Calypso St. Barth Lea

I've been so excited to try Calypso St. Barth Lea.  For those of you who are not familiar, this is a perfume from a small spa in France.  I got mine from a company called LuckyScent in California.  LuckyScent is neat because they have an awesome perfume recommendation service (seriously! this one is detailed and a person makes recommendations for you based on the very detailed and fun questionnaire) and then you can buy sample vials of the perfumes (or any of their perfumes) for $4.

Dior Hypnotic Poison is my signature scent, and I've been looking for a lighter scent that's similar to wear to work or other times when wearing strong perfume isn't appropriate.  I've seen Lea recommended over and over again for anyone who loves Hypnotic Poison, so I've been dying to try it.

I have to say I'm a tiny bit disappointed.  This is a very simple fragrance.  Almond is one of my favorite scents.  I will buy anything with almond scents.  But this one is SO simple.  It's almond without the sweetness or cream, no floral at all to balance.  Just simple almond, musk, and vanilla.  Don't get me wrong.  It's not a bad scent.  It actually does meet my requirement of something lighter and simpler to wear to work.  But it's just ... missing something.  It's definitely not Hypnotic Poison.  I like it, but it just makes me wish I was wearing Hypnotic Poison.  I do not think I'll be buying the full size ... but I wouldn't mind having a bottle to wear to work.  It's just okay.  It is soft and fades relatively quickly.

Calypso St. Barth Lea Available at Luckyscent for $4 for a sample vial or $100 for 100 mL.

SirenPrincessBeauty Rating: B+

Disclaimer:  I purchased a sample size of this product.

L'oreal True Match Lumi Review

L'oreal True Match is my favorite drugstore foundation brand, and my favorite high-end brand is Dolce & Gabanna Perfect Luminous Foundation, so I theoretically should love this product.  So ... how does this product compare?

 

First, I'm very disappointed that the lightest colors of this product are combined with the next higher color, for example W1-2.  The thing I love about True Match is that it offers truly pale, pale colors in choices of warm, neutral, or cool.  When you combine shades, it's not really an exact match anymore.  And for a brand called True Match whose entire branding message is an exact match, I just find this totally unacceptable.  There are girls out there like me who can't really get away with wearing a level 2 color.

That being said, this combo isn't quite as bad as some of the other W1-2 combos in the line I've tried.

It's #1 in the swatches above.  As you can see, it's a little bit darker and yellower than I should wear.  For comparison, the L'oreal True Match liquid in W1 is #3 above, so you can see how this one is darker.  The combo W1-W2 L'oreal True Match cream roll-on is #6.

The foundation itself is nice and thick and moisturizing.  I do like it.  But it doesn't hold up all day like my Dolce & Gabanna Perfect Luminous foundation does.  It's not a bad drugstore alternative, but I'd definitely rather be wearing the Dolce & Gabanna.

SirenPrincess Beauty Rating: C+

Disclaimer:  I purchased this product with my own money, but I do receive a discount on drugstore products through an employee discount (not for a cosmetics company but the drugstore that sells them).

Viktor&Rolf Flowerbomb

I got an extra free sample in a box from Sephora.  It was Viktor&Rolf Flowerbomb.  I am on a fragrance hunt to find the perfect new perfume for me, so I decided to try it.  With a name like Flowerbomb, though, I was pretty nervous to do so because I hate strong floral perfumes.

I was quite surprised to find that I liked the scent of Flowerbomb.  It is very floral, but it does also have a strong sweetness to it too!  I like sweet scents, so I did like the smell of this.

It is very potent stuff with a wide silage and it lasts forever.  It honestly lasted over 24 hours on me until I finally showered it off.

The bad part?  One of the floral components of this scent set off my asthma.  I kept coughing.  I tried to convince myself it wasn't the perfume, but it was.  I left the used container in the bathroom and I coughed myself near to death when I went back in the bathroom.  So if you're sensitive to perfumes, this one is not for you!

But if you like slightly sweet floral scents, this is a very nice, high quality one.

Flowerbomb is available from Sephora at $80 for an ounce, $50 for 0.68 oz, or $29 for a rollerball.

SirenPrincessBeauty Rating C (the silage and irritant qualities could be a problem to wear this at work or in public, but if you want a long-acting floral perfume, this is for you)

Disclaimer--This product was a free sample with a purchase.

Bobbi Brown Lip Glosses

I LOVE lip gloss.  I love Bobbi Brown.  I love Bobbi Brown lip glosses!  Let's take a look at the ones I have:

1. Rose Gold Lip Gloss
2. Naked Plum High Shimmer Lip Gloss
3. Pink Seashell Lip Gloss
4. Sailor Lip Gloss
5. Lilac Sugar Shimmer Lip Gloss
6. Nude Glitter Lip Gloss (discontinued)
7. Bellini High Shimmer Lip Gloss
8. Rose Sugar Shimmer Lip Gloss

And swatched on my pale skin (I wear Bobbi Brown Alabaster):

All of Bobbi's lip glosses have a beautiful shimmer.  They are supposed to go in order of shimmer from lip gloss to shimmer lip gloss to high shimmer lip gloss, but I haven't found a bit difference in the shimmer factor.  One thing I highly dislike, though, is that the high shimmer lip glosses have some sort of mint in them.  The scent is fabulous, but mint is an irritant to lips.  It will make them plumper, but also makes them tingle and can overly dry them.  I still love all of my Bobbi glosses, but I try not to wear the high shimmer every day for that reason.

You really can't go wrong with any of the colors.  It just depends upon how warm or cool and how dark or light you want to go.

My all time favorite lip gloss of any brand ever is Bobbi Brown Glitter Lip Gloss in Nude.  It's now discontinued *sob*.  If anyone knows anywhere that's still selling them, let me know.  That's actually one of the things I hate most about Bobbi Brown.  Things are constantly being discontinued.  As soon as you love something, it's gone.  This product doesn't look like much swatched on my arm, but over my pinky-blue lips, it's just amazing.

All of the others I've purchased in an attempt to find something close to the glitter gloss, but none of them are quite right.  They're all still great, but all a little different.

1. Rose Gold Lip Gloss--Rose Gold is a very on trend color right now.  I really like this one, but it does go a bit 'brown' on my lips.  Purchased by me at Saks.  SirenPrincess Beauty Rating: A-

2. Naked Plum High Shimmer Lip Gloss--This is my favorite new Bobbi Brown lip gloss.  It's a pinky rose color on me.  The only thing stopping it from being my favorite lip gloss is the darn mint in it.  Purchased by me at Bergdorf Goodman.  SirenPrincess Beauty Rating: A-

3. Pink Seashell Lip Gloss--This one was recommended by the Bobbi Brown online ask an artist.  You can upload a picture of yourself if you want IM with a makeup artist.  This is what they suggested as a replacement for the glitter gloss.  It's much pinker and paler and less brown, and there's slightly less shimmer.  Not my favorite.  Purchased by me from BobbiBrown.com.  SirenPrincess Beauty Rating: C+

4. Sailor Lip Gloss--This one sure looks weird in the tube, but it looks good on lips.  It's a sheer wash of rose color with sparkle.  This is also great for layering over lipstick for a pop of gloss.  This was a GWP at Bergdorf Goodman.  SirenPrincess Beauty Rating: B

5. Lilac Sugar Shimmer Lip Gloss--This is by far the coolest Bobbi Brown lip gloss.  I wouldn't wear it by itself as it's so lavender.  But here's a tip that makes this lip gloss very useful.  If you have a lipstick that is a little too warm or peachy on you, layer this lip gloss over the top and it will cool it down and give you that perfect rose color you wanted.  Purchased by me at Cosmetics Company Outlet Store.  SirenPrincess Beauty Rating: A- (for use over lipstick) B- as a stand alone

6. Nude Glitter Lip Gloss (discontinued)--My discontinued HG. Purchased by me a Barney's.  SirenPrincess Beauty Rating: A+

7. Bellini High Shimmer Lip Gloss--This one is a bit too pale, but the shimmer is nice.  This was a GWP at BobbiBrown.com.  SirenPrincess Beauty Rating: B-

8. Rose Sugar Shimmer Lip Gloss--This one is a bit too dark for this pale girl.  It might be good if you're a bit darker or have more pigmented lips.  This was a GWP at BobbiBrown.com.  SirenPrincess Beauty Rating: B-

These are all available (except my beloved Glitter Gloss) from the Bobbi Brown website for $24 each.

I don't have a lippie obsession at all.  Oh no.

Wantable October 2013

My October Wantable box arrived today!  Here's my review:

 

I received Besame Classic Color Lipstick in Champagne, Darla Makeup Peepers Eyeshadow in Baby Dot, Cailyn Cosmetics Idefine Liquid Eyeliner Pen in Black, Manna Kadar Lip Glaze in Patty Cakes, Kikerland Glam Girl Tweezers, and Skiin Instant Skin Tightner and Line Filler Sample.

I think when reviewing a box, it helps to know what the person receiving it likes and doesn't like.  Wantable is highly, highly customizable, which is my favorite thing about it!  I have that I "love" eyeshadow, blush, lip products, and tools and that I "like" eyeliner and brows and "dislike" nails, highlighters, bronzers, and mascara.  I also have mine set for more natural colors like I like.

I am really happy with this box!  I love that I get products that I like and no products that I don't like.  Most subscription boxes don't give you enough customization options.  I did not receive a single thing I don't like.  In fact, I love and would buy every single item in my box.

As far as value, it's hard to say for sure since they're all brands I'm unfamiliar with.  That is the one downside to Wantable.  But I like to consider what I would pay for that item without knowing anything about it other than just how I like it.  The Cailyn liquid eyeliner is very similar to my favorite Stila liquid eyeliner, that I pay $20 for.  Lipstick and lipglosses range $10-$30, depending upon brand, so I'd call those worth $20 for the two of them.  That eyeshadow is easily worth $10.  So ... I'm at at least $50 in value.  Wantable boxes cost $36/month if you're on subscription.  I actually got mine for $26 because I referred a friend.  My refer link is here if you'd like to subscribe yourself!  Note that trying to refer people is not affecting my review.  I got what I got.  You can see it for yourself.  I like that you can customize it; I don't like that the brands are unknown names.  Up to you if you'd like that or not then!

The Besame lipstick in Champagne is a nude-colored shimmer lipstick.  I'd like a bit more rose in it to make it more natural on my lips, but I do like it.

I LOVE the Darla Makeup eyeshadow in Baby Dot.  It's bronze colored and shimmer.  I might not have immediately picked that color on my own.  I do love brown eyeshadows.  I buy a ton, but always want more!  But bronze???  It looks great on my eyes, though!  I can actually just pat my finger on this, rub it on my eyelid a bit, and have perfect eyeshadow in less than a minute.  This would be a great travel product or a great busy morning product.  I'm very impressed with the quality and would like to see more buy this brand.  According to the packaging, Darla Makeup is free of talc, parabens, fragrance, carcinogens, petroleum, FD&C colors, & gluten. Vegan and cruelty free.  Made in the USA.

I have not had a chance to try the Cailyn liquid eyeliner, but I think I will like it.  It looks very similar to the Stila one that is my favorite.  As long as it's black or brown, liquid, and a large size felt tip, I'll like it.  This seems to meet all those criteria.

The Manna Kadar lip glaze in Patty Cakes is a peachy sheer shimmer.  It will be great to toss over other lipsticks to add the glossy look I like.

I'm excited to try the Skiin Instant Skiin Tightner and Line Filler sample.  I don't know if it will work, but I have a few areas I'd really like to have this kind of product for.  If it works, I'd buy it.  Very happy to get the opportunity to try.

And finally the tweezers.  Well, they're tweezers.  It seems to be an added in bonus fifth item for me.  A girl can't have too many pairs of tweezers, so I'm happy to have them.

All in all, a great box for me.  I'm still happy with Wantable.  I love the surprise and excitement.  I had a great time unboxing this with my best friend over the phone.  She gets her box next week or so.  So excited to see what she gets!

Overall SirenPrincess Beauty Rating: A-

Disclaimer--I purchased this box with my own money.

Finally, wanted to share a couple of promo codes if anyone is interested:

Darla Makeup 25% of your next purchase at darlamakeup.com Code: SAVE25

Dr Brandt 15% off your entire purchase at drbrandtskincare.com Code: DRBGOODIES15 Expires Oct 31, 2013.

Marc Jacobs Lola

Last week, I explained my new search for a perfume.  If you recall, I really enjoyed Marc Jacobs Honey.  This week, we'll be exploring Marc Jacobs Lola.

Lola is a floral scent.  I don't care much for floral scents in general, but this one is oddly pretty good!  It smells a lot like Estee Lauder Pleasures to me.  I used to wear Pleasures about 10 years ago.  It's a floral scent that's soft and makes you want to smell more instead of wanting to get it off your skin immediately.  If you like floral scents, you'll love this one.  Even thought I don't like floral scents, I like this one and would wear it.  It is not overpowering (a good thing), but it unfortunately doesn't last very long at all.

Lola available from Sephora for $68 for 1.7 oz.

SirenPrincess Beauty Rating: B

Disclaimer:  A free sample of this product was provided by COTY per my request.

Bobbi Brown Rich Chocolate Eye Palette

We all have one beauty product we're obsessed with buying.  Maybe yours is nail polish or blush or hair products.  Mine is definitely eyeshadow palettes.  It's the one beauty area I really let myself play.  And each palette is a little bit different and that makes me want them all!

By far and away, my favorite palettes are Bobbi Brown palettes, and this is my new favorite Bobbi Brown palette.  It's the Bobbi Brown Rich Chocolate Eye Palette.

I should say that browns and neutrals are my favorite type of eyeshadow.  I was a little worried at first, though, that this palette might be a little bit dark for me.  It's not!  I also wasn't going to let myself buy it because I do have so many Bobbi Brown palettes, and I even have palettes with duplicates of some of these colors.  But I have to say that I am so happy that I bought it!

The shadows from left to right:

• Bone (Matte)--This slightly yellowy skintoned color is my favorite of the Bobbi Brown light ivory/skintone colors.  It's a little bit warmer and more yellow than Ivory.  It's the perfect nude blending color for my eyes.
• Stone (Matte)--This is my favorite darkish brown lid color of all the Bobbi Brown shades.
• Frappe (Matte)--This is a yellowy brown.
• Caramel (Sparkle)--This is a sheer brown sparkle. It's great for laying to add sparkle, but it's hard to get any color payout.
• Champagne Truffle (Shimmer)--A brassy sparkle color.
• Cocoa (Matte)--Another nice darkish brown. A good slightly darker alternative to Stone.
• Rich Chocolate (Matte)--I use this for eyeliner. It's got just enough warmth to it to clearly be brown instead of black.  It's warmer and browner than Espresso.

I absolutely love everything about this palette.  It has my two favorite Bobbi Brown eyeshadows--Bone and Stone.  It has a lot of matte choices (yay!).  It has an eyeliner color that I can actually tell isn't black.  It does give one sparkle and one shimmer choice.  It's just fabulous with my blue eyes.

I think this is a terrific palette for darker browns for pale girls.  But I also think this is a good palette for medium and darker skintones too.  The eyeshadows will just not be as dark, but the subtle color differences will be more obvious.

I did answer a question from someone comparing this palette to the Bobbi Brown Smokey Warm Eye Palette.  In my opinion, this is the better choice.  You get more eyeshadows (and it looks like more of them too).  I prefer the warmer Bone over Ivory (which is slightly whiter).  I prefer the browner Rich Chocolate over Espresso.  I like that you get more mattes in this palette (and Bobbi Brown mattes are her best).  The Smokey Warm Eye Palette does have Blonde, which I do want, but I still think this one is the better choice.

Bobbi Brown Rich Chocolate Eye Palette available at BobbiBrown.com for $52.


SirenPrincessBeauty Rating: A+
Great for everyone!



Disclaimer--I purchased this product myself.

Benefit Rockateur Blush

Have you ever had a product you hated at first and then fell in love with?  That's my story with Benefit Rockateur.

 
A Sephora make-up artist first tried the blush on me during a make-over.  I didn't like it.  I thought it was too orangy.  I didn't buy it.  I even left some comments on some blogs announcing that I didn't like it.

I went back to Sephora a week or so later to buy something else and asked another make-up artist what she'd recommend.  I described in detail what I wanted (a natural-looking blush for pale skin that wasn't pink or orangy or dark), and she recommended the exact same blush.  I let her put it on me again because I thought maybe wearing my foundation versus the make-over foundation might make a difference.  It still looked a little coral to me, but I bought it anyway.  Hey, if two different MUAs think this is the blush for me, maybe there's something to that.

I tried it a few times and thought it was too warm.  I was going to take it back.  I have very pale porcelain skin with slightly warm undertones, but the rest of me is very cool, so I like to stick with a neutral to warm foundation with cool other products.

And yet ... I still had this fascination with it.  I kept trying it.  And soon I found I liked it.  I realized I was turning to it over and over again instead of my other blushes.  It's just such a natural color.  It's perfect for day.  It provides a wonderful natural glow to the cheeks.  It's #7 below.

For comparison: 1-Revlon Powder Blush Blushed 03 (discontinued but my fav), 2-Bobbi Brown Blush Desert Pink, 3-Cailyn Mineral Blush Peach Pink, 4-Bobbi Brown Shimmer Brick Compact Rose, 5-Maybelline Fit Me Blush Light Mauve, 6-Laura Mercier Shimmer Block Pink Mosaic, 7-Benefit Rockateur, 8-Revlon Photoready Sculpting Blush Palette Berry

I have seen some people complain that you don't get as much product in this blush as you do in other Benefit blushes, so that's something to be aware of.

Benefit Rockateur Blush is available from Sephora for $28 for 0.17 oz.

SirenPrincessBeauty Rating: A-
Good Choice for Pale Girls!

Disclaimer--I purchased this product myself.

Jan Marini Transformation Face Cream

Every girl needs a good skincare regimen to create the perfect canvas for make-up.  I used to think this was what companies would tell you to get you to buy more things you don't need, but if you buy quality skincare products, this is very true.  The perfect skincare regimen can help you look flawless before you even have your make-up on.  The make-up only enhances your natural beauty then.

My favorite skincare item, if I could pick one and only one item, is the Jan Marini Transformation Face Cream.  Jan Marini is a skincare line you'll find in dermatologist and aesthetician offices and spas.  It's also available online, but you won't find it at your local cosmetics counter.  Trust me, this line is worth checking out.  The products were recommended to me by my aesthetician, and there are a few of them that are absolutely amazing.

The Transformation Face Cream is one of those products.  From the moment you massage it on, you feel an immediate difference in how smooth and soft and moisturized your skin is. It's so much more than a moisturizer.  It truly does transform your skin into that dream skin you always wanted.  I don't think that I can adequately describe what a dramatic difference it is.  My dry skin is suddenly no longer flaky or rough.  It's smooth and soft and fantastic.  But this product is more than that.  Somehow, it works for oily and combination skin too.  It hydrates your skin so your body is going into overdrive to produce oil to hydrate.  And it helps prevent breakouts.  I don't know how.  I think it might have something to do with helping with cell turnover. There's no acne medication in it, but I notice a decrease in breakouts with in a day or two.  Suddenly my skin isn't breaking out at all.  I am not one to say that a product is a miracle product, but this product is definitely my holy grail.

What's your holy grail skincare item?

SirenPrincess Beauty Rating: A+ Must try for everyone!

Disclaimer:  I have purchased this product repeatedly for years from my doctor and aesthetician's office and from janmarini.com.

Available at JanMarini.com It will set you back $89, but trust me, it's completely worth it.  They also sell a 'starter pack' with their full recommended line of skincare for you for $180.  I've recently ordered one of these packs for travel.  I'll update you on what I think of the value of the starter/travel pack.  I'm currently thinking just buying the full size products you like is a much better deal.

Marc Jacobs Honey

I'm on the look for a new perfume, so I thought I would share my search with my readers.  I wrote to the wonderful folks at COTY and expressed an interest in Marc Jacobs Honey.  Not only did they send me a sample of Honey, they sent me 3 other scents too!

To help you decide if your tastes might be similar to mine or in case you want to recommend a fragrance to me, here's a bit about my fragrance preferences.  I like gourmand fragrances, but I also want them to have a bit of sophistication to them, to be classy and refined.  My favorite notes are almond, vanilla, amber, musk, and sweet fruits (raspberry, strawberry, coconut).  I dislike citrus and clean scents and dislike floral in general, at least overpowering floral.  My favorite perfume is Dior Hypnotic Poison.

I thought I might like Honey because a honey note falls in line with my loves, but I'm really surprised how much I really do love it!  It does start out with floral notes, but it's not overpowering.  It's a soft floral.  And then you get this hit of honey.  It's amazing!  And it makes me want to keep smelling it.  The scent is not extremely strong, which is a GOOD thing in my opinion.  But it does fade relatively fast.  Still, I really like this fragrance, and it comes in an adorable bottle with little bees.  It's definitely going on my Christmas list.

Available from Nordstroms for $72 for 1.7 oz.

Disclaimer:  A free sample of this product was provided by COTY per my request.

Bobbi and Katie Mini Brush Set

In my last post I reviewed the Bobbi Brown Bobbi and Katie palette. Today, I'm going to review the Bobbi and Katie Mini Brush Set that was designed to go with the Bobbi and Katie palette.



It's a travel cosmetics case with 4 mini brushes. You get a Face Blender Brush, an Eyeshadow Brush, an Eye Sweep Brush, and a Smokey Eyeliner Brush. I personally bought it mostly for the brushes. I do travel a lot and just don't have room for a lot of large brushes. Plus, I just happen to love mini brushes. I find that I can get closer and have better control.

What did I think of these brushes? They're okay for applying make-up. The Face Blender Brush is great. I already owned one of these from the normal Bobbi line, and this one is identical except for the colors. It's great for blush, powder, or bronzer. The quality quickly goes downhill for me with the eye brushes, though. The eye sweep is fine for all over eye color, but I just can't get very good application from the Eyeshadow Brush. I much prefer my MAC 213. I wish I had a mini version of that one. And the Smokey Eyeliner Brush is okay as well, but I feel like my Sephora Pro smudge brush is better too. The bristles on this one are just too soft. And there's no included blender brush, really, which is a must have for make-up on the go. The Eye Sweep Brush just doesn't serve this purpose.

I know the point of make-up brushes is to apply make-up well, but I do have to say that this brush set is so pretty and cute. I much, much, much prefer the almost black design with pink writing and chocolately metal over the wheat-colored normal line brushes. I wish you could buy all of the Bobbi brushes in this pretty color. So I find myself staring at how cute the brushes are and wishing they worked better for make-up application.



The cosmetics bag is actually much larger than you might guess from looking at it on the web. It was designed to fit the Bobbi and Katie palette inside. And the Bobbi and Katie palette does fit perfectly in the front flap, but there's plenty of room for more. I can fit my Navy and Nude palette, a couple of lip glosses, and all of the brushes plus a full coverage face brush in there without problem. I used the bag on another day and fit my foundation, concealer, powder, blush, eyeliner, and lip gloss in it with all the brushes.



The bag has a zipper in the brush side to separate something if needed and tons of tiny little pockets for the brushes and more in the front pocket for things like concealer. It clearly is a quality made bag.

The overall design is a little confusing to me, though. It reads very 'boy' with the plain brown bag if you don't notice the pink ribbons. I wish some more of the pink had been incorporated on the bag itself, or perhaps a logo on the bag, something to make it more than just a brown bag. Additionally, the fabric attracts the light glittery shadow fallout like crazy, similar to what I experience with the palette itself. That definitely doesn't look too classy to me.

All in all, this is a very functional bag with cute but not so very functional brushes. If you love the Bobbi and Katie palette, this is nice to have. If you're looking for a good make-up bad, this one is well made. But there's nothing here you couldn't live without. For the price, I think it's skipable. But why do I love the colors on those little brushes so much?

SirenPrincess Rating: B-
Cute factor: B+
Functionality: C+
Bag quality: B+
Brush quality: C+
Price: D

Currently available at Nordstroms for $65 I believe it sold out on the Bobbi Brown website.

If you're interested in this product, you might also want to check out the Telluride Glow Mini Brush Set, also $65 and available at Nordstroms or the Bobbi Brown website. I LOVE the shiny blue wristlet style bag. That's my favorite color! But I do think the brushes in the Bobbi and Katie Mini Brush Set are cuter.

For the holidays, there's also the Limited Edition Old Hollywood Brush Set, which has a Face Blender Brush, Eye Sweep Brush, Smokey Eyeliner/Angle Eye Shadow Brush and Eye Brow Brush in a hard case for a whopping $72. I'd definitely rather have the Bobbi and Katie Mini Brush set. The brushes are much cuter, and I think the bag is much more practical.

What type of brushes and travel bag do you like to use when you're on the go? I'd love to hear from you. Just leave a comment!

Disclosure--I bought this item myself at Bergdorf Goodman.

Bobbi Brown Bobbi and Katie Palette

Today I'm going to review the Bobbi Brown Bobbi and Katie Palette. Now I must preface this by saying that Bobbi Brown is my favorite cosmetics brand. I love her concept of natural make-up, even her slogan of "See Perfect Skin, Not Make-up". I'm definitely a Bobbi girl when it comes to make-up. I also love that Bobbi Brown offers a wide range of shades for every skintone and ethnicity (including very fair girls!). So let's take a look at one of the new Bobbi palettes. I purchased this set at Bergdorf Goodman at the end of August. They had it several weeks before the Bobbi website had it available for order, so I've had some good time to test this product out.


First, the design. This palette is very unique in that it comes like a little book! Just glancing at it, you wouldn't even think it's a make-up palette. It's much thinner than other palettes, so that makes it very travel friendly. The palette has a magnetic closure and a very large mirror that is perfect for doing make-up on the inside. I think the book design with the hot pink writing is very cute. But a major downside of the packaging is that it attracts make-up fall-out like crazy. This is AFTER I tried to clean it up. Those light colors just cling to that black fabric like glue.

You get 8 eyeshadows, 2 cream blush and lip pots, and a brown eye pencil. The eyeshadows along the left are Pink Chiffon (Shimmer), Brown Sugar (Limited Edition), Pink Quartz (Limited Edition), and Ballet (Sparkle). The eyeshadows along the right are Cream (Limited Edition), Antique Rose (Matte), Stone (Matte), and Black Cocoa (Limited Edition). The pot rogues are Pretty Powerful and Raspberry. And the eye pencil is Chocolate. I think this is a great, great set for fair skin. So many of the colors are light and work well for fair girls. I'm addicted to the Bobbi Brown eye palettes, but often only a few shades are light enough for me to use. I can use all of these colors without problem. The left side is sort of a light and fun day palette and the right side is either a more serious business palette or an evening palette. Let's take a closer look at how the colors swatch on pale skin.

The above photo is the left eyeshadows swatched on my very pale skin (Bobbi Brown Alabaster or Porcelain depending upon the formula). I know a lot of people thought this palette was pink, pink, pink, but as you can see, it's not. Only Pink Chiffon is very pink. That one is a highly pigmented pink with a fine shimmer. Brown Sugar is probably my favorite in this palette. It's a medium brown with a fine shimmer. It's great for lids on pale girls! Both Pink Quartz and Ballet are more of just a fine shimmer without much color. They really don't add much pink. They are useful to add a touch of shimmer without being glitter glitter glitter!

The above photo is the right eyeshadows and the eyeliner pencil. There is a swatch of Cream there, but you just can't see it because it nearly perfectly matches my skintone. This is a good base color for pale girls, but I do prefer Bone (in other palettes) just a touch better. Antique Rose is a good medium-dark nude shade. I like it, and it can be a good day lid shade, but it has a tendency to go a bit orangy on me (a lot of shades do that to me). Stone is actually my favorite Bobbi Brown eyeshadow shade. It's a great dark lid color for fair girls. It look like it would be too dark, but blended on the lid with a good brush, it looks fabulous. Usually, the darkest shade in any palette is only used as an eyeliner for me. That is the case with this palette, but normally all the dark shades are interchangeable for me. Not so with this palette. Black Cocoa is actually a dark brown with gold flecks! I didn't think I'd like the gold flecks, but they really add something to your eyeliner. A bit of 'fun' without being overdone. To use this shade as eyeliner, I just dip a Bobbi Brown eyeliner brush in a bit of water, run it over the top of the shade, and then stamp it on. This is a very easy method to use eyeliner if you're a novice, and it looks incredible! A perfect fine line! And it's quite economical compared to eyeliners. I like the color of the included brown eyeliner, but I'm not much for pencil eyeliners. This one is a bit more of a crayon consistency, which makes it easier to put on, but I can never get the fine point I want with these. I'll use it, but I always feel like I put on too much when I do.

Finally, we have the pot rogues. I don't usually use this type of product much. I prefer powder blushes, which I wish this set had. I find the cream blushes too hard to get right. The Pretty Powerful is kind of cute on lips as a base under lipgloss, and I guess I could wear the Raspberry on lips, but I'd feel a bit overdone. But let me show you why I HATE cream products and powder products to be mixed in the same palette.



The above photo is what happens with a couple of weeks of use even when I was trying my hardest to be careful and only sweep the shadow outwards. Yep, that's eyeshadow all in my rogues. Wouldn't powder blushes be so much nicer there? Oh well. All in all, I truly love this palette! It has a ton of great shades for pale girls. The design is very cute and fun. It's one of my all-time favorite Bobbi palettes, and I love love Bobbi palettes. As with all of the Limited Edition Bobbi palettes, I wish you could buy the individual shades by themselves instead of only in the palette. I love Brown Sugar and would love to buy a full-size eyeshadow of just that one, but you can't. It's only in this LE palette. I guess that's how they get you to buy more palettes. In my case at least, that works.

SirenPrincess Rating: A- (the minus is only for having cream products in an eyeshadow palette, the rest would get an A)
Good Choice for Pale Girls!

Disclaimer--This product was purchased by me at full price. I bought it at Bergdorf Goodman, which was an amazing shopping experience. I plan to do a series of shopping experience posts in the future, but for now I'll just say shopping there is wonderful. If you're in New York City, you NEED to go visit the Bobbi counter at Bergdorf's. Ask for Matthew. He was great! Coming up soon, I'll be reviewing the travel case and mini brush set you can purchase to go with this set.