Natural Glow? Bobbi Brown Nude Finish Illuminating Powder {Review and Swatches}
Who doesn’t want luminous skin? If you don’t leave a comment below and tell me why because I need to know. . . Perhaps, I have missed the mark . . .
Treasure in a pan . . . Bronze glow highlighter from Bobbi Brown
Bobbi Brown’s holiday collection 2014, Scotch On The Rocks, was a nothing short of amazing.
But one product stood out for me and when I saw it swatched, I knew right then and there that I needed it in my life. It was the Highlight Powder in Bronze Glow.
Clearly, lots of others needed it in their lives too because it was sold out as soon as it hit the shelves. I went to every Bobbi Brown counter in Jozi and called every stockist to find out if they had it and the answer was always: “No, it’s sold out.” You know I hate those words – they really make my stomach do back flips!
It was literally one of those MAC Whisper of Guilt moments . . . the traffic in my head wouldn’t stop, I kept thinking: “I could have had it, maybe if I shot that red robot on that Saturday while going to the mall or if I hadn’t sneezed because that held me back 10 seconds!”
Well, after sulking for a month, I made peace with the fact that I missed out and threw in the towel . . .
But that all changed two weeks ago, when I was checking my Instagram and found a photo of the highlighter and that saw that it was for sale. I immediately asked if I could secure the buy and the deal was done and dusted.
When it arrived, the angels and their mums sang while their twin sisters played the harp . . .
The packaging . . . oh my soul! The tortoise shell compact is classy and elegant – a move away from the traditional solid black packaging Bobbi Brown is known for. The product is equally amazing. It’s one of the creamiest powder highlighters I’ve used – this bronze shade is warm and golden and looks really great on brown skin
I love the maze-like pattern on the highlighter, you get lost in thought just staring at its beauty.
And it’s practical too, with full side mirror and push open mechanism so you don’t have to pry it open and chip your perfect mani.
Applied to the highest points of your cheekbones and on the cupids bow (to create the illusion of fuller lips), this will bring out your best features. It works beautifully when applied over a matte bronzer to get that all over sun-kissed glow!
The Bobbi Brown Highlight Powder in Bronze Glow will leave you looking and feeling like a bronze goddess!
So, you guys are thinking, why am I reviewing this? It was limited edition and is all gone, no? Wrong. I got mine from Instagram’s princessnoosboutique and it’s genuine and brand new. Now, she doesn’t have another one of this, but that’s not to say someone else doesn’t.
This seller is a Jozi-based make up collector called theprincessnoo. Keep a lookout for her on Instagram, she is a true beauty, inside and out and ships across the country so don’t have to look outside the borders or cross the Atlantic or Indian oceans to find amazing limited edition or other make up or beauty products from brands you can’t find in South Africa.
Price: R580
Other Instagram sellers you can trust that are legit and professional, based on my experiences and rave reviews are
muse.sa
dazzlinggloss (Lakme products)
mybeautywishlist.za
They have make up products from brands Too Faced, Anastasia Beverly Hills, Dose of Colors, Lime Crime, Lorac, Morphe brushes, Lilly Lashes and much more.
It’s worth checking them out and the prices are usually reasonable.
xoxo
Prativa
Beauty Bugle
Yellow, not sallow! Bobbi Brown Pale Yellow pressed powder
Guys, I have not lost my mind . . .
You’re would be right to think that I have lost my marbles because I am a chocolate girl and I’m proud of my dark skin and, yes, I did buy a powder in the shade Pale Yellow!
Why? Two reasons,
It’s one of my favourite powders to set my concealer. We all know how concealers like to slip and slide if they are not set with powder.
Secondly, the pale yellow colour disappears into my skin and gives my face a bright, fresh, albeit a matte finish. Why? The yellow neutralizes any redness or discoloration on my skin and evens out my skin tone when used as a finishing powder.
This guy comes in a sleek, square compact and the mirror is large, so you don’t have to push the mirror really far forward if you want to catch a glimpse of your gorgeous face. This compact will fit easily into your handbag, I’m just a bit afraid of the sharp corners of the compact, but I can live with that because it doubles up as a weapon . . . much like the stiletto heel, modeled after the stiletto knife . . . adds new meaning when someone says to you “ I need those gorgeous killer heels in my life” Lol
The compact comes with a puff that has a velvety upper side. I always bin those . . . I prefer using other puffs like my Estee Lauder fluffy powder puff and then dust it all off with a large fluffy brush. If you swirl a dense brush over this compact, it can easily break apart and there’s nothing worse or messy than a broken compact. Note to self: Buy the Bobbi Brown Sheer Finish Loose Powder. the next time.
Truth is, I bought this powder because I thought it was going to be a dupe for the Ben Nye Banana powder. And no, it isn’t. It’s far to sheer and less pigmented than the Ben Nye Banana Powder
This powder will even out your skin tone but offers no coverage. So if you camouflage and conceal, paint over imperfections and what-what, this will do nothing for you. For those with oily skin, though, it will leave you shine free for about 8 hours because it’s an oil-free, oil absorbing powder.
Amazingly, it didn’t oxidise on me. Either this product is super clever or my Skin Medica AHA/BHA cream is not doing its job!
Where to buy: Bobbi Brown counters across the country
Price: R450
Dupes: Redness Solutions Instant Relief Mineral Pressed Powder (R455)
MAC Prep and Prime Colour Correcting pressed powder in Neutralize (R415)
If you know of any cheaper dupes for this, let me know.
Hope you enyoed this review!
Smooth Operator . . . Bobbi Brown Rich Lip Colour SPF 12
Bobbi Brown has never failed me . . . yet. .
I thought I’d give a mention to her Rich Lip Colour lipstick’s texture with SPF 12.
The reason? This formula is so comfortable to wear.
It’s lightweight and so insanely pigmented, which is uncommon for pigmented lipstick with the staying power this has.
The secret, according to Bobbi Brown is the clear base, which allows the true pigment to shine through.
She’s always on the cutting edge of technology and is constantly improving her products. I love that.
These lipsticks also have an SPF 12 and are packed with vitamins A, E and C.
It smells of vanilla and you don’t need to apply lip balm underneath as you would other longwearing lipsticks, which can dry out lips. Even when you remove it, you don’t feel any dryness or see any chapping.
I apply mine with a lip brush and a line my lips with liner. I prefer to use a liner closest to my lip colour to not take away from the vivid colour of the lipstick.
Some companies market their lipsticks like an advertisement for eating disorders, telling you it will last for 25 hours if you don’t eat or drink. That’s just insane. For people who eat and drink, this wears for about four hours without fading and one swipe is all you need for reapplication.
Where to buy: Bobbi Brown counters at Edgars
Price: R250
Is this my skin? Bobbi Brown Foundation stick (new formula)
Is this my skin?
Now, right of the bat, I have to tell you that when it comes to foundation, I’m a full coverage kind of girl.
Estee Lauder Double Wear/ Double wear Maximum coverage is my HG foundation. Heavy, I know. But I’ve always worn full coverage foundation from my days as a model, an industry I worked in for almost 15 years.
Of course, I have issues regarding my skin. As a make up artist, hairstylist and nail technician, I believe you have to look good, else who would trust you to do their make up or nails?
Recently I had a massive breakout (the first of my life) and after picking at them, I scarred my face. And when you’re dark-skinned like me, those scars turn black and I’m conscious of them. I am on a skin regime since then to get rid of those scars. The other reason is my freckles! People tell me to embrace them, but I can’t. when I’m in the sun, they get worse and I have to cover them up.
A couple weeks ago, I watched a YouTube video of make up artist Wayne Goss and he raved about Bobbi Brown’s new Skin Foundation stick. I did use the old formula, but I stopped when I started wearing my Estee Lauder foudations
Goss is always on point so I tried out the new formula.
And I’m glad I did. This stuff is amazing! I got the color in Warm Natural.
The new formula has a transparent base in which the pigments are suspended. This is reason the foundation sits so closely to mimick tour skin and to give that natural look. It ‘s hard to believe highly that a foundation that’s so pigmented is so creamy, blendable yet so natural looking The colour pay-off is remarkable. If you are super oily, skip this product because it does have many emollients in it that could make you oilier
I got a good six hours wear from it and touched up twice, but nothing’s perfect and I can work around that because this foundation is that good.
While I use pan stick foundation on clients, those products are not for every day wear. I was a bit apprehensive at first because I’ve tried foundation sticks before the Max Factor pan stick is just too thick and the shade range is very limited. The Iman foundation stick was very difficult to blend but the shade range was great.
The Bobbi Brown foundation stick is compact and sleek. You can just pop it in your handbag so touch ups are a breeze. The foundation has medium coverage can be built up to full. When I used the foundation, I skipped concealer and powder but it didn’t cover my dark circked so I used a concealer after. I did wear well for about three hours a but I did neend I needed to touch up, and then dusted a powder over.
The best way to apply this foundation is with your fingers, a foundation brush or a beauty blender.
Most people stripe the product on they face directly from the tube, but I’m a bit OCD so I use a brush to apply and a stippling brush to blend. It’s so creamy that you really don’t need to blend that much.
