, Origins, Bobbi Brown, DKNY, Tom Ford, Lab, Aveda, Prescriptives and Sean John, among others. 

My friend Jenn (@j_real) and I headed up late Friday afternoon and spent three hours sorting through beauty goodies. Large room #1 held perfume sets, skincare, eyeshadow kits, blushes, bath products and makeup bags. Large room #2 held more perfume, foundation, brushes and eyeshadows. Large room #3 held more perfume, lipsticks and glosses, the $4 section, the charity bags and the cashiers.

I snapped a few photos on my iPhone, so apologies for the quality.

Large Room #1

The clever, although messy way the products are made available for swatching is shown below. Testers are plastic wrapped and taped to the table and labelled and numbered. You write down the numbers of the items you want on the slips of paper provided and you bring your list to another table where staff bring you your items. This way they can be swatched (no q-tips or sponges, you have to use your fingers) and reduce the risk of shoplifting, although I still noticed items that had been pinched. Kleenex is provided but your hands quickly get covered in product. These tester tables get VERY messy and the testers themselves take a beating. The next time I go I will bring my own Q-tips and wet wipes. 

Below is one of the powder, larger eyeshadow and blush tables. 

Other items are in boxes and you can select what you want but everything you select must be given to one of the staff members so they can be bagged and sealed. The staff also write down what's inside and the price (ie. 3 x $15) on the bag. 

If you bring an unbagged and unsealed item to the cash, they will not let you buy it. If you change your mind about an item, you must bring it to a special area for returns and have it unsealed. It's quite clever as items are grouped by prices and some items are sold at a special discount (buy one get one free) and eliminates shoplifting.

Some more photos in Room #1:

In line for my eyeshadow and MSF in Room #1 

Bagged and sealed products at the eyeshadow area in Room #1

There were lots of people when Jenn and I arrived but we did not have to stand in line to get in, as I've heard can often be the case. There was some difficulty trying to get to tables due to the number of people but we got to see everything and test everything we wanted to but we were able to move back and forth between the rooms.


Many shoppers appeared to be there for the perfume sets, and carried out boxes and boxes. Others were like us and looking for LE products and stuff we'd only heard about as well as the discounted prices.


Speaking of prices, this is as best I can recall:


Skincare (moisturizers, serums, body lotions and washes): $15-$30
Eyeshadow kits: $15
Perfume bottles and kits: $40-$55+
Lipsticks and glosses: $10-$12
Powders, blushes, large eyeshadows: $15
Smaller eyeshadows: $12
Brushes (sets and individuals): $15-$30 although one very large MAC kabuki-style brush was $60
Mascaras and concealers: $12
Makeup bags and tins: $5


The brands that were available were mostly MAC, but quite a bit of Clinique (especially skincare) and Estee Lauder (especially perfume). There were some Bobbi Brown items, some Origins skincare items and in the perfume sets, I spotted Donna Karan, Sean John, Tom Ford and Tommy Hilfiger among others. I wish I'd spotted some La Mer and Bumble and Bumble.

Room #3 in the lip product swatching area

The lip product tables were especially messy as you can see below. Lipsticks had been broken off and mostly smeared onto the plastic. It was difficult to swatch these, because you had to pick up the piece of lipstick to get any on your fingers.

One of the Dame Edna lipsticks. 

I almost bought Coral Polyp from the MAC and Dame Edna collection because I can't resist coral lipsticks, it seems. But I resisted.


At check-out, a staff member takes your sealed products out of your bag and lists out the prices for the cashier who rings them through. Jenn and I didn't have anything to return or rebag, so we passed by the sorting area. There is a limit of $500 on your purchases, but both Jenn and I were well below that. This $500 limit doesn't include the Charity Bags.

Checkout 

Jenn's bag of goodies

After we'd paid, we surrendered our invitations and received a free gift (photos to follow) and had the option of purchasing Charity Bags in support of the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation. 

I was happy with my purchases. It was my first time at the event so I didn't have a clear idea what to expect. Many of the products were items I suspect didn't sell as well as others in stores, so easy to bypass for me. Selection at these events varies so I imagine that if I get to go again, I might be more in the mindset to look for foundations and concealers and other base products. Also, I can do some research on some of the products I saw that I wasn't familiar with.

It was nice to get home and see what I'd bought under regular lighting, the makeup shades especially. More photos!

My haul, before de-bagging

I took some photos of the bags before opening them so you can see what they looked like. Some products came boxed and some didn't. 

$10 Plushglass lipgloss

$25 Buy 1 Get 1 Free Bobbi Brown Cleansing Oils

And here's my haul unbagged and unboxed. In total I spent just over $200 (including the Charity Bag). 

Free gift: MAC Vintage Vamp nailpolish

I was excited by the free gift as I used to wear this shade all the time years ago. It's a fantastic dark red-brown and these deep vampy colours are my go-to polish shades. Unfortunately MAC polishes and I have had a falling out recently. Their polishes are the only polishes I've tried in the last few years that start to chip within a few hours on my fingernails, even with top coat. All other shades last at least three days before chipping but MAC's often start to chip immediately after it's dried. They last not so badly on my toes, but I can't bring myself to buy MAC polishes knowing it'll be a waste of money. Sad face. Vintage Vamp is part of the Permanent Collection and is a great shade. 

$5 Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation Charity Bag

This is what came in the $5 Charity Bag - MAC Plush Lash in Brownette, MAC Cremesheen Gloss in Partial To Pink and MAC Pigment in New Fixation (from the Stylishly Yours collection).

$15 and $20 MAC brushes #249 and #165

I need some new brushes so I was very happy to see an assortment of MAC brushes available for purchase. Many were the shorter brush sets that are released with collections but I wanted some of the full-size ones since they tend to be of better quality.

$12 MAC Mixing Medium

I grabbed a bottle of Mixing Medium since this is a great product to have in your kit. I already have a bottle but it's so handy for thinning cream and liquid products and using with pigments, Scatterrays and Stackeds. 

Bobbi Brown Cleansing Oil

These I'd heard about before the sale, so I had my eye out for them. Hurrah, they were selling them two for the price of one! This is a light cleansing oil that removes makeup, dirt and oil but doesn't mess with your skin's natural pH. Read about it here. These and the Origins moisturizer I bought are the only non-MAC products I came away with.

$15 each - MAC Cleanse Off Oil and
 MAC Charged Water Skin Hydrating Mist

These two products I'd also heard much about on the internet so I snapped these right up as well. MAC's Cleanse Off Oil works similarly to the Bobbi Brown Cleansing Oil, as I understand it. MAC Charged Water Skin Hydrating Mist is just what it sounds like. You spray it on your skin to provide a good adhering base for your makeup and can use it throughout the day to freshen your makeup. This product has been discontinued but I've heard raves about it, so I wanted to try it. I, like many MAC fans, tend to bypass MAC skincare products, despite the fact they're not bad at all. I guess the makeup is just so exciting, we don't care so much about the skincare?

$20 Origins Starting Over Age-erasing Moisturizer with Mimosa

This was the first item I picked up upon entering the sale. It's all very overwhelming with people clustered around tables and carrying heavily swinging bags and boxes piled everywhere. I had to start somewhere, right? I'm not too familiar with Origins products so I thought this might be a good place to start. It's part of their anti-aging moisturizer line and smells pretty. You can read about it here. It also goes to show you that these giant sales aren't just about unloading unwanted or discontinued products. Many of the items on offer are popular products.

$10 MAC Plushglass in Plus Luxe

This gloss looked right up my alley and the lighting in Room #3 where the lipsticks and glosses were was particularly poor, so exact shades were tough to see on the tables and when swatched. I stuck with what I knew would work on me - bright pink gloss. I like the Plushglasses as well since they tingle when applied.

$12 each - MAC Pigment in Antique Green and
 MAC Frost Eyeshadow in Prepped for Glamour

I'm a sucker for green eyeshadows and I love me a MAC Pigment so Antique Green was a no brainer. It's a dirty-green-teal and I like the muted goldy-brown-green-teal of it. Prepped for Glamour eyeshadow was one of the few neutral brown shadows from MAC available and it reminded me of one of my favourite shadows, MAC's Satin Taupe. 

$15 MAC Mineralize Skin Finish in By Candlelight and
 MAC Mineralize Eyeshadow in Under Your Spell

By Candelight rang a bell as soon as I spotted it on the tester table in Room #1. I'd seen it in stores when it was released with the MAC Warm & Cozy collection in 2009 and recall the buzz about it. I love the Mineralize Skinfinishs soooo much, By Candlelight is my third. Under Your Spell is from the 2009 Magic, Mirth and Mischief collection and a very pretty cool silvery-purple with glittery copper. 


Whew! There's my haul. My review of the sale is that if you get the chance to go and have some cash to spend on beauty products or are looking for products you may have missed in MAC launches, you should try to track down tickets. 


I promise to do posts on all the products I hauled! Any requests for which to review first?


C.